Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

whites. The only difference between them is that Uncle Hammer is very short tempered and would stand up for himself, even start a fight, compared with Papa who is quietly angered. Uncle Hammer lives in Chicago where apparently black men live on equal terms with whites. Therefore Uncle Hammer finds the atmosphere in Mississippi deeply oppressive. As you know Uncle Hammer has a hasty temper and is a dangerous visitor at times of racial tension. ‘I’d be hanging from the oak tree over yonder!’ This shows that Uncle Hammer believes that if he had treated Lillian Jean the way Mr. Simms treated Cassie he would be hanged, just because the colour of his skin. He is loved and also slightly feared by the children, he has a colder more distant personality. Unrelenting when he is angry, he is very generous to the children encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions whenever they can. An example of Uncle Hammer being generous is when he buys Stacey a new coat believing that Stacey thinks he is not as well treated as whites and Uncle Hammer is trying to prove to Stacey that they should be treated equally. He is trying to get back at them in his own little way. Uncle Hammer has a great thirst for revenge and this is shown when Mr. Morrison prevents him from taking revenge upon the Simms family and talk of burning down the Wallace store remains just talk. His attitude worries big ma and Papa because they are reluctant to tell him about Papa getting shot at by the Wallaces until they have no choice. They are worried because they have the fear that he may do something that he might regret. When and if he gets back at the people he takes a disliking to he does it in a very sly and cunning fashion. For example he wears very smart clothes and buys the same model of car but newer of Harlan Grangers Packard. This is showing that he believes he is just the same as white people and should be treated no differently. This plan works when they are crossing the bridge in his new car and the Wallaces stop to let them cross believing it to be Harlan Granger. Uncle Hammer doesn’t cross the line in getting revenge because he knows that he may hurt the people he loves the most in the end. Uncle Hammer knows how much the land means to the family and he is made co-owners with Papa in order to protect its future. Big Ma fears that if she dies before the papers are signed Granger will have an opportunity to get the land back because the law is clearly 'white mans law’. In the end Uncle Hammer sells his car in appreciating that the car is a poor substitute for the land that he loves and the family that relies upon him and the land to survive.