Historical Fiction_The Land by Mildred Taylor

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Mildred D. THE LAND. New York, NY: Phyllis Fogelman Books. ISBN 0803719507.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Protagonist and narrator, Paul Edward Logan tells of his life from the time his was nine years old into manhood. Raised by his white father, a plantation owner and former slave owner, and his mother Deborah, a former slave of African and Native American descent, Paul is privy to a similar lifestyle as his three white half-brothers. Although Paul and his eldest sister Cassie can pass as a white, the townspeople and neighbors know they are children of color. As Paul grows older, the privileges he grew up with are removed. He begins to experience racism and injustices within his own family and outside of his father’s plantation. Eventually, Paul leaves his family and sets out with his former childhood rival, Mitchell. His journey takes him to Mississippi and Vicksburg. After a year in Vicksburg, Paul moves on his life-long dream—to own piece of land.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Rather than solely read THE LAND by critically acclaimed Mildred Taylor, I simultaneously listened to the audio cassettes narrated by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and followed along in the text. The brilliantly written work of Taylor along with Santiago-Hudson’s range of voices put me in a trance. The characters, setting, events, language, and mores of the times became real.

Despite not having lived during the 1800s, readers can relate to Paul’s fear, anger and frustration against Mitchell, the bully. “…there was a time it seemed like to me Mitchell Thomas lived just to taunt me. There were other boys too who picked on me….” (3). Paul’s anger, frustration, protests and rebellion against inequality are also emotions and actions readers can connect to.

Taylor’s judgment to maintain the raw language and attitudes of that period, rather than “white-wash” it is fitting (Taylor). It is these ingredients that present the crude realities of life after the Civil War and help create visuals and stir emotions in the reader. For instance, when Paul confronts Mitchell about his resentment toward him, Mitchell retorts, “I got no use for white niggers” can make one gasp (15). Another example that illustrates Taylor’s choice to use jarring language and the mentality of the times is evident in the conversation Paul has with his mother after his father whipped his naked body with a strap: Paul exclaims, “That’s all you going to say about what happened?...Don’t you feel anything about what he did?” In a quiet, but stern demeanor, his mother replies, “….I’m glad your daddy done it. High time he did too. I been telling you and telling you those brothers of yours are white and you ain’t” (90).

Whether an event was taking place on the farm in Georgia, in the plains of East Texas, along the woods of Mississippi, or the barn in Vicksburg, Taylor’s descriptions and Santiago-Hudson’s mesmerizing narration, painted vivid images without fail. One evening, after Paul and Mitchell deserted the lumber camp in Mississippi and—for their safety—agreed to split up, the narrator whispers in Paul’s amazement, “Next morning when I woke…, I was awed by what I saw. All around me was emerald grass, and above that, God’s own bluest skies, blessed only with two or three perfect rolls of pillow-like clouds. A meadow lay all around me, and a forest of longleaf pine dotted with oak and hickory circled the meadow” (159).

As mentioned above, Taylor is true to the morals of the time. The belief and practice of superiority and status, inferiority and subservience permeated through the printed pages and echoed in the voices and dialects Santiago-Hudson brought into existence. The narrator adjusted the pitch, tone, rhythm, inflection, and cadence to bring quality to the voices he produced for the white and black male and female characters.

Every detail involved in constructing this powerful novel, attests to Mildred Taylor’s efficacious character, style and credibility. Taylor’s acknowledgements at the beginning of the book, the diagram of the Logan Family Tree, A Note to the Reader, and the Author’s Note speak volumes to the quality of literature Taylor produced.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
2002 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner

Starred review in HAZEL ROCHMAN, BOOKLIST: "[T]his powerful historical novel...refuses to 'whitewash' history....Through Paul's personal turmoil, Taylor dramatizes society's rigid racist divisions....Paul-Edward's granddaughter will be Cassie Logan, and readers who remember her from Roll of Thunder will grab this and be astonished by its powerful story."

Review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Taylor's gift for combining history and storytelling are as evident here as in her other stories about the Logan family....Although her depiction of the 19th-century South is anything but pretty, her tone is more uplifting than bitter....Even during the book's most wrenching scenes, the determination, wisdom and resiliency...will be strongly felt."

Review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Readers have come to expect Taylor to deliver a powerful story...and she continues to do so here.... [T]his is an aspect of the legacy of slavery not often confronted in children's books; Paul-Edward makes the reader feel its grotesque injustices. They will root for him, as they have for his children and grandchildren, to overcome."

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "[A] wonderful novel of close friendship, harsh prejudices, and deep yearning....This historical novel brings this period of American history to life."

Review in 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."

5. CONNECTIONS
*Students can create a family tree and maintain a family history journal based on family interviews.
*Have students visit the Web Site “Doing” history http://www.dohistory.org to explore their genealogy.
*Students can create a movie trailer summarizing their family history/genealogy findings.