Essential and guiding questions:
Text-Dependent Questions
- Comprehension: List the events that happened to T.J. leading up to the mob of white men invading his house. Decide from the textual evidence if the white men had a right to treat T.J. as they did.
- Significance: Explain Mr. Jamison’s meaning when he says: “Y’all decide to hold court out here tonight?” Analyze how Mr. Jamison’s point of view and his actions create suspense and tension, especially when compared against those of most of the white people in Roll of Thunder. Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
- Interpretive: Interpret the last line of the novel. Why does Cassie cry for T.J. if she doesn’t like him? Why does she cry for the land?
- Analytic: Analyze Papa’s decision to go to where the white mob had collected in order to help his oldest son, who was hiding in the nearby woods. What about his decision to take his rifle?