Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, was written in 1976 by Mildred D.Taylor and deals with the topic of racism in Post Civil War America, in Mississippi. The opening chapter is very powerful and is very effective in introducing the main characters, themes, atmosphere and setting of the novel. In this essay, I will analyze the first chapter of the book. The book begins with Cassie telling her little brother to hurry up because they are late for school. We are, therefore, from the very first line introduced to the narrator of the story; nine year old Cassie. Cassie is a colored girl who lives with her parents, grandmother and three brothers in Mississippi. Her family, the Logan family, is the only black family to own its own land. Nevertheless, they experience racism and segregation. Cassie, introduces us to this racism, from the very beginning by describing how they have to walk to school while white kids have their own buses. Not only are colored children forced to walk, but white children enjoy how the bus covers them with dust when it passes by. Cassie also says that some children have to walk so far that they drop out of school. The narration is in first person voice, and we see everything through Cassie's eyes. This has many advantages because the reader feels like he is experiencing racism alongside Cassie. We feel what she feels, get angry when she is angry, feel wronged when she is wronged. The language of the book is also simplistic, and in spoken dialect, or "slung . This is because much of the writing is in dialogue form. Seeing the plot through the eyes and dialogues of a nine year old, however, also has many disadvantages. As a reader we only know what Cassie at any given time knows. Being only nine, we get the point of view of a young girl who is still naïve and ignorant about many things that happen around her. The author works around this limitation by introducing other characters and adults who give a more objective