Michael Hanson
ENG 3370-60
Children 's Literature
ROLL OF THUNDER AND RACISM
We have all read books or have had them read to us at one time or another in our lives. What we may not have realized when they were read to us as children was just how much of the adult world was in them. There are many children 's books that written in such a way as to help children deal with or expose them to adult issues. These issues can range from death of a loved one to more serious issues such as racism and bigotry. One such book that deals with the latter is 'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The book was written in 1976 but portrays the lives of African-American individuals in the 1930 's. That time period was known to be full of racism and outright …show more content…
All it would take is a white person calling a black person a 'nigger ' or a 'darkie '. A fight would ensue and when the police showed up, it would all be blamed on the blacks involved regardless of the true circumstances. A child might be able to relate to this as they may have had a fight with a white child and then get blamed for starting it all, because he is black. Then we have another aspect of this racism. We have blacks trying to fit in with whites by befriending them as a way to become part of them. We know this is not true as in the book TJ is with his white friends when they go to Barnett 's shop. The whites wind up killing Mr. Barnett. But since TJ is black, the blame for the whole incident is placed on him. This shows that the laws then were only meant for white people. If the police could blame a black person, they would do so every time. The town wanted to go as far as hanging him for something he didn 't do. There was no justice for someone of color then. Unfortunately, even today, children can still relate to this sort of situation. Regardless of what actually happened, blame is placed on black people if they are involved. Apologies are not given when it is discovered what really happened.. We also see this in how even something as simple as going to school is vastly different form blacks. They have to walk to school white the whites get brought to school. White people were not …show more content…
We do see that even though black and white people have their differences, they can come together when something really important needs to be done. This is seen when the farm is set on fire. Since the community shares the farm they all have a vested interest in seeing it survive. They all work together to put out the fires. The whole time they are being directed on what to do and where to do it by, you guessed it, a black man. At that moment color was no longer important. There was a task needing to be done and he knew the best way to get it done. This is also an example that can show a child that people are more than just the color of their skin. That when we look deep enough we can find people willing to help each other in times of need. The book does an excellent job of portraying the struggle that black people faced on a daily basis in the 1930 's and still somehow making it seem relevant to what children of the 70 's might have been experiencing at the same time. The feelings of confusion and fear and of not understanding why people would judge you based solely on your skin color and not who you are as a person. She did this in a way that children would be able to understand if they read the
ENG 3370-60
Children 's Literature
ROLL OF THUNDER AND RACISM
We have all read books or have had them read to us at one time or another in our lives. What we may not have realized when they were read to us as children was just how much of the adult world was in them. There are many children 's books that written in such a way as to help children deal with or expose them to adult issues. These issues can range from death of a loved one to more serious issues such as racism and bigotry. One such book that deals with the latter is 'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The book was written in 1976 but portrays the lives of African-American individuals in the 1930 's. That time period was known to be full of racism and outright …show more content…
All it would take is a white person calling a black person a 'nigger ' or a 'darkie '. A fight would ensue and when the police showed up, it would all be blamed on the blacks involved regardless of the true circumstances. A child might be able to relate to this as they may have had a fight with a white child and then get blamed for starting it all, because he is black. Then we have another aspect of this racism. We have blacks trying to fit in with whites by befriending them as a way to become part of them. We know this is not true as in the book TJ is with his white friends when they go to Barnett 's shop. The whites wind up killing Mr. Barnett. But since TJ is black, the blame for the whole incident is placed on him. This shows that the laws then were only meant for white people. If the police could blame a black person, they would do so every time. The town wanted to go as far as hanging him for something he didn 't do. There was no justice for someone of color then. Unfortunately, even today, children can still relate to this sort of situation. Regardless of what actually happened, blame is placed on black people if they are involved. Apologies are not given when it is discovered what really happened.. We also see this in how even something as simple as going to school is vastly different form blacks. They have to walk to school white the whites get brought to school. White people were not …show more content…
We do see that even though black and white people have their differences, they can come together when something really important needs to be done. This is seen when the farm is set on fire. Since the community shares the farm they all have a vested interest in seeing it survive. They all work together to put out the fires. The whole time they are being directed on what to do and where to do it by, you guessed it, a black man. At that moment color was no longer important. There was a task needing to be done and he knew the best way to get it done. This is also an example that can show a child that people are more than just the color of their skin. That when we look deep enough we can find people willing to help each other in times of need. The book does an excellent job of portraying the struggle that black people faced on a daily basis in the 1930 's and still somehow making it seem relevant to what children of the 70 's might have been experiencing at the same time. The feelings of confusion and fear and of not understanding why people would judge you based solely on your skin color and not who you are as a person. She did this in a way that children would be able to understand if they read the