The inequality between the Blacks and the Whites is sometimes made worse by seeing the inequality between the Black community this can be seen at school when Cassie sees the Principles daughter “I stared after her a moment noting that she would have on a new dress. Certainly no one else did. Patches on faded pants and new dresses abounded on boys and girls.”
The equipment in the school is worse. The school is given new books “Now Miss Crocker made a startling announcement: This year we would all have books. Everyone gasped, for most of the students had never handled a book at all besides the family Bible.” These books were supposed to be a real treat, but as Taylor goes on we find Cassie describing them “Sitting so close to the desk, I could see that the covers of the books, a motley red, were badly worn and that the gray edges of the pages had been marred by pencils, crayons, and ink.” This deflates Cassie’s spirit a little, but still she does not mind until she looks at the inside cover. The reason for her looking at the inside cover is because Little Man is out raged by what’s printed. “1: September, 1922, New, White,” it goes on like this till the 11th line where the book is poor but still white but “12: September, 1933, Very Poor, nigra” now this is an extremely racial mark to put down and Cassie rejects the book because of it.
Miss Crocker is very annoyed and goes to see Mary Logan, who makes a very powerful remark “ ‘In the first place no one cares enough to come down here, and in the second place if anyone should come, maybe he could see all the things we need-current books for all of our subjects, not just somebody’s old throwaways, desks, paper, blackboards, erasers, maps, chalk …’” Taylor shows here the real lack of decent equipment at the school.
TJ is a good source of information for Cassie when the subject is about racial attacks. He gives the impression of knowing all that happens. When Mr. Tatum is Tarred and feathered TJ seems to have a disgusting sense of humour “ ‘Tarred and feathered him!’ TJ announced hastily. ‘Poured the blackest tar they could find all over him, then plastered him with chicken feathers.’ TJ laughed. ‘Can you imagine that?’ ” What Cassie finds out why it happened is totally unjust “it seems he called Mr. Jim Lee Barnett a liar … Mr. Tatum’s s’pose to done told him that he ain’t ordered up all them things Mr. Barnett done charged him for. Mr. Barnett said he had all them things Mr. Tatum ordered writ down and when Mr. Tatum asked to see that list of his, Mr. Barnett says ‘You callin’ me a liar, boy?’ And Mr. Tatum says, ‘Yessuh, I guess I is!’ That done it!”
Again he seems to know what happens when Mr. Berry and his nephews get burnt. TJ is telling Cassie, Stacey, Little Man, and Christopher John about the burning of the Berrys. TJ starts to tell his story quite quickly saying how that Mr Berry and his two nephews were “burnt near to death”. Then after Stacey asked “who?” referring to who had burnt the Berrys, TJ starts slowing down what he is saying, to the annoyance of Cassie, “in his sickening way of nursing a tidbit of information to death”. In his own time he then tells the story of how “them Berrys’ burnin’ wasn’t no accident. Some white men took a match to ’em.” At this Christopher John’s eyes grow wider in disbelief and Stacey is even shocked as is Cassie and Little Man. Then TJ goes on to say that he doesn’t know why they did it when Stacey asks.
Throughout the whole book Cassie learns that being a black girl in Mississippi is very unfair but the one time she learns this the hardest way is when she goes to the market in Strawberry. The trip is a big disaster for Cassie first she learns that the Blacks have to park their wagons at the bottom of the field this time it is Big Ma who teaches her this lesson “‘ Why don’t we move our wagon up there with them other wagons, Big Ma? There’s plenty of room, and we could sell more.’ ‘Them white folks’ wagons, Cassie,’ Big Ma said gruffly, as if that explained everything.
Next after they had packed up everything Taylor tells the reader about what happens in a shop here Cassie becomes very upset and very angry, “Mr. Barnett walked to another counter and began filling the order, but before he finished a white woman called, ‘Mr. Barnett, you waiting on anybody just now?’
Mr. Barnett turned around. ‘Just them,’ he said, indicating us with a wave of his hand. ‘What can I do for you, Miz Emmaline?’ The women handed him a list twice as long as TJ’s and the storekeeper, without a word of apology to us, proceeded to fill it. … When the women’s order was finally filled, Mr. Barnett again picked up TJ’s list, but before he had gotten the next item his wife called, ‘Jim Lee, these folks needing help over here and I got my hands full.’ And as if we were not even there, he walked away.”
Cassie really doesn’t like this much because it could be an adult but when she sees a white child “who was no bigger than me” was too much for Cassie to comprehend, but when she goes to complain she learns that waiting is better than nothing. After that Cassie is subdued and therefore not wanting a fight with anyone but when Lillian Jean Simms comes she finds out what true hardship is. “It was then I bumped into Lillian Jean Simms. ‘Why don’t you look where you’re going?’ she asked huffily. … ‘Well, apologize,’ she ordered. … I did not feel like messing with Lillian Jean. I had other things on my mind. ‘Okay,’ I said starting past, ‘I’m sorry.’ Lillian Jean sidestepped in front of me. ‘That ain’t enough. Get down in the road.’ … With that, she reached for my arm and attempted to push me off the sidewalk. I braced myself and swept my arm backward, out of Lillian Jean’s reach. But someone caught it from behind, painfully twisting it, and shoved me off the sidewalk into the road.” This seems harsh, a grown man knocking a girl off the sidewalk but not half as harsh as what Cassie has to learn next when she is made to apologize again to Lillian Jean but as “Miz Lillian Jean” Cassie breaks down because of this but the hardest part for her is she doesn’t know why she has to say it.
This trip for Cassie is a big puzzle for her, a puzzle that Mary Logan tries to piece together. In the next passage her mother is explaining, “‘Baby, you had to grow up a little today. I wish … well, no matter what I wish. It happened and you have to accept the fact that in the world outside this house, things are not always as we would have them to be.’ Cassie replies:
‘But, Mama, it ain’t fair. I didn’t do nothin’ to that confounded Lillian Jean. How come Mr. Simms went and pushed me like he did?’
Mama’s eyes looked deeply into mine, locked into them, and she said in a tight, clear voice, ‘because he thinks Lillian Jean is better than you are, Cassie, and when you-’” this next quote is what Cassie has to learn as does the reader. “‘Cassie.’ Mama did not raise her voice, but the quiet force of my name silenced me. ‘Now,’ she said, folding my hands in hers, ‘I didn’t say that Lillian Jean is better than you. I said Mr. Simms only thinks she is. In fact, he thinks she’s better than Stacey or Little Man or Christopher-John-’
‘Just ’cause she’s his daughter?’” Cassie asked
“‘No, baby, because she’s white.’” Her mother replied
Cassie exclaimed. “‘Ah, shoot! White ain’t nothin’!’
Mama’s grip did not lessen. ‘It is something, Cassie. White is something just like black is something. Everybody born on this earth is something and nobody, no matter what color, is better than anybody else.’”
This is probably the biggest lesson that the reader and Cassie learn throughout the whole book. But it isn’t the last though it is only a small part of the book, but it emphasises a big understanding that Taylor is putting across.
Not all the whites are sadistic murderers who will kill a black at the drop of a hat. Mr. Jamison and Jeremy Simms seem to be able to see beyond the colour prejudice and treat the blacks as equals and friends. There are many times in the book when Jeremy will stick up for the Logan children. “‘Ah, let her pass, Lillian Jean,’ said Jeremy. ‘She ain’t done nothin’ to you.’” This is one time in a few when Jeremy’s character really shows through. Mr. Jamison as an adult seems to have more of a willing side to stop things happening. “‘I’m a Southerner, born and bred, but that don’t mean I approve of all that goes on down here’… ‘You know if you sign that credit,’ said Uncle Hammer, ‘you won’t be the most popular man down here. You thought about that?’” Even knowing all the troubles Mr. Jamison and his wife could get, he would still risk his neck to try and help the blacks. However, just as there are some good white people, there are also a few black people who are not good and an excellent example of this is TJ. He on numerous occasions is either trying to ask Stacey to steal the question paper for him or is lying to get out of trouble “‘Cassie ’bout got me whipped this mornin’.” Stacey laughed and asked how she did it “‘You wouldn’t be laughin’ if it’d’ve happened to you. She up and told your mama ’bout me goin’ up to that Wallace store dancin’ room and Miz Logan told Mama.’ … ‘But don’t worry, I got out of it though. When Mama asked me ’bout it, I just said ole Claude was always sneakin’ up there to get some of that free candy Mr. Kaleb give out sometimes and I had to go up there. Boy, did he get it’ TJ laughed.”
This just about shows TJs way of getting out of trouble throughout the whole book.
My conclusion is Cassie learns that growing up in Mississippi is a gigantic task and not only hard because of racial abuse but because of the pressure that builds up as the time goes by. My last quote is hopefully going to summarise this book for me. It is a poem that the title of the book is based on. It describes the struggle between the blacks and the whites.
“Roll of thunder
hear my cry
Over the water
bye and bye
Ole man comin’
Down the line
Whip in hand to
beat me down
But I ain’t
gonna let him
Turn me ’round”
