One of the major techniques that Mildred Taylor uses throughout the novel is her excellent description of the events. This description helps us to immerse ourselves in the storyline and to actually understand the characters. Description helps us to visualise the situation and we can imagine that we are actually there. Only once we have done that can we fully comprehend the emotions felt by the characters and only then will we be able to appreciate the novel fully.
One episode which is full of description is the bus ambushing episode.
“The bus…rolled cautiously through a wide puddle…it approached our man-made lake…spraying the water in high sheets of backward waterfalls…the bus emitted a tremendous crack and careened drunkenly into our trap…its left front wheel in our ditch, its right wheel in the gully, like a lopsided billy goat on its knees.”
All the underlined words indicate descriptive language deployed to telling effect.
We can feel the nervous apprehension of the children as well as the satisfaction that only poetic justice can bring and because we have become so involved in this episode, when the revenge is exacted, we find we are enjoying ourselves just as much as the children would be. It is human nature to remember the enjoyable experiences in life and to try and block out the unpleasant ones. Consequentially we will remember this episode.
Another piece of excellent description is in Chapter twelve just after the cotton fire and Mildred Taylor describes to us, the remains of the land.
“Near the slope where once cotton stalks had stood, their brown bolls popping with tiny puffs of cotton, the land was charred, desolate, black, still steaming from the night.”
Here the description allows us to see a clear contrast between how the cotton once was and how it is after the fire. This allows us to appreciate the loss that the characters were feeling and so once again it enables us to immerse ourselves in the story until events begin to matter to us. As a result when something like this happens, even in a novel, it is memorable for us.
Another technique employed by Mildred Taylor is the use of shock. I am referring to the shock we feel when we read about the injustice and cruelty of the society during that period.
At the start of the book stamping episode, Miss Crocker announces that this year they would all have books. The children are amazed at this and so we receive our first indication in the novel as to how bad the quality of life experienced by the blacks was. The children were actually amazed that they would receive books, as is shown by Little Man’s anticipation,
“Little Man his face lit in eager excitement.”
This incident is deeply ingrained in our memories because it shocks us. It might shock us more than any other such example in the novel because it is the first time and so we are not prepared for it. We are used to having hundreds of books around our homes but these children are excited because they are receiving just one book. This shocks us and so it is memorable. The same applies to the columns inside the cover of the books that make Little Man and Cassie so angry. We are shocked because we are not used to this level of racism. In our modern society, racism, although it still exists, is minimal and in some places, non-existent. However, even though we and the children are shocked by this, Miss Crocker is not. She actually punishes Little Man for his protest. From this episode we are given our first impressions of life for a black person in 1930’s Mississippi. We as a generation are taught to accept all types of peoples and so feel outraged at this incident and so it is memorable.
Another example of shock can be found in Chapter five where Cassie is pushed off the sidewalk.
“You can’t watch where you’re going, get in the road. Maybe that way you won’t be bumping into decent white folks with your little nasty self.”
In our modern society, although we try not to bump into each other, if it happens, a quick apology is given, or in some cases a barely audible grunt and then both parties continue on their way. Race or colour is not even a consideration for most people. Here a young girl is being told to walk in the road because of the colour of her skin. This incident makes the reader think about equality in society and how it has changed since the 1930’s. For this reason it is memorable.
Perhaps the main example and the most memorable instance of racism causing shock can be found in Chapter eleven as T.J. is being subjected to extreme violence by the whites, particularly Kaleb Wallace.
“Whatever T.J.’s reply, it obviously was not what Kaleb Wallace wanted to hear, for he pulled his leg back and kicked T.J.’s swollen stomach with such force that T.J. emitted a cry of awful pain and fell prone upon the ground.”
Perhaps what shocks us most here is not the racism, but the vigour and violence with which this senseless hatred is perpetrated. We can not comprehend the thought process that would consider this behaviour acceptable and so to encounter something so alien from our own thinking leaves its mark on the reader and makes for very memorable reading.
Yet another technique utilized by Mildred Taylor in making this novel unforgettable is humour. There are a number of episodes which contain humour and much like in Great Expectation by Charles Dickens, this is done to relieve the tension in the plot. As a result most of the humorous episodes follow particularly dark and tense moments in the storyline. Of course it also serves to provide enjoyment for the reader.
The first instance of humour comes in Chapter three where the Logan children exact their revenge on the bus driver and the white children for purposefully driving through puddles to soak them.
“By the time most of the students managed to get to the other side of the ditch, their clothes were dripping with the weight of the muddy water.”
To support my previous statement, it is worth noting that the previous chapter contained an upsetting storyline (the attack on the Berrys) and a distinctly unjust conclusion to the episode (the perpetrators go unpunished). This tense storyline is relieved by the humour in this chapter. The humour comes as much from our enjoyment of the revenge as much as the comedy of a bus tumbling into a hole. As I have commented earlier in this essay, we remember the good things and block out the bad. This is an enjoyable incident and so it is memorable.
The next major incidence of humour comes in Chapter eight when Cassie finally avenges the episode in Strawberry where she is pushed off the road.
“At first she tried to be cute – “Ain’t gonna ‘pologize to no nigger!” she sassed.
“You wanna be bald, girl?”
And she apologized.”
Once again if we look back at the previous chapter we can see that at its conclusion Mr Granger pays the Logan family a particularly distressing visit and this humour lightens the atmosphere. This episode is funny because this is the comeuppance Lillie Jean deserved after she degraded Cassie in Strawberry. The storyline has been building up to this and so it is satisfying and funny when the revenge is exacted.
The final example of humour in the novel (or at least the final example that I will discuss) can be found in Chapter ten where Mr Morrison moves the Wallace’s truck off the road.
“He lifted the truck in one fluid, powerful motion until the front was several inches off the ground…Kaleb Wallace was mute.”
As before, if we look back at the previous chapter one can see that there has been some trouble as Mr Granger raised his demands followed by the attack on the way back from Vicksburg. The humour is necessary to prevent the book from becoming depressing.
This episode is funny mainly because Kaleb Wallace sneers at Mr Morrison only to be left speechless after Mr Morrison has humiliated him. Kaleb Wallace, who is supposedly superior, is completely helpless against a supposedly inferior black man.
Suspense is a very effective technique used by Mildred Taylor to create memorable incidents throughout the novel. The key to this is that suspense creates tension and apprehension. It makes us wait for the plot to unfold and so as the expectancy builds and the climax is neared the reader becomes excited and so because the plot is exciting it becomes memorable.
The first instance of suspense can be found in the book stamping episode in chapter one.
“The room became gravely silent. Everyone knew that Little Man was in big trouble for no one, but no one, ever called Little Man ‘Clayton Chester’ unless she or he meant serious business.”
We know that Little Man is in trouble and we want to discover what will happen to him. As the story progresses it becomes exciting as we wait for the outcome of this encounter. The suspense of the storyline amplifies the message that you have to stand up for what you believe in and so this incident is memorable.
The next incident containing suspense is the bus ambushing episode.
“The bus rattled up the road, though not as quickly as we had hoped. It rolled cautiously through a wide puddle… the bus emitted a tremendous crack and careened drunkenly into our trap.”
The suspense is almost tangible. We know what is coming and Mildred Taylor purposefully draws it out until by the time it actually happens we are almost disappointed by the end result even though it was exactly as we expected. For this reason it is memorable although it could be said that it is the other aspects of this episode that make it memorable.
The next episode containing suspense is the one where T.J. lets Stacey take the blame for cheating in chapter four.
“But knowin’ Stacey, I betcha ole T.J. ain’t gonna get away with it,”
Here we are told that Stacey will pay T.J. back for letting him take the blame and there are no doubts about how. Every sentence after that is just building up the suspense until the inevitable fight. We are willing the fight to take place and for Stacey to have his revenge and so when he does it is enjoyable and consequently we remember it.
We can see that Mildred Taylor uses techniques such as description, shock and suspense to make this novel memorable. However it is not just these techniques that we remember the novel for. This novel is an insight into a previous time period. It shows us the worst side of our nature and the terrible consequences of bigotry and racism. On the brighter side though, whilst there are still many problems with our society, we can see that over time, our perceptions have changed and we have become more accepting of other people. This novel makes us consider our behaviour and so for this reason, the novel is memorable.
If we can improve in this way, maybe one day the other problems in our society will be resolved too.
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