Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

When Tricia Rose speaks to the concept of “hip hop wars” in her writing, she is referring to a broad range of different conflicts that are taking place in all areas of hip hop. In the introduction to her book, she begins to explain her multitude of concerns surrounding certain topics in hip hop. She begins by saying that the most financially successful hip hop has become a way of caricaturing “black gangstas, pimps and hoes” (p. 1). She goes on to explain that homophobia, hypersexism, antisocial behavior, and violent tendancies seem to have become defining characteristics of hip hop as a whole. Essentially, Tricia Rose’s definition of hip hop wars can be summarized as: the pushing and pulling between the forces of good and evil within a movement that has begun to develop undesirable qualities. She offers an array of critical analyzations in support and in opposition of hip hop.

Little rock, Arkansas 1957 in Warriors don’t cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, her and eight other African American, high school students integrates Central High School. Only eight of the nine that begin at Central High lasted for the full year. Melba and her eight friends face new wars every day. These are some of the traits she uses to survive her year and overcome her enemies at Central High School. Melba relies on her courage, faith, and not only her physical strength, but her mental strength as well.

A sixteen year old girl becomes a warrior when in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled Brown v. Board of Education; there Melba and eight other teenagers are chosen to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School. A warrior is a person who is brave or experienced solider or fighter. Young Melba had to become a warrior when walking into the battlefield of Central High School. Melba had the weapons of God, friends, and family; people who stood up for her and helped her through her hardships. “A girl smiled at me, another gave me directions, still another boy whispered the page I should turn to in our textbook. This is going to work out. It takes more time than I thought. But we’re going to have integration in Little Rock (Beals 117).”While being taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by mobs, attacked by lit sticks of dynamite, and wounded by acid sprayed in her eyes, however, she never backed down and became an unexpected hero to many. Thesis statement……………

The author's purpose for writing Warriors Don't Cry is tell a personal story of her own to remind the world when peace was no option for a black person. She wanted to have her story out in the world for others to learn and read from. Melba went through much in her life only because she was born different. While normal white teens had fun with boyfriends and went to parties, she went through a mental and physical war. Melba wrote her story with no sugar coating, she gave what she felt and what she did. She wanted to write a story where it would give the reader a glimpse at the life a colored person once went

On May 17th, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, officially making the separation of blacks and whites in public schools unconstitutional (Beals 12). This ultimately led to a constant struggle in the South to keep schools segregated. The most notable situation occurred in the town of Little Rock, Arkansas during the 1957 school year. Nine black students volunteered to integrate into Central High. This constant struggle to turn the Supreme Court ruling into a societal norm was documented by one of the Little Rock Nine. Melba Pattillo Beals’s novel, Warriors Don’t Cry, depicts the forces in favor of integration, forces opposing integration, and the constant adversity faced by the Little Rock Nine.

Author: Melba Pattillo Beals Book title: Warriors Don’t Cry. Publisher: Pocket Books City of publication New York Year of publication: 1994. Description: This book is a memoir by one of the Little Rock Nine. It recollects the first year of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, AK.

In Tony Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” it explores the discovery of ethnic identities. It depicts the life of Macon Milkman Dead, a withdrawn loner who doesn’t feel accepted by others and is disconnected with his family and heritage. With help from others in his community Milkman takes a trip to discover himself and his roots bringing him closer to the true meaning of his purpose. Milkman in turn realizes that flight represents liberation from a life of restrictions, set in an era of racism and separation. Flight may seem as a positive solution to such a life of problems and discrimination, however, holds very negative aspects in family settings. Abandoning your own and severing those mutual bonds plays a significant role in the life of the loved ones left behind. Most are left recovering from their loss, or completely lose hope such as Hagar. Solomon leaving his wife Ryna and children behind was necessary sacrifice he had to make in order to be free. Solomon is never punished or looked down for his decision; in his song it acknowledges his accomplishment as a great achievement. In “Song of Solomon”, the ability of flight symbolizes the escape from oppression while searching for freedom.

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.

To survive the school year, Melba had to acquire various weapons to fight against the segregationists who surrounded her. Those weapons included her words, her diary, her presence and her faith. After Minnijean was expelled Melba’s fellow students became more vicious trying to get the others expelled also. One-day Melba got eggs dumped on her head. Later when her grandmother helped her get the egg out of her hair she told Melba, “You could take charge of these mind games, you know… Suppose you’d have told the boys who did this, Thank you,’ with a smile. Then you’ve changed the rules of the game. What they want is for you to be unhappy. That’s how they get pleasure.” (Pattillo.242) Melba takes her advice and is able to rise above her bullies for a short time.

I am reading Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. I have read pages 107-150 these weeks. The prompt I have chosen this week is “ How characters react to changes that are happening.” Three claims supporting this prompt are how Melba is scared, worried, and brave when reacting to her surroundings.

In “Warriors Don’t Cry”, Melba Patillo Beals presents the idea that independence is often times forced upon and individual so that said individual may overcome obstacles. Independence was a trait Melba gained through her experiences, not just a quality she simply developed. Whether it be because of the harassment she received or because of the aspects of her life she had to give up, Melba’s fight for integration caused her to mature, and, in turn, become self sufficient. Throughout the book, we as readers witness Melba slowly realizing she must depend more on herself for her needs. Her first cognizance was the withdrawal of the 101st National Guard from the school; Melba no longer has her bodyguard, Danny, to help her as he’d

Event #1: In the beginning of the book, Scout goes to school for the first time and despises it. She meets her first-grade teacher, Miss Caroline

Everyone has turning points in life that can change them completely and sometimes it changes many others with them. Melba, Jackie, and Feng Ru changed their countries because they had a turning point in life and those turning points that they had are found from the resources” I Never Had It Made” by Jackie Robinson, “ The Father Of Chinese Aviation” by Rebecca Maksel, and “ Warriors Don’t Cry “ by Melba Pattillo Beals. Melba, Jackie, and Feng Ru all faced challenges but those challenges led them to a greater good that changed their countries. Jackie Robinson changed the way that people look at him and his race because he was a great ballplayer ,even though he was the first African American to play in the major league baseball. Jackie Robinson

Some of the difficulties that Melba witnessed and experienced during the 1957 integration efforts of the “Little Rock 9” are when in chapter two after they made the decision on Brown v Board of Education when Melba was walking home after school a white man attempted to kidnap and assault and possibly rape Melba just because she was a young black girl.

The book is written by Melba Pattillo Beals. She was born December seventh, nineteen forty one. She was born in Little Rock Arkansas . Melba Pattillo Beals is important because she is one of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students that were involved in the desegregation of Little Central High School in nineteen fifty seven. Melba has not passed away she is seventy five years old. Melba Pattillo Beals grew up around family members who knew the importance of getting an education. Her mother Lois Marie Pattillo, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas, in nineteen fifty four. Her mother was also a high school english