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Cars and buses, like land, represent power and autonomy. Harlan Granger's car, for example, demonstrates that he has money. It also shows that he’s in control of his own transportation, unlike black landowners such as Mama who have to walk. Similarly, white children get to ride the school bus to school, while black children have to walk, no matter how far they live. Racist white characters also react badly to the black people who drive throughout the book—first to the Berrys and then to Uncle Hammer, seeing a threat in black people who seem to be gaining in power and self-reliance.
Modes of Transportation Quotes in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry quotes below all refer to the symbol of Modes of Transportation. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
[Little Man] ran frantically along the road looking for a foothold and, finding one, hopped onto the bank, but not before the bus had sped past enveloping him in a scarlet haze while laughing white faces pressed against the bus windows.
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Chapter 3
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By the end of October the rain had come, falling heavily upon the six-inch layer of dust which had had its own way for more than two months. At first the rain had merely splotched the dust, which seemed to be rejoicing in its own resiliency…but eventually the dust was forced to surrender to the mastery of the rain and it churned into a fine red mud that oozed between our toes and slopped against our ankles as we marched miserably to and from school.
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Knowing that the bus driver liked to entertain his passengers by sending us slipping along the road to the almost inaccessible forest banks washed to a smooth baldness…we consequently found ourselves comical objects to cruel eyes that gave no thought to our misery.
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“Well, he don’t and you don’t,” Big Ma said, getting up. “So ain’t no use frettin’ ‘bout it. One day you’ll have a plenty of clothes and maybe even a car of yo’ own to ride ‘round in, so don’t you pay no mind to them ignorant white folks.”
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Chapter 10
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Uncle Hammer put his arm around Papa. “What good’s a car? It can’t grow cotton. You can’t build a home on it. And you can’t raise four fine babies in it.”
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Modes of Transportation Symbol Timeline in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The timeline below shows where the symbol Modes of Transportation appears in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...reluctant to scramble up the bank and get his clothes dirty, but when the school bus drives by and raises the red dust, Little Man ends up getting dirtier than the...
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Chapter 3
...making the walk to school muddier and tougher for the black children. The white school bus driver, however, purposefully tries to splash the Logan children on their walk to school. Little...
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...miserable day, the children are walking to school, and they think that they hear the bus behind them. They climb onto the bank, but it turns out it’s just Harlan Granger’s...
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...likes the Logans, but they all ignore him. Cassie realizes that Jeremy never rides the bus either, no matter how bad the weather is.
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...meet him at the toolshed at noon, as he has a plan to make the bus stop splashing them. He doesn’t include T.J. or Claude though, since he doesn’t trust them...
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...looking very nervous. He warns them that “They’s ridin’ t’night.” Mama and Big Ma look scared and send the children to bed, despite the children’s protests. Cassie sneaks into the boys’...
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...porch and goes to investigate, but she falls off the porch. She sees a couple cars pull up onto their driveway, and she freezes, terrified. However, it looks as if they...
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Chapter 4
As the Logan children and Mr. Morrison approach the house, Mr. Granger’s Packard pulls out of the driveway. Big Ma says that Mr. Granger is trying to get...
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Chapter 6
...things Cassie just doesn’t understand, but Cassie is still indignant. Suddenly, they see Mr. Granger’s car in their barn, and they run into the house to see what’s going on. Inside,...
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...a gun. Mama sends Stacey to find Mr. Morrison. Just as Uncle Hammer starts the car, Mr. Morrison jumps into the passenger side, and they drive off.
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...Mama tells Cassie that Uncle Hammer will be driving everyone to church in his new car, and Cassie gets dressed up with Mama. Afterwards, while the kids are waiting for Uncle...
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After church, Uncle Hammer takes the family for a long ride in his car, driving to Strawberry and back. He pauses by the Wallace store and says he’d like...
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Chapter 9
...the wheels came off. While Mr. Morrison and Papa were trying to fix it, a truck drove up behind them. They didn’t hear the truck because of the rain, and then...
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Chapter 10
...Morrison are heading back home. However, they run into Kaleb Wallace, who uses his pickup truck to block the road. He threatens Mr. Morrison for what happened to his brothers. Mr....
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...day, and Papa goes to greet him. It turns out that Uncle Hammer sold his car to get the money for the mortgage, which he’s brought with him. He heads back...
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Chapter 11
...that’s when R.W. and Melvin beat him up, leaving him in the back of their truck. T.J. managed to get a ride from a farmer later on, and he ended up...
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As soon as T.J. slips into his bedroom window, however, several cars drive up. The cars belong to the Simms, the Wallaces, and several other white men....
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Chapter 12
...happened. Stacey says that Mr. Jamison tried to stop the Wallaces, but they pushed his car off the road They were about to take off with T.J. when the smoke started....
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