Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor is a touching book that stirs our emotions and pulls at our heartstrings. It portrays a young black girl and her family; her struggles to understand the cruel culture that is the 1930s, Mississippi and her vain attempts to assert her equality amongst the white community.

I wish to investigate two areas of this intriguing novel; the character Cassie, and her development throughout the book, and the racial obstacles that the whole Logan family are forced to face.

The novel is set around and narrated by nine-year-old Cassie Logan. Cassie Logan proves to be a strong-minded character, even from our very first impressions of her; " `Shoot', I mumbled finally, unable to restrain myself from further comment..."

Cassie's character develops significantly throughout the book, which is effectively conveyed through her thoughts and actions. At the beginning of the book, Cassie...