Mildred Taylor's ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY
Pre-reading Questions. You may use the internet links below or an encyclopedia to help you find the answers.
1. Describe the Great Depression. When did it happen, what
caused it, and what resulted from it?
2. What civil rights laws exist now? When were they established?
3. What does lynch mean?
4. Which was the first state to abolish slavery? (hint 1777)
5. Describe the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson.
6. Why was 1919 in Chicago and Washington known as Red
Summer?
7. Describe the Scottsboro Trials of 1931.
8. What happened in the 1941 March on Washington?
9. What was Brown vs. Board of Education about?
10. What was the Civil Rights Act of 1960 about and who
signed it?
11. Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?
12. Describe the era of Reconstruction.
13. Explain the Emancipation Proclamation.
14. What were the Jim Crow laws?
15. Who was Uncle Tom (hint Harriet Beecher Stowe)
16. What is the Ku Klux Klan? Describe in detail.
17. Who is Rosa Parks?
18. What was happening in the world in 1933?
19. What was the boycott in Montgomery, Alabama?
20. Describe the climate, early 1900's, and economic
development of Mississippi.
Reading Comprehension Questions for the Novel
Chapter One
1. What is the effect of the Depression on the Logan family?
2. Why do the black school children follow a different school calendar than the white children?
3. Why does Little Man refuse the textbook assigned by Miss
Crocker?
4. What made the walk to school so miserable for Little Man?
5. Why does Mr. Granger want Big Ma's land?
Chapter Two
1. Why does Papa come home for just one day?
2. Why does Mr. Morrison need a job?
3. Who died in this chapter and how?
4. Why does Papa tell the children not to go near the Wallace store?
5. Why were the Berry men attacked?
Chapter Three
1. What frustrates Little Man every day?
2. What happens to the children on their walk to school?
3. What is Stacey's planned revenge?
4. Why is T.J. not involved with Stacey's plan?
5. What scares Cassie at night?
Chapter Four
1. Why was Sam Tatum tarred and feathered?
2. Why does Stacey accept a punishment when he didn't cheat?
3. Why do the children go to the Wallace store?
4. Why doesn't Mr. Morrison tell Mrs. Logan about the
children's illegal trip?
5. What does Mrs. Logan do once she finds out?
Chapter Five
1. What does T.J. want from the Barnett mercantile?
2. What happened to Cassie while on the sidewalk in
Strawberry?
3. What makes Cassie upset in the Wallace store?
4. What two reasons does Big Ma have for traveling to
Strawberry?
5. How far is the trip into Strawberry from the Logan farm?
Chapter Six
1. Who is waiting at the house when the Logans return home?
2. Why was Cassie so mad at Big Ma for her non-suppport
over the confrontation?
3. What does Stacey discover in the barn?
4. How does the guest react to Cassie's story about her trip to Strawberry?
5. Why does Mr. Simms think Lillian Jean is better than Cassie?
Chapter Seven
1. Why did Uncle Hammer scold Stacey?
2. Why did Papa worry about Stacey being friends with Jeremy
Simms?
3. What was the biggest problem for black folks shopping in
Vicksburg?
4. How does T.J. get a new coat?
5. What Christmas gift does Cassie get from her parents?
Chapter Eight
1. What was the real reason Mr. Granger and the rest of the
board decide to fire Mama?
2. Who does Cassie try to get on the good side of?
3. What promise does Papa insist on in regards to Cassie and
Lillian Jean Simms?
4. What happens to T.J. during finals?
5. How does Cassie get her revenge?
Chapter Nine
1. Why did Papa delay leaving for his railroad job?
2. What ways do the Logans have to tighten their belts due to lack of money?
3. Why does Mr. Avery and Mr. Lanier cancel their boycott
agreement?
4. How are the Logans like the fig tree in the field?
5. What happens on David Logan's trip to Vicksburg?
Chapter Ten
1. Why does Papa wait to call Uncle Hammer about the accident?
2. Why does Papa say Stacey wasn't to blame for the accident?
3. What happens when Mr. Morrison runs into Caleb Wallace?
4. How does Uncle Hammer get the money?
5. What is T.J. Avery's reputation now?
Chapter Eleven
1. What was Mr. Morrison waiting for every night since the revival?
2. Who hurt T.J. Avery?
3. What was T.J. doing that got him into trouble?
4. What do the children see at T.J.'s house?
5. What does Stacey tell Cassie to go do?
Chapter Twelve
1. Why does Papa change his mind about punishing the children with his belt?
2. What was the "known and unknown thing, something never to
be spoken"?
3. What are the good and bad consequences of the fire?
4. What was the reason Mr. Granger stopped the mob from
lynching T.J.?
5. What do you think Cassie means when she says at the end, "I cried for T.J. . .and for the land"?
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