How Cassie Changes in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Essay Example

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is about a black family treated unfairly in the South. Cassie’s parents own land but still face oppression in the South, and Cassie starts to become more aware of racism when she experiences it herself. Cassie is nine years old and the only girl among her siblings. Her brothers are Stacey, Christopher-John, and Little Man. Cassie has faced many troubles throughout the book, which affected her. Cassie is a self-confident person and is outspoken. These characteristics of Cassie have a minor change throughout the book.  Cassie has changed in the book because she has been through many troubles but perseveres through them. She becomes more understanding of race and more mature. 

Cassie has changed because she has encountered many troubles but perseveres through them. “Well, you just get your little Black self back over there and wait some more.” Says Mr. Barnett, in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This is an example of Cassie’s situation when she wanted to buy something, but Mr. Barnett put the white people first and the black people last. Cassie perseveres through this situation and tries her best not to get mad. Cassie faces a lot of troubles because she is black, but also improved her actions when she was in a situation like this.

Cassie becomes more understanding of race. “They also said that slavery was good for us because it taught us to be good Christians- like the white people.” Says Mama, in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This is Mama talking to Cassie about race and how she should treat white people kindly. Cassie then gets a better understanding of race and is more aware of racism in the South. After what Mama said to Cassie, Cassie understands why she has been mistreated and ends up being more kind to other people.

Cassie becomes more mature. In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Cassie says, “I mean, is there enough cotton left to pay the taxes?” Cassie knows more about taxes, but she is worried that they would not have enough cotton taxes. This shows that Cassie is more mature and does not want to lose the land. Cassie may even be more mature than her brothers. However, at the beginning of the story, Cassie was not that mature. 

Cassie has changed in the story because she has been through many troubles but perseveres through them. She becomes more understanding of race becomes more mature. Further in the book, Cassie becomes more confident and is not afraid to stand up against injustice.  She becomes more mature by being more kind to all the people around her. These are the reasons why Cassie changes throughout the book. There are also many other scenes in the book that show that Cassie changed.