Analysis: Warriors Don T Cry

In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the

In this chapter, we learn some basic things about the main character, Melba, and we know that she is born on December 7th, 1941. Melba's birth was a complicated one, but she eventually made a full recovery and on top of all of that, Melba also had to go through the harsh reality of segregation when she was five years old.

I picked the theme of self-reliance. As I read the story it was unbelievable to me that she did not give up, even though there were many times when she could have. What she thought was a good idea in the beginning, being just a teenager, she had no idea what the impact she would make on herself and the future Africain American people in.

History is filled with stories of dedicated human rights activists that risked their lives to fight for what they believe in. Three good examples of human rights activists that never gave up are Melba Pattillo Beals, Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Jones. Melba Pattillo Beals and Gandhi actively worked in fighting for racial equality while Mother Jones worked to improve children’s and workers’ rights. These determined human rights activists never gave up when fighting to improve the rights of persecuted people facing discrimination.

In her memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her experiences as she became one of the first nine black students educated in an integrated white school. She and her friends, who became known as the “Little Rock Nine”, elicited both support and criticism from their family members, friends, community members, military troops, in addition to the President of the United States. Melba’s experiences, while heartbreaking and sobering, highlight the strength to overcome that individuals can have over a system intent on keeping them down.

In her memoir Warriors don’t cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her experiences as she became one of the first nine black students educated in an integrated white school called central high school. The author describes how she survives a harrowing year helping to integrate central high school in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957. The three main ideas that I’m going to talk about are integration, racism, and courage.

Imagine being attacked by mobs on the way to school. Melba and Boston school students are experiencing this. In the book, Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba is part of the Civil Rights Movement by being one of the first black students to integrate into Central High School. She experiences abuse and hate from people who do not want her to come into Central High. In “Selma and Civil Rights”, 600 civil right marchers march through Selma and towards Montgomery. The governor tries to stop the march, while the President tries to help and encourage the marches. The goal is to give African Americans the freedom to vote. “‘It Was Like A War Zone’: Busing Boston” is about the Boston Public Schools allowing integration. Black students on their way to school are

Jim Crow was a set of unfair laws that kept African Americans and whites segregated. Jim Crow had started in 1877; The book Warriors Don't Cry is a memoir from the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High which occurred around 1941. In the event of Jim Crow whites were fighting for power and African Americans were fighting for equality. The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students who finally come to possession of integrating with whites. It was the first time any African American students went to Central High with whites, let along any school. Little Rock Nine has more power because after a long time of being segregated and enslaved, they still succeed to integrate schools with “non colored” and it impacted their Community as well as them.

Throughout history, Colored folks and White people do not seem to get along based on appearance.Men and women of color weren't treated fairly, no matter where they're at without being looked down upon. Most Americans have divided themselves into non-mixed neighborhoods. The “Jim Crow” laws on the state level stopped them from entering classrooms, bathrooms, theaters, trains, juries, and legislatures.Also, In the case of “Plessy v. Ferguson” in 1896, the U.S. Supreme court said that racially separate facilities are equal, it does not violate the Constitution. Segregation, the court said, was not a discrimination. Segregation supported the legal system and the police, but beyond the law, violence was going on around the citizens. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of African-Americans, to prevent them from voting and participating in public life. In Arkansas, Central High School was one of the firsts to integrate. Nine teenagers got together to go to Central High, they did not go in to protest but to get a better education. The Little Rock Nine didn't see it as a way to bring in violence, but it all started in Arkansas, in 1957, a conflict against two different points of views. However, In Warriors Don't Cry Melba Pattillo Beals presents the idea that emotional strength, Determination, and confidence are necessary to gain freedom and equality for all.

Melba Pattillo Beals is a very determined young lady. She presents many strong personal characteristics in her time of integrating Central High School. However, she faces many adversities through this battle for her freedom and equality. During her rough time Beals questions her faith and family. She later learns that her strength and security is in God. In the book Warriors Don’t Cry Melba Pattillo Beals presents the idea that courage, faith, and fear are vital in her search for freedom and equality.

In Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Patillo Beals uses direct and indirect characterization to generate Melba’s character. Melba’s characterization proposes her ideas about her search for freedom and equality. In the memoir, Beals portrays the idea that both personal strength, faith, and independence are necessary character traits in her fight for freedom and equality.

Imagine you had to fight a war against a formidable army that outnumbered you tenfold; you had very few friends and hardly any weapons at which you could use. This is a great analogy for Melba Patillo Beals’ battle for integration into Central High School, but Melba’s army composed of segregationist and students whose mission was to keep her out of the school. Upon her shoulders Melba carried the responsibility of being one of the first African Americans to integrate a high school in Arkansas, a feat that could only be accomplished by an individual with a strong inner character. In “Warriors Don’t Cry”, Melba Patillo Beals presents the idea that both independence and despondency are necessary character traits in her fight for freedom and equality.

“A boy’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. A strong hand grabbed my wrist and doubled my arm up behind my back” (Melba Pattillo Beals, Warriors Don’t Cry, Page 141). The novel, Warriors Don’t Cry, written by Melba Pattillo Beals, is a heartfelt memoir written to express her true story about the struggles she faced attempting to integrate to a school called Little Rock’s Central High. Born on December 7, 1941, young Melba would have no idea the life ahead of her. Her first tragedy starts young when she was seven and her parents got divorced. This began to shape Melba as her grandmother and mother raised her and gave her the strong independent roots she would carry on throughout her life. Melba Pattillo Beals wrote this novel for inspiring women all over the world that they are strong and capable enough to stand up for themselves and what they believe in. She wants people to know that no matter how bad your situation seems you can still be a warrior. Throughout out the novel Melba is bullied, assaulted, and harassed because she chose to integrate to a former all white school. She faces many challenges, epically because she is a lower-class citizen. Because of her gender the public likely targeted her as weak or incompetent. However, she is able to push it all away and focus on what she believes in and live up to becoming the strong independent woman she is. In the novel, Warriors Don’t Cry, written by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author uses multiple quotes throughout the novel

Melba Beals was certainly full of grit. When she insisted to go back to school after segregationists were trying to keep her out the school, but she still insisted on going back to school to finish all her classes and take her final exams. Even after all those people told her to get out; and she finished high school with pride. When Melba showed her grit later on people started encouraging her more saying she’s doing a great thing for this town (Beals 224). I thought this anecdote was important because it shows an example of how grit is used in the right context. The journey archetype means a recurrent image, symbol, or even a situation that instinctual expressions man 's nature and experiences that are universal in humanity. While self-identity means the recognition of one 's potential and qualities of as an individual. People 's traits impact who they are as a person because if they have poorly traits they’ll show that in the way they act same thing for the good traits. Melba Beals’ “Warriors Don’t Cry,” “Homer’s “The Odyssey,” and my own life reveal that our characters traits have an impact on our life journeys and self identities.

The Once Were Warriors is beautifully and powerfully casted film, directed by Lee Tamahor and casted by Temuera Morrison (Jake Heke), Rena Owen (Beth Heke) and Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell (Grace Heke). Jake is a man with high temper and his unpredictability in a number of issues is most fear-provoking thing concerning him. In many occasions, Jake play the character of the friendly, beer-swilling crowd as he plays his guitar and sing favorite songs to all, particularly in wee hours of the night with his drunken friends. But his true colors are revealed when a person crosses his line, he can pounce in blink of a second, with fury boiling over.