Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Written by Mildred D. Taylor My ABC Book by Dorothy Henry

A A is for Anger Anger is an underlying theme in the book. Anger fueled by prejudice and hate Anger fueled by the resentment of being mistreated… A

B B is for Big Ma Big Ma is the matriarch of the Logan family. She knows how things are and knows that sometimes you must swallow your pride, even when you know that in your heart of hearts the circumstances are wrong. Survival is sometimes more important than being right.

C C is for Cassie Cassie’s eyes are opened up in the course of the book. She goes from blissful in her ignorance to the depth of hate in the world, to a girl whose heart and soul have been touched by it. She will never be the same again.

D D is for David David, the father of Cassie and her brothers, has had to go away from home to work the railroad to help provide for his family. He is a strong man of character.

E E is for Education Mary always wanted to be a teacher. Mary’s father sacrificed to give Mary an education. Mary knows the value of an education and tries to instill that in her children as well as her students.

F F is for Fire Fire the only thing that could consume the burning rage inside the lynch mob coming for T.J.

G is Gentle Christopher-John, the third child in the Logan family has a gentle spirit. He just wants to live his life in peace, not stir the pot, not get all riled up. G “Y-you mean we ain’t gonna eat no lunch!” Christopher-John cried in dismay.

H H is for Harlan Harlan Granger wants the Logan land. He is the major landowner in the area. He holds the land that the blacks sharecrop on.

I is for Innocence Childhood innocence is lost to Cassie. She sees what the world is, and where she is in it. I

J is for Jamison Mr. Jamison was one of the few white people in the story that could see the anger but not have his heart swept up in its hateful torrents. He stood up for what was right and helped where he could. J

K K is for Kindness Kindness can be found in the harsh, cruel places. Jeremy is a Simms, yet he lives outside of their world dominated by hate. He is kind to the Logan kids, he wants to befriend them.

L is for Little Man Little in size, young in age, but long on knowledge that the world around him was not fair L

M M is for Mary Strong woman. Must be able to stand strong in her husband’s absence. Must work hard to keep her family together.

N is for Nigra The word in the opening scene that sets the stage for the book. The word that brings indignation in Little Man and Cassie. The word that is found stamped inside the very poor condition books given to the children of the Great Faith School. The word that Miz Logan covers to ease the sting. N

O O is for Obnoxious T.J. is obnoxious, so much so that Little Man really can’t stand him, neither can Cassie. Although he is a know-it-all and a manipulator, he really is only trying to mask the pain he feels inside. He tries to control what he can, because he really has no control in the grand scheme of things.

P P is for Prejudice The far reaching effects of prejudice are explored in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It touches everyone in the book, but not everyone reacts in the same way.

Q is for Queen Lillian Jean is the Queen on the throne of her father’s hate. Lillian’s heart is filled with such egotistical pride, which will be what Cassie preys upon in her plan for revenge. Q

R R is for Roots The further the roots of a tree go into the ground, the more life sustaining water it will have access to. Same with the Logan family, their roots go deep into their land, it gives them strength and purpose.

S S is for Stacey Stacey is on the cusp of manhood. He feels ready to take that leap, to protect his family, make important decisions. He gets some opportunities throughout the book to take a stand.

T is for T.J. Looking for acceptance that he would never get, he falls in with the R.W. and Melvin Wallace who use him and then frame him for murder. T

U U is for Uncle Hammer Uncle Hammer’s temper is always burning under the surface, it is a part of who he is and what he does in life

V V is for Vengence The “night men” take to the darkness to repay what they feel are travesties against the whites… …Calling someone on their lies, for standing strong in the face of hate and injustice.

W W is for Wallace The Wallace family are the local “bad boys” in the story. They spread their prejudice and malice throughout the story.

X is for Fix Things were broken in Mississippi. Things that the Logan family tried to repair. Boycotting the Wallaces, getting credit for blacks to shop elsewhere, covering over offensive words in textbooks. X

Y Y is for Yearning Even though, this is how things were, there is a yearning for that future day when equality becomes a reality.

Z Z is for Zenith Owning land was a zenith for blacks during that period of time in history. The Logans owned land, and quite a bit of it. They took that responsibility very seriously and fought hard to keep it. It is their legacy.

Credit for Pictures Roll of Thunder Book Cover on title slide from: http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/jpeg/rollofthunder.jpg Map used for H: http://www.city-data.com/county/Jefferson_Davis_County-MS.html All other images are from the Microsoft Office Online Clip art collection found at: http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/