Character Analysis Of Jeremy In Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry

In the historical fiction novel, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” written by Mildred D. Taylor, Stacey, a young boy of color, faces an internal conflict regarding whether Jeremy or T.J. would be the best choice of a friend for him. Throughout the narrative, Stacey presents that he understands that both Jeremy and himself would be safer if they stayed away from each other and that a friendship with T.J. would be completely accepted in that era. However, Jeremy would be the better choice for a friend for Stacey because he shows real respect for the entirety of the Logan family, he is honest when it comes to realizing his misconduct, and he proves to be much different than his racist family. Although T.J. seems to be a fairly acceptable acquaintance

simply does not fit in that specific category. For instance, Jeremy walks with the Logan children often and when kids on a bus ridicule the Logan children, Jeremy responds in a sympathetic manner even though he does not associate with the hateful white children. The author writes, “He was often ridiculed by the other children at his school...still, Jeremy continued to meet us.” and, “The smile faded and, noticing our mud-covered clothing, he asked, ‘Hey, St-Stacey, wh-what happened?’...Then he whispered, “W-was it the bus again?’ “(page 49). This shows that Jeremy feels at least some compassion for Stacey and his well being and that he cares enough about the situation to even want to know more about it. Furthermore, this displays just how supportive Jeremy is as he does not remain silent when he realizes that his race is the cause of the torment towards the Logan children and how he remains to follow his new acquaintances even if it means that he is forcibly loathed by others in the process. Once again, in the novel, Jeremy gives a thoughtful apology by giving a gift when he realizes that he was wrong for not standing up for Cassie when she had been forced to apologize for an incident not being her fault by Jeremy father, Mr. Simms. According to the text, “Jeremy, who had heard, flushed a deep red and quickly handed Mama a small burlap bag. “I—I brung them

It is known that during the Jim Crow era where whites were to be respected and blacks were to be put down as lesser people, relationships between the two races would be extremely dangerous for both sides. However, this way of structure for the society was absolutely false as it had completely gone against what the amendments had put in place for citizens of the United States of America. For example, the 14th amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This clearly shows that every living person on the planet earth is to be treated equally with just laws that restrict them in no way. If in the time period in which the novel previously mentioned takes place, Jeremy was to stand up and associate with Logan family for all to see, it would allow for the 14th amendment to shine brightly through a hazy fog. In the narrative, T.J. simply does not care about making a difference or