Growing Up with Racism in Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry is a front-ranked bildungsroman novel. One of the most significant aspects of the story is its depiction of how the Logan children positively develop and grow up within a challenging and racist society. While education seems to play a major role in this respect, factors such as, everyday experience, the parent’s role in demystifying history and power structure and the warm environment of home, all contribute to their process of growing up. Initially, the force of education in developing the Logan’s children is derived from the novel’s emphasis on two types of education, formal and informal. On one hand, formal education is the fabricated …show more content…
It is possible to argue that Mary Logan plays a key role in revealing African American history for children in blunt facts rather than through familial stories. Indeed, she unveils the horrific history of slavery formally at school. Although this subversive act was eventually interrupted by her suspension from work, it surely contributed to the children’s awareness of their identity and their environment as well as their ability to recognize the real from the fabricated. Correspondingly, the African American history is demystified informally for Cassie by her mother after the Strawberry incident. Instead of being overwhelmed by such depressing facts, Cassie decides to upturn the whole situation. Indeed, it served as a trigger for her well-orchestrated revenge on Lilian Jean; a vengeful act that boosted her self-confidence and made her realize her mental as well as her physical capabilities. In this respect, living in a harsh environment coupled with an awareness of one’s own ancestors’ struggles becomes a stimulant for resistance. Emphatically, the children’s digestion of such harsh facts empowers them against racism, enables them to think intelligently, provides them with hope and prepares them for the future. Nevertheless, through this demystification of history the Logan children gain an awareness of their society’s Power