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Lance LoConti EDLA 615 Susan Silverman Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Lance LoConti
Reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, I began to remember all of the studies of early American history that I had completed in the past. I was compelled by the story, both because it is a situation that could have actually happened, and also because situations such as this led to such things as the civil rights movement. The descriptions used in the book, along with my own imagination, allowed me to see a movie as I read this book. As a musician, I find that words always turn into pictures, and Taylor allowed me to see them all.
This story is a sad look at how the inequality of life in this country ruined many lives. One may think that racism would only affect those that were targeted. Taylor’s story shows that racism is something that affects everyone involved. It will always hurt more than just one person or family. Racism is blind to justice and equality. It was interesting to see how the Logan family reacted to their environment, making sure not to stray from their beliefs. Watching Cassie grow throughout the novel from a naïve little girl to an informed young woman was very interesting.
This story contained what I believe are four basic foundations: Family, Passiveness, Human Rights, and Brotherhood. These four foundations were constant themes in each chapter of the novel. I have created a powerpoint presentation that describes each character, and also contains pictures of what I think best represent each of the foundations.
Beginning the Presentation
Being a person that constantly works with the right side of my brain, I am more apt to remember pictures rather than words. As soon as I started reading the novel, I began to picture each character, the town and the farms, even the trees. As I continued through the novel, it became harder for me to remember facts, but there were vivid scenes still in my memory. I began to relate these scenes to objects and pictures that would help me remember specific parts of the story. The pictures on each slide I thought were the best representations of what I had envisioned.
Making the Presentation For the first slide, I left it very basic. I wanted to make sure the viewer knew what they were getting into by putting the cover of the book on the presentation. The cover has a powerful picture, but one cannot hope to understand the meaning of it until they read the novel.
The second slide needed to be for Cassie. After reading the novel, I had to relate her to a flower. At the beginning of the story, she was incredibly naïve, just like a flower blossom. As the story unfolded and Cassie became aware of her surroundings, she gained a large amount of knowledge that allowed her character to develop into a totally different person. The picture I chose had both open and close flowers to represent the journey that Cassie had taken.
Cassie’s family is a very interesting group. From the outside, everything looks fine. Once you get to know what is going on, you realize that there are many things that are left unsaid. I is for protection of the children from the outside world. Eventually, the words left unsaid will catch up to the children and they will be thrown into a world that they did not realize existed. The picture I chose shows a very peaceful open piece of land. Just the sort of land that will become a much less beautiful place once it becomes familiar with civilization. It represents the Logan family from the outside. Everything looks absolutely perfect.
The picture for the fourth slide has a very important meaning. The town that they lived in was very divided. I wanted a picture in black and white to help display that fact. All of the other characters of the novel are described here.
The first foundation slide I created was for Family. Throughout the novel, the Logan family was always working together to protect and educate each other. Their family values ran their lives. From work to punishment, everything had meaning. The pictures I chose are meant to show teamwork and love of family. The coat of arms of the Logan family was just something I found along the way.
The Logan family was passive. They knew things were turned against them, but they continued to live their lives to the best of their ability. The adults did not want to retaliate for any wrongs done to them, and the children learned that retaliation could bring harsh consequences. The pictures in the sixth slide are meant to show the tranquility of thought that was used in the Logan family.
Racism was a very important topic in this novel, although not as important as how to deal with it. This book paralleled the works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his non-violent demonstrations. While this story was based on one family and their desire to live peacefully, it represents the fight that was taken up by an entire people of this country. The pictures of the slide show the inequality of segregation and racism, and also how it was countered.
The final slide is of brotherhood. When all else failed, the Logan family needed to protect their own people. In order to save T.J. from an unfair lynching, the Logan family destroyed what was most dear to them. This sacrifice (even though the truth was unknown to most of them) was one of the most selfless acts that could have been done. In a non-violent way, Papa Logan saved T.J. and made sure his land did not fall back into the hands of the racist plantation owner. The responsibility he showed while protecting T.J. was a true act of brotherhood.
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I think that the project clearly shows the meaning of the book. The book described the struggles of the Logan family, and how they were impacted by the four foundations of the story. It was organized very well, where each slide had a title and pictures that helped describe the meaning. The presentation is visually appealing, but could have included sounds and/or animations. There was effort put into this project, but it would have gotten a four had other audio/visual options been used.
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