Important Words

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Themes

A major theme in this story is the importance of family. When Stacey is gone, the family talks about how them family circle is broken. When he returns home, the family circle is unbroken. This is where the title of the book comes from. A topic in this book is racism. In the beginning of the story T.J. Avery is accused of murder. Even though he is innocent of the crime, he is still sentenced to death because he is black and the jury is made up of all white people We learn in this story that no matter how hard times can be family always comes first and is very important for them to be together. We also learn that people are very racist, because just like in T.J.'s trial it didn't matter that he was telling the truth. He was still accused of murder and died just because he was a black boy.

Summary

Let the Circle Be Unbroken is a story written my Mildred D. Taylor. This story is about a black family living on a farm through rough times. At the beginning of the story T.J. Avery goes on trial because he was accused of murder. T.J. was not guilty of murder, but was part of a robbery of a store. T.J., a black boy, was with two other white boys. They were stealing a gun that T.J. had wanted, and in the end one of the boys ends up killing the store keeper. The boys were wearing black stockings so it looked like they were black boys. At the trial T.J tells his story of that night. Even though he is telling the truth they still accuse him as guilty because he is black and the jury is white. “T.J. received the death penalty” (Taylor 85). Later in the story, problems come up with the land. They were supposed to get paid for their cotton, but instead Granger gets the money. Granger talks to Papa and offers to pay his taxes. Papa refuses because it could end up in Granger taking the land away later. Papa promises that they will do whatever it takes to keep their land. Meanwhile the government decreases the amount of cotton that the people can plant, so they get less money. One day, two men come and talk to Papa about joining a union to improve the working conditions for sharecroppers and day laborers. They want Papa to join so that other people in the community will follow. This union will have black and white people mixed. This creates some tension for some people. Soon after, Uncle Hammer, Papa’s brother, comes to visit from Chicago. Then, Cousin Bud comes from New York and visits the Logan family. Uncle Hammer and Cousin Bud don’t get along very well because Cousin Bud married a white woman and Hammer says that he is a fool. Papa talks to Cassie about how as she gets older, boys will become interested in her, even white boys. He cautions her to stay away from the white boys because they usually only want to cause trouble. Then Papa has to return to the railroad so that he can make money. This breaks up the family circle and everyone is very sad that he has to leave, but he says it is the right thing to do. Stacey is getting older and he wants to be able to make money and have a job. He is not able to get one. Cousin Bud leaves and comes back with his daughter Suzella. She is half black and half white and everyone seems to love her, except for Cassie. Cassie is jealous of her. “[Cassie] unbraided her hair, and ran the comb through it. Parting it on the side, [she] tried to get it to hang like Suzella’s” (Taylor 233). Suzella still tries to be nice to Cassie. Sharecroppers start telling people that they owe them cotton so they have to plow it up. Soon they find out that it was a plan by the land owners just to get more money. They have a union meeting and the barn where they meet is burned down. One day when Cassie wakes up, she finds a note from Stacey saying that he has left to find work. The Logan family is very distraught. They find out that he has run away with his friend, Moe Turner, and they have gone to work in the cane fields. Uncle Hammer and Papa go out and look for the boys, but they have no idea where they could be. It is very different without Stacey and everyone just mopes around the house. When Papa and Hammer come home on Christmas Eve, they come home alone. Mama blames Papa for going off the railroad instead of being home with the family. Papa goes again to look for Stacey, but still cannot find him. Cousin Bud comes back to pick up Suzella. Suzella is going to go live with her mother, because she and her father are getting a divorce. It is too hard for a white woman to be married to a black man. When she leaves, Cassie realizes that she actually misses Suzella. When the family travels into town to hear that Stacey might be in Louisiana, a fight breaks out. Families that have been forced off the land and out of their homes assemble at the courthouse and protest. Some shots are fired and a bottle is thrown at a man. Finally the people calm down and they leave. The Logan family immediately drives to Louisiana to look for Stacey. The next morning they go to the Sheriff’s office and ask for Stacey and Moe. The Sheriff brings out two boys and sure enough it is them! The families are so happy. Stacey and Moe had run away from the horrible conditions of the cane fields and got mistaken for some boys that had run away and stolen money. After they found out it wasn’t them the Logan family had shown up to come bring them home. When they get home the whole family is overjoyed that Stacey is finally home. Stacey says that “[he] done come home . . . and it is the very best place to be”(Taylor 394). The family circle is finally unbroken.

Characters

Cassie Logan: Cassie is the only Daughter of the Logans. She is the narrator of the book. She is the second oldest of Logan children.

Little Man (Clayton Chester Logan): He is the youngest of the Logans.

Stacey Logan: The oldest of the Logan children. He is fourteen years old.

Christopher –John: The second youngest of the Logan children.

David Logan (Papa): He is the father. He works hard on the railroad and always makes sure that their land won’t be taken away.

Mary Logan (Mama): She is the mother. She married their Papa when she was nineteen.

Uncle Hammar: He is Papa’s brother. He lives in Chicago. He always helps the family out. He has a short temper. He is not afraid to say how he feels about someone. He yells at Cousin Bud to "don't be no fool and go crying after some white woman" (Taylor 176).

Big Ma: She is the Father’s mother. She always helps out around the house and she also runs the farm.

T.J. Avery: He is a friend of Stacey’s. He is always getting in trouble. In the end he is accused of murder and is sentenced to death.

Mr. Morrison: He stays with the Logan’s and works around their farm.

Cousin Bud: Mama’s sister’s son. He lives in New York. Has a 15 year old daughter named Suzella. He married a white woman. He is a very kind man. He used to play with mama when he was younger. “Cousin Bud had grown up with Mama and had been like a brother to her” (Taylor 158).

Suzella: She is Cousin Bud’s daughter. She is 15 years old. She is very pretty and admired by most people, especially the boys. Little Willie claims “me and Suzella gonna get together” (Taylor 231).