Roll Of Thunder Symbolism

Symbolism in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Sometimes one must really look deep into the text to find the author’s craft in a story. It can make the book more enjoyable and, at times, help one understand the story better. In Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, the Logan family is living in the 1933 southern U.S.A. The Logans and their friend ,T.J., face prejudice and racism, but still manage to cling to one thing- the land. The craft that the author uses is symbolism to get the reader predicting, set up the problem, and stir empathy.
The land is symbolic and represents hope and determination, but there is also another important symbol; the pearl handled pistol that the Logan’s friend T.J. wants so badly. One of the goals that this symbol achieves is getting the reader predicting. In the story, Big Ma, Cassie, and Stacey Logan go to the town Strawberry with T.J., and while they are in a store, T.J. sees the pistol and tells Cassie and Stacey how much he likes it, saying how he wished he could “jus’ hold it, jus’ once” (108-109) . This pistol must have some significance in the story, or else the author

Back when Cassie and Stacey Logan were in the the store in Strawberry, T.J. wanted the pistol, even though it was too expensive for his family to afford. When he shows Cassie the gun and she tells him the price, he snaps back with “disgust. “Ain’t s’pose to hunt with it. It’s for protection.” (108). This is important because this is the one thing that T.J loves and feels entitled to protecting. It makes the readers feel bad for T.J. because he cannot afford the pistol that means so much to him, that he would do anything to obtain. It makes the readers realize that T.J. doesn't normally get what he wants and is poor, which may reflect on his actions; why he always hangs around the Logans, who have more money than him, or the Simms boys. He just wants to fit in, and be one of the cool