Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals Literary Analysis Essay Example

Challenges often are often what define a person and how they overcome them makes them a warrior.  In the memoir Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals, Melba faces many challenges as she is part of the Little Rock Nine.  During the Jim Crow Era in the United States around the late 19th century to mid 20th, most facilities in the South were segregated based on a person’s skin color.  The Little Rock Nine were nine kids who were the first black students in the all white Central High school in Little Rock Arkansas.  Melba must overcome many challenges and learn lessons as she changes the history of the United States.  Melba’s challenges grow into a newfound maturity because of her past that inspires her to get a better education and stand up for what she believes in, her internal struggles, and hold her head high when faced with hate because warriors don’t cry. 

Melba’s challenges with racism and segregation started when she was just a girl.  Her young experiences contributed to her bravery on the battlefield of Central High.  Melba experienced the disadvantages of living in a suburban Southern town during the Jim Crow era from the moment she was able to think and speak for herself.  Melba’s past inspired her to enroll at Central High in hopes of change for the future.  Melba’s struggle with segregation and wanting to feel equal is represented when she says,“I was feeling more and more vulnerable as I watched them continuously struggle to solve the mystery of what white folks expected of them.  They behaved as though it were an awful sin to overlook even one of those unspoken rules and step out of “their place,” to cross some invisible line” (Pattillo Beals 7). This quote shows Melba trying to fit in the “invisible line” other people had set.  While Melba knows the line isn’t what was right and justifiable, it contributed to her desire to go to Central.  Her past set her mind on what she wanted for the future, and she grew to be able to complete the mission she set.  

The second challenge Melba went through that changed her mindset and helped her grow as a person is her challenges with people who disapproved of her integrating Central.  Melba’s classmates hated her and she had no classes with the rest of the Little Rock Nine.  Melba’s friends from her old school forgot about her or distanced themselves from her because of her newfound popularity in the media and her becoming a target to torment.  Melba’s mental state about the whole ordeal leads her to wish she were dead.  Melba says to herself, “‘I do wish I were dead.’ Then all the pain and hurt would be over'’’ (Pattillo Beals 160). This quote from the memoir shows that Melba’s had enough of being an icon for the Civil Rights Movement and all the hate she had endured, became so much Melba hit her breaking point.  However, after realizing the importance and impact she was making to the world, Melba knew she had to keep fighting for her beliefs.  Melba’s resilience and her determination to make change at Central High, leads her to keep on attending and fighting for what is right.   

Another challenge Melba learned to overcome was how to deal with the hate she faced at Central High.  Central High became a battlefield for Melba but she persevered.  One of the ways Melba learned to deal with her haters was to pretend to enjoy the catcalls and turn the other cheek.  Melba was having difficulty not reacting to her haters so instead of just ignoring the taunting, Melba pretended that the rude name calling and assaults were the perfect gift she could receive.  When Melba would act with such gratitude to the onlookers, it would drive them mad Melba was not giving them a reaction. Melba shows that she’s trying her new strategy when she thinks, “Remembering my discussion with Grandma about playing mind games, I examined it as if it were a precious treasure.  I smiled and gushed, loud enough for those sitting closest to me to hear. ‘It’s just beautiful, thank you.  It’s just what I need’” (Pattillo Beals 180).  Learning to play the mind games was an important lesson Melba learned, because it helped her go through the day without letting the hate get to her.  Choosing to ignore the haters exemplifies maturity and not retaliating back shows how Melba grew from her experiences at Central and learned how to deal with taunters differently.  Melba’s self control of not retaliating back to her haters demonstrates a new maturity Melba gained while going through her everyday challenges at Central. 

In conclusion, Melba overcame the impossible when attending Central High.  She overcame challenges with racism and grew from her experiences. Melba experienced segregation from a young age, but used her past as fuel to continue attending Central High.  When things got rough, Melba persevered through the obstacles.  She learned to overlook her haters and hold her head high.  Melba’s challenges shaped her into the person she became after Central High.  Without the challenges and lessons Melba had to overcome, she wouldn’t have become the person she became.