Why do you think the family feels so strongly about keeping their land? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
Paul Edward Logan earns his four-hundred acres of land through hard, honest work. The references to the honest white men who sold him the land (Mr. Hollenbeck, a Yankee carpet-bagger) and Mr. Jamison, who cares more about the law than farming, demonstrates that all white landowners are not racist and greedy like Mr. Granger.
Once more, land is seen as a symbol of freedom and autonomy in this chapter. Big Ma emphasizes the importance of owning the land and keeping it in the family. Unlike slavery days when families could be separated at their owner's whim, Big Ma has the power to keep her children close to her and to give her land to them. The story about Mr. Anderson, who cut down the trees that he was forbidden to buy, illustrates to the reader that neither the Logans nor their land are entirely safe.
"Now all the boys I got is my baby boys, your papa, and your Uncle Hammer, and this they place as much as it is mine. The blood's in this land, and here that Harlan Granger always talkin about buyin it."
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
