Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1976

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Fire

The novel begins and ends with the use of fire. In the first chapter of the novel, T.J. tells the Logan children that “[s]ome white men took a match to” three men in the Berry family because one of the Berrys allegedly disrespected a shopkeeper (10). Fire functions as a powerful tool for white men—in this case, the Wallace brothers—to oppress their Black neighbors. As T.J.’s father tells it, “Anytime they thinks we steppin’ outa our place, they feels like they gotta stop us” (62). The fire maims its victims but also frightens those who learn about the burning. When the Logan children see Mr. Berry’s “still form” with burned skin and “wizened black” lips, they feel stunned.

At the end of the novel, David Logan sets fire to his own cotton crop to prevent vigilante violence against T.J. He claims the Wallace brothers’ favored tool for his own use, denying them the exclusive use of its power. David’s use of fire is clever and empowering, but not without negative consequences. To use the white men’s weapon against them, David sacrifices part of the cotton crop upon which his family relies for income.

The School Bus

The Jefferson Davis school bus represents inequality at its most spiteful. One of two buses that Spokane County provides for white students at that school, it inspires envy and anger in the Logan siblings. Although some of their classmates walk for three and a half hours just to reach school, the county refuses to provide a bus for its Black students. Mary tells her children that the bus is only one symptom of the county’s educational inequality: “the county provided very little,” she says, “and much of the money which supported the black schools came from the black churches” (44).

The bus bothers the Logan children in principle, but it terrorizes them in practice. Little Man runs from the bus on his first day of school as it emits “clouds of red dust like a huge yellow dragon breathing fire” (13). Cassie’s description of the bus reveals how monstrous it seems to the Logans. Its monstrosity derives, at least in part, from the fact that the bus driver targets Black children on purpose. Cassie knows “that the bus driver liked to entertain his passengers by sending us slipping along the road (43). As with many forces of racism in the Logans’ lives, the bus sometimes seems unstoppable. Cassie feels “as if the bus were a living thing, plaguing and defeating us at every turn” (46).

When the Logans finally exact revenge upon the bus, its cruel driver, and its taunting passengers, they push back against inequality. Even Big Ma and Mary acknowledge taking pleasure in its temporary defeat. Cassie notices her mother “smiling smugly to herself and looking very much like a young girl” as the family talks about the wrecked bus (57). The trench Cassie and her brothers dig cannot eradicate racism in Spokane County, but it shows the Logans that they are capable of resistance.

Uncle Hammer’s Packard

When Uncle Hammer drives to Mississippi in a newer model of Mr. Granger’s car, a Packard, he sends a message to the white community. Hammer believes that he deserves to attain the same standard of living that white members of the community access. He tells his family that, “I was right impressed with that big ole Packard of Mr. Harlan Filmore Granger’s and I thought I’d like to own one myself” (120). By using Mr. Granger’s full name in his explanation, Hammer mocks the man’s perceived elite status.

The Logans’ white neighbors receive Hammer’s message and view the Packard as a symbol of Hammer’s insolence. Mr. Granger acknowledges that symbolism when he asks Hammer: “What they got you doing up North? Bootlegging whiskey?” (166). Mr. Granger implies that Hammer could not have attained a car like his through legitimate means. Although Mr. Granger cannot directly prevent Hammer from owning the same model car as he does, Granger’s attempt to make the Logans lose their land indirectly results in the sale of Hammer’s Packard. Hammer sacrifices the car to help pay off the mortgage on the land. Mr. Granger wins a small battle with the Logans but loses the more important one.