Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry Thematic Essay

Imagine having to leave childhood behind and grow up quicker than most people. This was the case for Cassie and the Logan children in Roll of Thunder; Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor, and Squeaky and her brother Raymond in Raymond’s Run, by Toni Cade Bambara. Cassie and her family are African-American and are living in the South, during the time of segregation. They are still not treated equally and have a much harder life than a white family living near them. The children have to understand how things are and how they have to act in order to cause less trouble. They also have to work harder in order to pay for their house and live a better life. Squeaky lives in New York City and is the fastest runner in the whole city. She runs, with her brother Raymond following along. There is a big competition and Squeaky realizes that

This was the case for Cassie and the Logan children in Roll of Thunder; Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor, and Squeaky and her brother Raymond in Raymond’s Run, by Toni Cade Bambara. Cassie and her brothers were forced to grow up earlier than most children because they were living in the South during a time of extreme segregation. They had to understand why they were going to be treated differently and how they would have to act maturely, to avoid facing consequences. Squeaky, in Raymond’s Run tries very hard to be the best runner in the entire city and doesn’t spend time doing normal “child” activities. At the big race, Squeaky learns that her brother Raymond is actually a great runner and decides that she wants to train him and spend more of her time having fun and helping others. Squeaky grows up in that sense. Both novels show the difficulties the children face and how their childhood requires more maturity than most other childhoods. When faced with a challenge or difficult environment, people are forced to grow up quicker and leave childhood behind before