“One who acts up to the highest idea of duty he has been able to perform, no matter at what sacrifice.”
In fairy tales, the hero is usually a man who rescues the princess from evil. Over time the term hero has changed from the old fashioned traditional hero to modern hero’s (someone who is heroic for standing by principles and suffering hardship as a result.)
In The Sexton’s Hero, Gilbert Dawson is more of a traditional hero because he saves Letty and the Sexton’s life, but dies himself. He also has some of the qualities of a modern hero as he stands up for what he believes in. However Mary Logan in “Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry” is a modern hero, as she stands by here principles, no matter what the cost to her is.
In “The Sexton’s Hero,” Gilbert Dawson is expected to support and reflect the male working class stereotype. He is expected to be “manly”, physically strong and aggressive, ready to fight when necessary and to stand up to a challenge.
However Gilbert Dawson goes against these expectations. He refuses to fight much to the amazement of the onlookers
“it seemed such a thing for a stout young chap to be a coward and afraid.”
But Gilbert Dawson was not a coward or afraid. He was a Quaker. A Quaker is a member of the religious group, the Society of Friends, who believed that it was wrong to fight.
“I cannot fight because I think it is wrong to quarrel and use violence. “
Therefore it would have been very hard for Gilbert not to fight, when everyone around him was taunting him, but:
“he stood it out, his teeth set, and looking very white.”
Mary Logan in “Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry” also has expectations to live up to. As a black woman, living in southern USA in the 1930’s, she is expected to be subservient to the white people and accept the racist hierarchy. She is also expected to accept a white view on history and the inequality in education, property and legal rights.
However, although Mary Logan may outwouldly bow down to the whites, she doesn’t accept white superiority. She tries to persuade the black community to shop elsewhere:
“she spoke of finding another store to patronise.”
She does this because the Wallaces, who run the local store, are suspected of burning a black family. Mary Logan teaches her students about slavery even though she is not allowed to.
“ To make matters worse her lesson for the day was slavery”
She wants her students to know the truth about their history. She even covers an offensive page in a black textbook.
“Then she took the paper and placed it over the glue.” She fights against white expectations because she believes that one day there will be freedom, and she wants her children to live in a fairer society. Mary Logan speaks out for the share-croppers who don’t have a voice. She is fighting for justice.
Both writers show the difficulties that the characters face because they go against the expectations of the community.
In “The Sextons Hero” Gilbert Dawson is treated very badly by the community, after he refuses to fight. People thought there was something wrong with him. The called him a “monkey or a foreigner,” and drove him out of the community. Letty, who is supposed to be in love with Gilbert, tries to blackmail him into fighting the sexton. When he would not fight, Letty was spiteful and eventually left Gilbert for the Sexton.
In “Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry”, Mary Logan tries to move the black community shopping to Vicksburg. When Mr Granger, the white landowner, finds out he tries to stop her, but when she won’t:
“Mr Granger stood to go, a smile creeping smugly over his lips as if he knew a secret but refused to tell.”
Shortly after Mary Logan was sacked by the white school board, and Mr Granger, after she was caught teaching black history.
Even though both characters are treated badly by others they still teat other people with respect. Gilbert Dawson never speaks badly to anyone in the community, the small children loved him, they don’t know about the prejudice. He saved the life of Letty and the sexton even though they had been mean to him.
Mary Logan also treats others around her with respect. She shows hospitality towards Mr Morrison and when Jeremy comes at Christmas, she is kind to him. Mary Logan is loving and caring, she always thinks about others.
However neither Character finds their decision easy and both suffer as a consequence. Gilbert Dawson changes a lot. He becomes quieter and his way of walking changed.
“His step used to be brisk and sounding, but now his foot lingered heavily on the ground.”
The whole community knew of Gilbert’s suffering.
“The lads would not play with him; and as soon as he found he was to be ignored by them when ever he came quoiting or cricket, he just left off coming.”
For Mary Logan, her suffering was not as bad as she has her family around her, but this means that she fears for her family’s safety, especially from the Wallaces. She is scared that they will lose their land. The land is very important to the Logans as it is a symbol of their freedom from the whites. Mary Logan is very hurt when she loses her job, as it was a good source of income for the family.
“What we do David? We needed that job.”
In both stories the characters are supported by their Christian Faith.
For Gilbert Dawson, his Religion gives him comfort and Solace, plus the strength to bear his hardship in a Godless and unchristian community. His Bible symbolises his integrity, he lives by it.
“There were many a text in the Gospel, marked broad with his carpenter’s pencil which more that bore him out in his refusal to fight.”
He believes so much in what it says, that he is willing to sacrifice the girl he loves, to abide by it.
In “Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry”, religion also plays an important role in peoples lives, though not as much as in ‘The Sextons Hero’. For the black community, the Christian church is seen as the corner stone of their lives. It is referred to as part of everyday life. Great Faith church is where the Logans and the rest of the black community worship and assemble. The annual revival : “ran for seven days and was a occasion everyone looked forward to.”
It shows the community spirit as everyone got together. Mary Logan’s values of equality and justice spring from her simple Christian foundation.
Both Mary Logan and Gilbert Dawson are committed to their duty and both have to make sacrifices to fulfil that duty.
Gilbert Dawson makes a bigger sacrifice than Mary Logan as he sacrifices his life to save that of Letty and the Sexton. Gilbert is a traditional hero as he saves the day.
However Mary Logan is more of a modern hero because she stands by her principles.
Ultimately, both Gilbert Dawson and Mary Logan reflect the theme of heroism as they both stand up for what they believe in.
