Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

The Logan family employs a boycott against the Wallace store, and they are no stranger to Civil Disobedience. Although the word "boycott" is never used in the novel, the campaign to rob the Wallace store of business is certainly a boycott. Because the Wallace brothers killed a black man but went unpunished by the law, the Logan family, with the help of Mr. Jamison organize a boycott. This is as close as they can hope to come to bringing justice to the Wallace family. The phrase "Civil Disobedience" is also never used, but the many times the Logan family bends the rules in order to maintain their dignity, freedom, and welfare are prime examples of breaking the law for a higher good. Thus, the children, break the axle of the school bus that plagues them, and Papa stages a brushfire. Of course, their actions do not have the broad scope, intent, or meaning of those of the nationwide Civil Rights movement, but their inclusion in the novel do indicate Mildred Taylor's influences.

The conclusion centers around a lynching. Although lynchings are of course illegal, and in a novel about defiance in the face of racism, lynchings are certainly a great evil which must be fought, this lynching is complex. After all, much of the novel encourages the reader to dislike T. J.. Time after time, the reader is led to see the ways in which T. J. is insincere. Whether or not T. J. deserves to die and whether or not he was used by Melvin and R. W. Simms, one feels that he has gotten himself into this trouble. Of course, the last few chapters begin to show hoe T. J. is a pathetic character, a victim of the older white boys. Still, the fact that he is the primary target of the lynching makes the ending much more complex than if the mob had come directly after Papa.

Granger is eager to stop the boycott of the Wallace store for obvious reasons. He receives a great deal of money from the Wallace store, and furthermore he believes in white superiority. By boycotting the Wallace store, the Logan's are indirectly blaming the murder of Mr. Berry on the Wallace brothers, and Granger cannot stand to see this sort of nerve in the black community. Therefore, he takes measures to break up the boycott. He also wants to force the Logan's off their land, in order to fulfill his vision of a pre- Civil War Granger plantation. In order to put pressure on the Logan family, he fires Mama, and forces Papa to find the money to pay back his loan. It is unclear how much involvement Granger has in the violent attacks of the Wallace brothers, but it is unlikely that he discourages them.