An Exploration of the Other Children -Do fill up the notes as we go along -Please learn something new! PREPARED BY JOHN KOH MING EN(24) AND TAN YI XUAN FROM CLASS 4E4

Who are the “Other Children”?  KEY CHARACTERS:  Jeremy  Lillian Jean(LJ)  RW and Melvin  Little Man MINOR CHARACTERS: -Little Willie Wiggins -Moe Turner -Claude -Christopher-John(CJ) -Mary Lou Wellever -Gracey Pearson -Alma Scott

Class activity  How many minor characters do you know?  Form groups of 4!!  Use 3 minutes to write down a list of minor characters in roll of thunder hear my cry.  Share with the class your findings.

MINOR CHARACTERS: LITTLE WILLIE WIGGINS  A black seventh Grader In Great Faith Elementary  Plays the role of the person Logan children go to for information on others  Information dispenser, informsLogan children on Stacey’s whipping by his mother when he was caught with TJ’s cheat notes(page )  Also informs them on how TJ told Kaleb Wallace about Mama’s “crimes” in the intention of getting her fired(page )  A medium for information  Represents how the blacks are forsaken/abandoned by the government and have to help each other as a community based on their own personal strengths.

MINOR CHARACTERS: MOE TURNER  A black seventh grader from Great Faith Elementary  Has to walk 3 and a half hours to school everyday, because of living on the Montier plantation, together with the fact that the blacks cannot use the school bus(page 17)  As compared to the whites, exemplifies the hardship the blacks face in everyday life, while the whites enjoy many benefits and advantages

MINOR CHARACTERS:CLAUDE  TJ’s younger brother  A young, innocent boy  TJ boasted to the Logans about how he framed Claude to get himself out of trouble for going to the Wallace Store(page 13)  Does not know how to stand up for himself, just took the blame as he is more scared of TJ than his mother  Not spared at the part where the white men invaded the Avery’s house, represents the ruthlessness and cruelty of the whites, not even children are spared.

MINOR CHARACTERS- CHRISTOPHER-JOHN  Seven-year old Logan  Has strong moral sense, warns siblings not to break rules especially rules set by their family as seen from when the Logan children planned to go to the Wallace Store, and he was against breaking his parent’s rule(page 65)  Succumbs to peer pressure easily as seen from page 65 where he decides to reluctantly follow his siblings to the Wallace Store after seeing all of them go  Comforted Claude(page 13) and almost always in a good mood, he is very jolly and happy-go-lucky.

MINOR CHARACTERS: MARY LOU WELLEVER, GRACEY PEARSON, ALMA SCOTT  A clique of three snobby girls.  Mary is the daughter of Great Faith Elementary’s principal, she is probably well off as she is wearing a new yellow dress on the first day of school, whereas the other children are wearing old, damaged and patched-up clothing.(page 16-17)  Tells us the fate of blacks, it is simply based on luck, one or two get well paying jobs, while the others have to spend blood and sweat on tough work like the railroad to scrape by and earn a living for the entire family. As compared to the whites who all lead a consistently good life and have the support of the government.  The dress being yellow represents how Mary leads a happy life. Yellow represents happiness, while the new dress represents luxury.  As compared to the harsh struggle the typical blacks lead in their lives.

KEY CHARACTERS: JEREMY SIMMS  Youngest son of the Simms.  Only good egg in the Simms family.  Befriends the blacks even though the consequences are painful, strong feeling against the discrimination but too shy and young to make a difference.  Takes effort to befriend the Logan children even though they do not return the gesture. As seen from when he gifted a flute to Stacey.(page )  Jeremy seems to be a character used by Taylor to show or demonstrate how dangerous and difficult friendships between the blacks and white could get.  Has a treehouse, where he likes to believe he can see the Logan property. His treehouse represents his hope for a greater connection with the Logan children.  Righteous, as he tries to defend Cassie in the Strawberry incident with Lillian Jean and Charlie Simms.

KEY CHARACTERS:LILLIAN JEAN  Lilian Jean is Cassie’s nemesis in some form.  Unlike Jeremy, she dislikes the blacks, like a typical white back then.  She forces Cassie to get down on the road after bumping into her, such a minor issue but insists upon it, shows how inclined the whites are in asserting their dominance over the blacks.  Mr Simms helps his daughter and pushes Cassie down onto the street forcefully. Representing that the authority will always be on the white’s side, regardless of right or wrong, and black children are not spared from the wrath of the whites.  Cassie gets her payback through a clever scheme and forces her apologize.  Lillian Jean represents the whites and the things they should be apologizing for but aren’t taking any action to.  Not very intelligent, does not realize the trick Cassie played on her.

KEY CHARACTERS:RW AND MELVIN  Older brothers of Jeremy and Lillian.  Extremely racist and biased against the blacks.  Manipulates TJ into thinking that they’re his friends. Entice him into doing illegal activities with the promise of the pearl handled pistol he always wanted, while they are more than willing to sabotage him for their own sake, as seen from when after their rather messy heist in Strawberry, they avoided the blame and laid it on TJ.

KEY CHARACTERS:LITTLE MAN/CLAYTON CHESTER  Youngest of the Logan family.  High regard for proper and neat attire.  Meticulously neat, clean freak, obsessed with keeping himself and his clothes clean. Cleanliness is one of his highest priorities, as seen from how he hates the bus for consistently dirtying his clothing.(page 37)  Not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.  We suspect he is called “Little Man” due to his sense of maturity and morals despite his age, hence being a “little man”.

Video on the unstable racial state  yo

Thank you for listening!  We hope you learnt something new or at least revised on a good chunk of your characters.  Sources:  guide/character-list