Katie Cunningham EDSC 304: Student Sample

 Narrator and protagonist  9 years old; second-oldest sibling in the family; the only daughter  Stubborn, brave  Has a fiery temper  Has a strong sense of justice—wants to be treated fairly by everyone  A little naïve—doesn’t understand why White people mistreat Black people

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 Cassie is excited to learn from her teacher, Miss Crocker, that they will finally have textbooks  Cassie sees that the “new” textbooks are actually rejects from the White school—they are old, torn, beat-up looking  Cassie’s brother, Little Man, refuses the books  In solidarity, and out of principle, Cassie refuses the books as well  Cassie and Little Man are whipped for their decision, but they hold strong to their beliefs

I would not have been as brave as Cassie! I watched as my younger brother, Little Man, bravely gave his book back to Miss Crocker. His voice quivered a bit, but he stood tall. I wanted to help him, to shout “I don’t want my book either!” but I couldn’t do it. I felt like I was glued to my seat. When Miss Crocker said she would have to whip Little Man, tears filled my eyes. He was so brave, and I felt so foolish. Why couldn’t I help him? Why couldn’t I say something? I was ashamed that I didn’t stand by my brother. Some day I hope he is as proud of me as I am of him.

 Big Ma takes Cassie, along with Stacey and T.J., to the town of Strawberry  They go to the general store to do some shopping for the family  The clerk says he’ll help Cassie, but ends up helping all the White customers first  Cassie complains to the clerk, who yells at her and embarrasses her by ordering her out of the store

I would have been too humiliated to say anything! As soon as the store clerk started yelling for me to leave, I felt my face burn with embarrassment. I must have turned beet red. This man was being completely unfair, and I hadn’t done anything wrong! But I couldn’t speak. I knew everyone in the store staring at me, and suddenly I felt so small. On the way home, I thought of all the things I could have said, but didn’t. I wanted to go back and give him a piece of my mind! Why had my mind gone blank in the moment?

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 Last summer, I tried to play baseball with my four cousins (all boys)  They told me I couldn’t play because it was a “boys’ game” and that I couldn’t keep up  I knew it was unfair, and that I was good enough to play, but I was embarrassed and didn’t say anything

 Cassie would have spoken up!  Cassie never compromised what she believed in—she spoke her mind even when it got her into trouble  Cassie would have argued that she was just as good as anyone else, and would have joined the baseball game anyway  Cassie would have been confused about why she was being mistreated—and would not have just walked away!

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SparkNotes. "SparkNotes: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Puffin Modern Classics) (Puffin Modern Classics). New York City: Puffin, 2004.