Storytelling and Language Theme Analysis

In the author’s note to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor writes that her father was a master storyteller. She says that from his storytelling, she “learned to respect the past, to respect my own heritage and myself.” Storytelling plays a similar role for Cassie in the book. During Christmas, for example, several of the adults in the black community tell stories about their families. The stories are a way for Cassie to learn about her past and what she can be proud of—but some of them also reveal societal injustices that get Cassie thinking about all the ways that life isn’t fair, especially for black people.

Storytelling is especially important for the black community because it isn’t their history that’s taught in schools. Instead, teachers are forced to teach extremely biased versions of the past. When there aren’t written words to back up their past, they have to resort to oral history.

Language is often used as a weapon in the book. Characters use name-calling and derogatory language to put others down. Cassie also learns to hold her tongue during the course of the book, since her outbursts at the beginning only get the family into trouble. She learns that dignified silence, too, can be powerful.