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English 8 ACC
Period: 5
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would
like to have.” In this very wise quote from Socrates, he is explaining that Greed results in cruelty,
a disregard for mankind, and self destruction. In the masterpiece of Mildred Taylor, Roll of
Thunder Hear my Cry, published in 1976, African-American Cassie Logan and her beloved
family are struggling through many atrocious problems, such as prejudice and racism, as well as
the excess complications of the great depression. The novel takes place in Rural Mississippi,
1933. This setting is a significant problem for Cassie and her kin, because in 1933, racism was at
its worst with groups like the KKK, racist and greedy slave owners/sharecropper owners, and
absurd ideas being considered common sense.(Especially in the Southern region, like
Mississippi). Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry, Crafted by Mildred Taylor, has the theme “Greed
results in cruelty and a disregard for mankind” buried throughout it in the actions of characters
such as Mr. Granger, the Wallace family and R.W. + Melvin Simms.
The theme Mildred Taylor shows all through out Roll of Thunder is “Greed results in a
disregard for mankind”. For example, Mama was fired by Mr. Granger who was being greedy
and trying to force the Logans into giving up the ownership of their land, “Mr Granger looked up
slyly. “There’s lots of ways of stopping you david.”... “In fact,” Mr. Granger said, putting down
his hat, “You are so smart I except you forget about teaching all together.”’ (176-184)’ Based on
this evidence, we can definitely come to the conclusion that Mama’s firing by Mr. Granger was
unjust. It was driven by pure greed. In his own words, he is trying to stop the Logans. He wants
the land. He is being greedy. Mr Granger already has more than some people could ever imagine,
and he still thinks he can just pick the Logan’s land right out of their hard-working palms by
firing Mama when she did not deserve it. It would be extremely unreasonable to not classify Mr.
Granger’s action as cruel. A second example would be when the wallaces did not care that
children under 21 come to their store and drink; they would just add the charges to their parents
(Sharecroppers) bill, “The older children are drinking regularly there now, even though they
don’t have any money to pay, and the Wallaces are simply adding the liquor charges to the
family bill. Just more money for them as they ruin our young people.” (151) What we learn from
this quote is that Mr. Wallace and his family believe that it is alright to let underage humans to
drink!! All for money. Money. That is all they care about. They are, to put in the words of mama,
RUINING their youth. The wallaces cruel actions are also adding to these underaged drinkers
hard-working parents’ bill. So the parents are charged for it, and the children drink. The wallaces
are so disregarding towards mankind that they don’t care. Anything to greedily obtain that
precious money. The last place Mildred hides her theme is in the Simms boys. “T.J. slipped
through the window and opened the door, and the Simmses entered, their faces masked with
stockings and their hands gloved. T.J, now afraid that they had something else in mind, wanted
to leave without the pistol, but R.W had insisted that he have it. R.W broke the lock of the gun
What we learn from this is that the Simms boys stole from the Barnetts, disguised, but
Tj’s face was bare. You would definitely have to be very greedy to rob a store with no remorse,
correct? This is just the case with the Simms boys. However, they made no effort to disguise T.J.
This means that they don’t care if they get caught. They are disregarding him. They are being
cruel to him. He is now at risk of being hung because of them and their greed to rob the Barnett
store.
To conclude my previous thoughts, Mildred Taylor Litters the theme throughout the book
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry “Greed results in cruelty and a disregard for mankind”, in
characters such as Harlan Granger, the Wallaces, and R.W. + Melvin. For the reader who might
not recognize the significance of greed, you should take off your rose-colored glasses. Greed is a
vicious cycle. You have more than you need, you become greedy, lusting and obsessing for the
new best thing. Then this happens again, and again. Take Mr. Granger and the land for example.
Greed infects minds, yet people take it for granted. Worst of all, this problem is still of terrifying
significance today. Every day, palm oil is harvested for profit in all parts of the world, including
america. This is terrible for the environment, but it makes money. It’s cheap and convenient
Company after company destroys habitat after habitat. Many animal species are getting killed
off, such as the ohrangutang. All for money. You tell me. Is greed a significant problem that