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How does perspective help create mood—the feeling associated with a novel’s setting?

In a novel like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, it’s important for readers to consider multiple perspectives—to compare and contrast how different characters interpret, or decide the meaning of, each event. Figuring out each character’s perspective not only helps you understand the characters—it also helps you see and feel what life was like during the time when the novel’s events happened.

glasses on a park bench or table with a blurred forest in the background, seen clearly through the lenses of the glasses

The era of segregation (also known as the Jim Crow era because of the laws put in place to make discrimination legal) was an especially tense and turbulent time for African Americans living in the South. Think about the mixture of intense emotions revealed throughout Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry so far—the fear, anger, and sadness, but also occasional bouts of joy—experienced by Cassie and other members of the Logan family. What feelings are suggested by each of these scenes? When you have some ideas, click the image to compare your thoughts to ours.

Old shoes on a wooden background

Little Man gets really dirty.

Old shoes on a wooden background

Readers are likely to share Cassie’s concern and sadness when Little Man, who is afraid to climb the rocky bank because he doesn’t want to get his school outfit dirty, is covered in dirt anyway as the school bus roars past him. Cassie knows her little brother well enough to explain just how devastated Little Man is as he walks to his first day of school, dragging his dirty shoes, his head hung low.

mathmatics written on a paper

Big Ma makes it hard to focus on homework.

mathmatics written on a paper

When Big Ma announces that she’s quite glad that the school bus will be stuck in the mud for several weeks, Cassie and her brothers can barely contain their joy. Eventually they are reprimanded by Mama for too much giggling and not enough studying. Cassie’s happiness and excitement during this scene lightens the novel’s mood, at least temporarily.

vintage shop cash register

Cassie causes trouble in town.

vintage shop cash register

When Cassie decides to approach Mr. Barnett and speak to him about the delay in filling their order, most readers will realize that Cassie’s understanding of the situation is limited. Knowing this, while seeing the incident through Cassie’s eyes, you’re likely to feel anxious about what will happen next. In this way, Cassie’s limited point of view creates suspense—that feeling of dread you get when you know that a scene may not end well at all.

Of course, the emotions felt by characters other than Cassie are not always easy to see. Since Cassie is telling the story, readers view the reactions of other characters through her eyes, and she doesn’t always know how to interpret the behavior of people in her community—especially those outside her own family. Consider the other disturbing event in Strawberry, when Lillian Jean told Cassie she had to walk in the street. The emotions suggested by Cassie’s perspective are frustration and anger. But how did the other characters see the event and feel about it? Consider the reaction of each of these characters. Then click each one and compare your ideas to ours.

As a white child growing up in the segregated South of the 1930s, Lillian Jean rightly assumes that society has given her certain rights and privileges that Cassie does not share. She is perfectly willing to use this advantage to make Cassie feel bad. Perhaps, treating Cassie disrespectfully makes Lillian Jean feel better about herself. In any case, she feels justified in her treatment of Cassie.

Even though he is too poor to own his own land, Mr. Simms has enjoyed a great deal of power and privilege throughout his life compared to African Americans in his community. His community—and, in fact, the entire state of Mississippi—considers him superior to Big Ma and the other adults in the Logan family and therefore far superior to Cassie. Mr. Simms probably felt that he had to “put Cassie in her place” in order to maintain his own position in society.

If you know anything about the Jim Crow era in the South, you know that Big Ma has few options for protecting Cassie from the Simms’s cruelty. Big Ma realizes that Lillian Jean and Mr. Simms have legal authority to behave in the way they do. She also knows that confronting the Simms will only put her entire family in danger. However, Big Ma is certain to feel sorrowful that she can’t help Cassie, even if she can’t show it.

Jeremy probably feels sad for Cassie and embarrassed that his family is so cruel. He likes the Logan children and does not share his family’s ideas about racial differences. Though Cassie is unable to explain how Jeremy feels, readers can imagine that his feelings about the incident would range from unease to deep shame and sorrow.