Roll of thunder

When Cassie tells Papa that there is a mob clamoring to hang TJ, he says to his wife: "This thing's been coming a long time, baby, and TJ just happened to be the one foolish enough to trigger it off. Papa sets the fire as a diversion. It is significant because blacks and whites are working together to put out the fire. The irony is that the animosity disappears while blacks and whites work together. After the fire it will return again but at least tempers will have cooled.