1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Mildred D. 2001. THE LAND. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439434173
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Paul-Edward Logan was born in post-Civil War Georgia - his mother a freed part black-part Indian slave, his father her former master. Paul has grown up being treated as his father’s child. He and his sister Cassie sit at the family table with their three white brothers, George and Hammond who are older than Paul, and Robert who is the same age. Because of his unique situation of having a father who cared for him, and the fact that he could pass as white, Paul has not learned about the realities of being “a man of color” in a white world. His brother Robert is his best friend as well as his brother. However, changes start to happen when Edward Logan, their father, sends the boys separate ways for their education. Then Robert betrays his brother during one of their vacations home when he and two white buddies get in a fight with Paul, and Robert sides with his friends. Paul has also established an uneasy truce with Mitchell, the son of a sharecropper on his father’s land. Their relationship has slowly evolved into one of respect and friendship. Unfortunately, Mitchell has a temper, and after attacking a white man who cheated Paul out of pay, he and Paul find themselves on the run. Unable to return home, Paul begins a journey of trying to establish a life for himself in a difficult world where he doesn’t fit in with whites or blacks. Paul had always loved his father’s land - land which he had assumed might one day be his. So now Paul is trying to find his life and the land where he will establish his own family.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I have never met a family like the Logans - a family full of passion and strength living at a time when there was so much heartache. Perhaps because the Logans are based on Mildred Taylor’s family and their stories and experiences, she is able to portray them in a way that allows the reader to feel what it was like to be black at a time in history that is difficult for many of us to face. I fell in love with Cassie and her brothers in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and while I had read many stories describing prejudice and discrimination, none touched me like that story - and Taylor’s subsequent novels - did. I realized that I had had no concept of what it felt like to be black in a country where emancipation did not mean acceptance, opportunities were hard-fought, and “life is not fair” was such an unbelievable understatement.
The Land takes us back to Cassie’s grandfather, Paul-Edward. A prequel to all the other stories, it does not disappoint. The descriptions of the people and times are vivid and authentic. Paul-Edward’s struggle to purchase the piece of property he fell in love with is based on Taylor’s own struggle to obtain a piece of land she found in the Rocky Mountains and paid dearly to purchase - not only financially, but emotionally as well. (Taylor sold among other things, at great emotional sacrifice, the typewriter on which she wrote Roll of Thunder in order to make payments on time). Thus the anxiety, tension, hard work and fear are palpable. We find out how John Wallace, whom we grew to hate in The Friendship, and Tom Bee were first introduced to the Logan family. And we meet the young Caroline, Cassie’s Big Ma. Taylor weaves the importance of family into this novel in a way that reveals the pain of family betrayal. I have left each novel thinking about how much I would have loved being friends with the Logans, and how impossible that would have been, and it is heartbreaking. In her “A Note to the Reader” Taylor states, “it has been my wish to have readers walk in the shoes of the Logan family, who are based on my family, and to feel what they felt.” She goes on to say that she hopes this understanding will help readers further understand what millions of families endured as well as the Civil Rights movement.
Taylor provides a description, a chart and a family tree to help the reader keep the Logan family saga sequenced, given that the novels were not written in chronological order. A biography of Mildred Taylor is also included, giving the reader insight as to where the stories originated. “Further Readings” are included along with “Questions for Discussion” and “Connections to U. S. History.”
All in all, this novel succeeds in continuing the story of the Logans, providing another layer of the complex story that spans the 1870s through the 1950s. The characters and setting hopefully help those of us living in another time to increase our understanding of a world where injustice reigned, hopefully providing the motivation to help continue the fight for civil rights for all who live in our country. In our multicultural society, Mildred Taylor should be required reading for all students, for unfortunately, the wrongs of prejudice and discrimination described between the covers of her books have not all been righted and we are responsible to continue the struggle.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Booklist starred review: “Drawing directly on her family history, especially what [Taylor] knows about her great-grandfather, she goes back to the time of Reconstruction to tell a searing story of cruelty, racism, and betrayal. She also tells a thrilling coming-of-age story about friendship, hope, and family strength.”
*Children’s Literature: “Written with great care, accuracy and emotion, The Land is a wonderful novel, telling a family story that will move and enrich its readers. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of what life in the South was like for African-Americans struggling to make their way in a society grounded upon prejudice.”
*Horn Book: “Taylor masterfully uses harsh historical realities to frame a powerful coming-of-age story that stands on its own merits.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*Use the discussion questions and host a reading club in the library, perhaps during Black History Month.
*Use Related Novels in the Further Reading suggestions and compare the experiences of the Logans to those written about by other authors. Classroom teachers can conduct Literature Circles using related novels to cover this point in history. This would be particularly effective for Social Studies teachers if they can find the time to conduct this meaningful reading in their tight curriculums. *Students may want to interview their family members to discover their family’s history. What a powerful thing it is to know where your family has come from and how it has shaped who you are. Have students write their own novels or short stories based on their own family stories.
Taylor, Mildred D. 2001. THE LAND. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439434173
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Paul-Edward Logan was born in post-Civil War Georgia - his mother a freed part black-part Indian slave, his father her former master. Paul has grown up being treated as his father’s child. He and his sister Cassie sit at the family table with their three white brothers, George and Hammond who are older than Paul, and Robert who is the same age. Because of his unique situation of having a father who cared for him, and the fact that he could pass as white, Paul has not learned about the realities of being “a man of color” in a white world. His brother Robert is his best friend as well as his brother. However, changes start to happen when Edward Logan, their father, sends the boys separate ways for their education. Then Robert betrays his brother during one of their vacations home when he and two white buddies get in a fight with Paul, and Robert sides with his friends. Paul has also established an uneasy truce with Mitchell, the son of a sharecropper on his father’s land. Their relationship has slowly evolved into one of respect and friendship. Unfortunately, Mitchell has a temper, and after attacking a white man who cheated Paul out of pay, he and Paul find themselves on the run. Unable to return home, Paul begins a journey of trying to establish a life for himself in a difficult world where he doesn’t fit in with whites or blacks. Paul had always loved his father’s land - land which he had assumed might one day be his. So now Paul is trying to find his life and the land where he will establish his own family.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I have never met a family like the Logans - a family full of passion and strength living at a time when there was so much heartache. Perhaps because the Logans are based on Mildred Taylor’s family and their stories and experiences, she is able to portray them in a way that allows the reader to feel what it was like to be black at a time in history that is difficult for many of us to face. I fell in love with Cassie and her brothers in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and while I had read many stories describing prejudice and discrimination, none touched me like that story - and Taylor’s subsequent novels - did. I realized that I had had no concept of what it felt like to be black in a country where emancipation did not mean acceptance, opportunities were hard-fought, and “life is not fair” was such an unbelievable understatement.
The Land takes us back to Cassie’s grandfather, Paul-Edward. A prequel to all the other stories, it does not disappoint. The descriptions of the people and times are vivid and authentic. Paul-Edward’s struggle to purchase the piece of property he fell in love with is based on Taylor’s own struggle to obtain a piece of land she found in the Rocky Mountains and paid dearly to purchase - not only financially, but emotionally as well. (Taylor sold among other things, at great emotional sacrifice, the typewriter on which she wrote Roll of Thunder in order to make payments on time). Thus the anxiety, tension, hard work and fear are palpable. We find out how John Wallace, whom we grew to hate in The Friendship, and Tom Bee were first introduced to the Logan family. And we meet the young Caroline, Cassie’s Big Ma. Taylor weaves the importance of family into this novel in a way that reveals the pain of family betrayal. I have left each novel thinking about how much I would have loved being friends with the Logans, and how impossible that would have been, and it is heartbreaking. In her “A Note to the Reader” Taylor states, “it has been my wish to have readers walk in the shoes of the Logan family, who are based on my family, and to feel what they felt.” She goes on to say that she hopes this understanding will help readers further understand what millions of families endured as well as the Civil Rights movement.
Taylor provides a description, a chart and a family tree to help the reader keep the Logan family saga sequenced, given that the novels were not written in chronological order. A biography of Mildred Taylor is also included, giving the reader insight as to where the stories originated. “Further Readings” are included along with “Questions for Discussion” and “Connections to U. S. History.”
All in all, this novel succeeds in continuing the story of the Logans, providing another layer of the complex story that spans the 1870s through the 1950s. The characters and setting hopefully help those of us living in another time to increase our understanding of a world where injustice reigned, hopefully providing the motivation to help continue the fight for civil rights for all who live in our country. In our multicultural society, Mildred Taylor should be required reading for all students, for unfortunately, the wrongs of prejudice and discrimination described between the covers of her books have not all been righted and we are responsible to continue the struggle.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Booklist starred review: “Drawing directly on her family history, especially what [Taylor] knows about her great-grandfather, she goes back to the time of Reconstruction to tell a searing story of cruelty, racism, and betrayal. She also tells a thrilling coming-of-age story about friendship, hope, and family strength.”
*Children’s Literature: “Written with great care, accuracy and emotion, The Land is a wonderful novel, telling a family story that will move and enrich its readers. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of what life in the South was like for African-Americans struggling to make their way in a society grounded upon prejudice.”
*Horn Book: “Taylor masterfully uses harsh historical realities to frame a powerful coming-of-age story that stands on its own merits.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*Use the discussion questions and host a reading club in the library, perhaps during Black History Month.
*Use Related Novels in the Further Reading suggestions and compare the experiences of the Logans to those written about by other authors. Classroom teachers can conduct Literature Circles using related novels to cover this point in history. This would be particularly effective for Social Studies teachers if they can find the time to conduct this meaningful reading in their tight curriculums. *Students may want to interview their family members to discover their family’s history. What a powerful thing it is to know where your family has come from and how it has shaped who you are. Have students write their own novels or short stories based on their own family stories.
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