The Frustrations of Miscommunication: A Tale of a Little Man and his Bus

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Furious, Little Man tried to run after the bus but was stopped by Stacey. He didn't understand the actions of the driver and the reason as to why their school didn't have any buses. Cassie described this bus as their own personal 'tormentor', as not only did the driver take pleasure in splashing them with red dust but also the whites riding it. Armed with this information, the readers come to realize that not only is discrimination found among the adults but it is also found among the black children who encounter whites, who take pleasure in tormenting them.

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This attitude of superiority causes most whites to believe that they have the liberty to do whatever they want to all blacks without facing any consequences. Soon the attention of the readers is diverted to another incident concerning Little Man. As the first graders' teacher was unable to attend school that day, the students were to join with the fourth graders, Cassie's class.

Both Cassie and Little Man hid their enthusiasm as their teacher informed their class that they would all be receiving books that year.

However, as Miss Crocker, their teacher, handed Little Man his book, he was hesitant when he noticed that these books were not only second hand but were dirty and old as well. What enraged him even was the fact that these books were used by the whites and when they were not of any use to them they were contributed to the black students. He threw the book on the floor and stamped on it.

Both Logan children were whipped by their teacher for disobeying her. After school, Cassie ran to find her mother, who was the teacher of the seventh graders, to tell her about her troubles.

But by the time she reached her mother's classroom, her teacher, Miss Crocker was already there and had already revealed the incident with the books. Mary Logan agreed with her colleague that her children deserved it. At that same time, she took out a white paper and pasted it above the inside cover of the children's books. She informed Miss Crocker that she would be doing this to all her students' books and to her children's books as well. This action horrified Miss Crocker. She exclaimed that this was not a way to repay the 'hand that feeds you'. But Mrs.

Logan didn't want her children and students to feel that they were any more inferior to the whites by just looking into their books and reading the column saying that it was now issued to the 'nigras' Miss Crocker's reaction was one that was expected of the blacks but bowing down to the whites was not a practice that Mary Logan practised often. Miss Crocker is the type of person who took whatever life threw her way without any complaints. Her acceptance of white supremacy would only encourage more whites to step on as many black citizens as they liked.

This was because the whites were sure that none of the blacks would dare stand up against them. It was this attitude that caused racism to continue in their community. Days after the conversation between Mrs. Logan and Miss Crocker, David Logan, the father of Cassie and her three brothers, arrived home with an unexpected guest, Mr. L. T. Morrison. Mr. Morrison was about six feet two inches tall, well-built and his skin was partially burnt, which the children presumed was probably caused by a fire. He was to stay with the Logan family while Papa, Mr.

Logan, was away at work on the railroad. Big Ma, the grandmother of the Logan children and the mother of Papa and Uncle Hammer, assigned Stacey and Cassie to accompany her to the market in the town of Strawberry. With them was T. J. and together the three children did their shopping. While they were at the Barnett's Mercantile store, Mr. Barnett, the clerk attended to the needs of fellow white people but ignored the three children although they were the ones who arrived there first. Cassie then attempted to remind him about their orders but he just yelled at her.

Shocked, Cassie walked out of the store and while she was wandering outside, she bumped into Lillian Jean. Lillian Jean was the sister of Jeremy Simms, who although was a white, was very friendly to the Logan siblings. She demanded Cassie to apologize for not watching where she was going. Cassie refused to apologize. When Mr. Simms and Big Ma saw them, Mr. Simms and Lillian Jean tried to push Cassie out into the street. Big Ma made Cassie apologize and although she didn't really mean it, she told her sorry. It was then that Cassie understood that life was not always fair, especially to them, coloured people.

The tears that she shed that day showed that Cassie had already pushed away the childhood innocence inside of her as she became more aware of how racism really worked. Big Ma's way of handling racism was more complicated and although she didn't agree with Mr. Simms, she had to bow down to the will of a powerful white man. The power of words is shown by the way people use it to define others, particularly the blacks. The arrival of Hammer Logan, the brother of Papa and uncle of Cassie and her brothers, caused a temporary panic to Cassie and Stacey.

This was because as they reached home, they reacted at the site of a car parked in their barn. They assumed that the car was owned by Harlan Granger, a white land owner who was the descendant of the previous owner of the Logan's land. The presence of Harlan Ganger meant trouble to the Logans. But they were relieved when they found out that the car was owned by their uncle and was only similar to the car owned by Granger. The next day, Uncle Hammer drove the family to church. After the service, they went for a drive.

When they neared Soldier's Bridge, a buggy that was crossing stopped and made way for the car to pass by, thinking that the owner of the car was actually Harlan Granger. As they passed by, they realized that it was the Wallace family that gave them way and noticed shock plastered on their faces. The car in this context symbolizes both power and status. The readers come to the conclusion that the only people, who assumed to have cars, in those days, were the whites. But this statement is proven untrue by Uncle Hammer. Hammer having a car just proves that the blacks can achieve the equality they deserved if they strive for it.

It makes Uncle Hammer an equal to Harlan Granger. On Christmas Eve, the whole Logan family, along with Uncle Hammer and Mr. Morrison, stayed late at night. They sat together and shared stories with the Logan children. Mr. Morrison retells the events that led to his family's death. Mr. Morrison's parents hid two black boys, that the night men were after. But those boys never got to finish telling the Morrison's their story. The night men had already barged into their home and started fighting them off, killing them in the process and burned them out. Mr.

Morrison was the only one who survived that fire. At first Mama, Mrs. Logan didn't want her children to hear Mr. Morrison's story, but Papa permitted them to hear it as this event was connected to their history. It was how the blacks were treated for the slightest mistake they committed, and it didn't matter whether it was fact or accusatory, in their world the whites would always be right regardless of reason. The tension between the blacks and whites soon arises as the night men are said to have ridden again. The tension had been building up for quite some time, it started with Sam Tatum.

Sam was tarred and feathered alive by the night men when he complained that the Wallaces' were charging him extra for items he didn't buy, when he shopped at Wallace store. Another incident that triggered this tension was the revenge that Stacey, Cassie, Christopher John and Little man implanted. It was during the rainy season and the white children's school bus still took the liberty in splashing them with mud. Stacey came up with a plan to get even with them. At recess, Cassie and her brothers dug a hole on the road that the bus would be passing by.

As it was raining, the hole was soon filled with water and the driver did not notice the hole that was there. The bus fell in the hidden pit that was filled with rain water. As a result the white children had to walk home and would continue to walk to school for nearly two weeks. Although there was no evidence that the hole was purposely dug, the night men assumed this as the work of the Negroes. So that night, the night men rode again determined to find the culprits behind it. That same night Cassie found herself wandering outside their house and discovered a group of cars coming in the direction of their house.

She was relieved when the cars turned around to the other direction. Stacey, although mature, didn't hesitate to bend the rules they lived by but later discovered that all actions had consequences. The way that the children worked together just to get even with the whites represents the strong ties between the siblings. The action of the Logan children just proves that although they were still young, they were ready to fight the injustice that continued to loom in their community. The readers have an insight of the terror created by the presence of the night men.

The reaction of the adults to the news that the night men were on their way, demonstrate the threat that white men pose to all black people. When the children returned to school, Cassie insisted that she carry Lillian Jean's books for her. This act shocked not only her brothers but Lillian Jean's brother as well. Cassie pretended to be friendly with Lillian Jean for over a month. By then Lillian Jean was convinced that Cassie was her 'slave' and confided every little secret she had to her. Finally, Cassie took the opportunity she had been waiting for and had beaten Lillian Jean.

When she threatened Cassie that she would be reporting this incident to her father, Cassie retorted that as soon as she did that, everybody would know all her secrets. Lillian Jean was horrified on hearing this while Cassie was satisfied knowing that she had had her revenge. This chapter shows the readers that friendship and racism do not go well together. Any friendship created between the blacks and the whites are considered to be doomed. Cassie's attempt to befriend Lillian Jean to her advantage acted like a campaign of resistance and was her way of getting even with her.