Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

• How does Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry relate to current society? Is the novel still relevant?

Writer’s Craft: Suspense

One way Mildred Taylor makes her characters seem real is through their conversations.
She uses dialogue, the words people say to each other, to give the reader clues about
the characters’ personalities. Here is how Big Ma made Cassie apologize.
Big Ma looked at me again, her voice cracking as she spoke. “Go on, child . . .
apologize.”
“But, Big Ma—”
Her voice hardened. “Do like I say.”
I swallowed hard.
“Go on!”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

Think about how the characters in this book speak and react to each other. As a group,
discuss what happened between Cassie and Lillian Jean on the sidewalk in Strawberry.
What do you learn about Big Ma from the conversation she has with Cassie? What do
you learn about Cassie?