warriors don't cry essay

Warriors Don’t Cry Analytical Essay

Social issues in warriors don’t cry, how social issues were dealt with, how social issues are dealt with today.

Warriors Don’t cry is a book by Melba Pattilol. It mainly focuses on the challenges African students faced in white schools. The level of injustice that was present in these schools. Melba was one among the nine black students that were first to join white schools. Her life in this school was not easy. White students together with their parents were not happy about integrating students.

According to them, Africans did not deserve to learn in white schools. These students faced mobs frequently from their fellow students. It is due to this that president Eisenhower came up with a plan for protecting these students. Melba tries to explain how a student nearly blinded her by use of acid. All these persecutions did not make her give up on going back to Central High. She has clearly indicated in her Warriors Don’t Cry that she still hoped to go back to this school.

Governor Faubus, however, shut her dreams by passing laws that restricted blacks from integrating with white students. This paper analyses different social issues that have been addressed in Warriors Don’t Cry. In addition, it analyses means through which these issues were addressed in the 1950’s and today

Melba together with her African friends did not give up fighting for their rights even after going through racial discrimination, death threats, abuse and bombs.

They called themselves Little Rock Arkansas a name that bound them together as Africans. They were not allowed to study in Central High because of their black race. The whites considered the black people as inferior a fact that made them despise Africans. The black people were denied access to public amenities such as education, transport and health. Little Rock Arkansas, therefore, hoped that they would try to bring change.

Segregation was another challenge that faced the Africans. They were not allowed to integrate with the whites. White people attended prestigious schools while the blacks had to attend low schools. All these issues are similar in the sense that they led to humiliation of the black people. It is because of these social issues that Africans could not develop compared to the whites

The main reason why Melba together with her friends was persistent in staying in Central High was to promote integration between the whites and blacks. They wanted the whites to give them a chance to learn in the white school regardless of their race. Persistence and trust in God helped them in dealing with the social issues that faced them in Central High. Melba’s grandmother India played an important role in helping her deal with challenge she faced in Central High.

She advised her to shun violence at all cost. According to Melba’s grandmother, violence promotes hatred and cannot help in achieving one’s desires. Some Africans due to the level of inequality witnessed in America decided to go on strikes demanding the government to help in protecting their lives. Others used demonstrations and boycotts. Melba did not only receive support from her grandmother, but also, a friend by the name Link.

Link was the only white who opposed the actions of students in Central High. According to him, it was not wrong for Africans to learn with the whites. He, therefore, decided to protect Melba from her attackers. Grandma India, the Little Rock 9 and Melba, were trying to do the right thing in order to ensure Integrated Central High and educational equity.

It is evident that our society is full of social issues. Melba together with her friends are not the only individuals that faced these challenges. Inequality is still witnessed all over the world. Freedom to choose is not a privilege for every individual in society. In addition, freedom of expression has been a major challenge in most countries.

There is nothing important as having the freedom to choose what is wrong and right. Everyone would like to have the freedom to express themselves without being held back. This is the same freedom that the Little Rock 9 was fighting. They were interested in receiving fair treatment and acquiring quality education. Research indicates that the struggle to promote equality in America is not yet. Africans still fight for equality in different places.

Today, people would try to fight for their rights in different ways. There are those who take a violent approach while other would advocate for peaceful demonstrations. In cases of poor pay, for example, workers would go on strikes in order to receive an increase in payment.

Other violent approaches used by individuals in dealing with social issues are riots, strikes, demonstrations and boycotts. Most people argue that the only way they can receive democracy is by use of force and not diplomacy. Dialogue proves to be the best approach that can help individuals in receiving their rights. In most cases, violent approaches lead to hatred and massive destructions a fat that promotes economic degradation

Warriors Don’t Cry is one among many books that have tried to address the challenges that faced the African Americans in the 1950s. Warriors Don’t Cry defines the author’s pain due to the level of discrimination Africans faced due to their race. They were denied access to most public amenities just because they were black.

It is through their struggle that most Africans are able to enjoy certain privileges like the whites. Through these struggles, we get to understand that nothing come easy. One can only achieve his goals through hard work and determination.

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IvyPanda. (2019, October 19). Warriors Don’t Cry. https://ivypanda.com/essays/warriors-dont-cry/

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Bibliography

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Warriors Don’t Cry Essay Prompts

Here are some Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts that you can use with the memoir.  I have organized them into three categories: comprehension , literary analysis , and historical context .

Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts: comprehension

Sometimes you simply want students to reflect on what they read.  For example, if you are using Warriors Don’t Cry as an over-break reading, it is beneficial to include a writing task.

1) Describe Melba’s personality. What are the key traits (aspects) of her character? Make sure to support your answer with details from Warriors Don’t Cry .

2) Who supports Melba in her quest for fair treatment? Identify three individuals who aided Melba and briefly describe how they did so.

3) Melba learns and grows from her experiences fighting racism. What are some of the lessons that she learns? How does she grow as a person? (Organizing tip: Identify three learning experiences and write a body paragraph for each.)

4) Melba makes great sacrifices to oppose injustice. What are the costs? Use details from Warriors Don’t Cry to explain what Melba gives up in her efforts. (Organizing tip: Think about three major sacrifices and write a detailed body paragraph for each.)

“Sweet sixteen? How could I be turning sweet sixteen in just a few days and be a student at Central High, I thought as I entered the side door of the school […]. I had relished so many dreams of how sweet my sixteenth year would be, and now it had arrived, but I was here in this place.”

5) Is Melba an optimist (seeing the bright side) or a pessimist (seeing the negative side)?  Is she both?  Use examples from Warriors Don’t Cry to explain your answer.

6) What is the most important conversation found in Warrior’s Don’t Cry ?  Choose one excerpt and explain why it is the most important. (Hint: Many of Melba’s conversations with Grandma India are excellent candidates.)

“Change the rules of the game, girl, and they might not like it so much.” “They’d think I was crazy.” “They’d think you were no longer their victim.”

Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts: literary analysis

Warriors Don’t Cry is not the text for extensive study of symbolism, allegory, allusion, sound devices, or many other elements.  However, here are some Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts for literary elements deserving attention.

1) Symbol : The beautiful stone hallways of Little Rock Central High represent more than a pleasant place to learn.  How does Beals use the school as a symbol of larger ideas?

2) Symbol : Melba’s new Easter dress is not discussed at great length, but is has important symbolic meaning.  Re-read this part of the memoir and explain the symbolism of the dress.  (Hint: It represents more than one larger idea.)

3) Theme development : An important theme subject in Warriors Don’t Cry is the psychological effects of racism .  What message does Beals develop about how racism impacted her thoughts and feelings?  Use details from the text and pay special attention to Melba’s diary.

“Black folks aren’t born expecting segregation, prepared from day one to follow its confining rules. Nobody presents you with a handbook when you’re teething and says, ‘Here’s how you must behave as a second-class citizen.’ Instead, the humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self-esteem each day.”

4) Theme development : What is Beals’ theme on the loss of innocence and how does she develop this theme?  Use key excerpts from the text in your response.

5) Theme development : What is Beals communicating about resilience (the ability to endure and overcome)? Use examples from the memoir to explain how Beals develops this theme subject.  (Hint: Make sure to address self-reliance and the receiving of support.)

6) Theme development: One theme from Warriors Don’t Cry is that heroism can take many forms .  Use the different people in the memoir to explain how Beals develops this idea.  (Hint: Think about how Danny, Melba, Thurgood Marshall, Mama Lois, Grandma India, Link, Minnijean, and others show heroism differently.)

7) Conflict :  The main external conflict of the memoir is clear: Melba wants to go to the better school and racists want to stop her.  Melba’s internal conflicts are a bit more complicated. What are Melba’s internal conflicts ?  Explain the struggles inside Melba’s heart and mind and explain how they are resolved.

8) Effects of structure : Warriors Don’t Cry is engaging because Beals creates structural effects like suspense, mystery, surprise, and tension .  Explain how Beals keeps us guessing, turning pages, and aching to find out what happens.

9) Word choice: The tone created by Beals in Warriors Don’t Cry might be describes as “simmering anger with moments of joyful triumph.”  Do you agree? Identify the tone of the memoir and explain how Beals creates this tone through word choice.

Outbound link:  “What Is Author’s tone?” from ThoughtCo.

Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts: historical context

If you are using Warriors Don’t Cry as part of a larger unit on social justice, the Civil Rights Movement, or the Supreme Court, it makes sense to incorporate an element of research and exposition.

1) The Supreme Court case that ultimately resulted in the integration of Little Rock Central High School was Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka .  What was this case about and how did the ruling result in integration in Arkansas? (Note: You will have to include some basic information about the role of the Supreme Court in the U.S. government.)

2) The laws oppressing African Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement are known as Jim Crow laws.  The period between the end of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement is known as the Jim Crow era. Who was Jim Crow? What is the meaning of this term?

Outbound link: “Was Jim Crow a Real Person?” from History.com

3) Jim Crow laws were designed to oppress African Americans as second-class citizens.  What were some examples of Jim Crow laws and how did they work to marginalize people of color?

Outbound link: “Examples of Jim Crow Laws” from LaGuardia College

4) Beyond the written laws of segregation, there were also unwritten rules.  What were the unwritten rules of the Jim Crow era ?

Outbound link: “Jim Crow Etiquette” from Ferris State University

5) Conflict surrounded the integration of many businesses, communities, and institutions during the Civil Rights Movement. Research and explain another example where integration did not progress easily . (Examples include the integration of neighborhoods, recreational facilities, other schools, the military, restaurants, and department stores.)

6) Melba and the others of the Little Rock Nine broke no laws in opposing segregation.  They opposed racism by calmly using the system, but there were many forms of resistance used in the Civil Rights Movement.  Research and explain some of the different forms of resistance used.

Outbound link: “Social Protests” from The Constitution Rights Foundation

Outbound link: “Nonviolence” from King Encyclopedia

7) All of the members of the Little Rock Nine became known for their efforts in ending segregation.  Research another member of the Little Rock Nine in order to compose a brief biography.  (Note: Make sure to include any details about their experience in integrating Little Rock Central High School.)

8) Many believe that segregation in schools continues to be a major problem in the United States.  Is segregation alive and well?  What is going on here?  Use current information to analyze the situation.

Thanks for visiting!

I hope that you have found these Warriors Don’t Cry essay prompts helpful.  For a quick and easy Warriors Don’t Cry reading test, click here .

Related post: Warriors Don’t Cry Anticipation Guide

Related resource: Warriors Don’t Cry (abridged version) reading checks (5 readings)

Warriors Don't Cry

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Discussion Questions

What did school administrators do to prepare the first Black students to attend Central High School? What additional steps could the administration have taken to prepare the Black students for what they faced?

Melba describes the other members of the Little Rock Nine in Chapter 3. Aside from their willingness to enter Central, what did these students have in common?

What important role in Melba’s life did her diary play in 1957-58? What role did it play in 1994 when she wrote Warriors Don’t Cry ?

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Warriors Don't Cry

By melba beals, warriors don't cry study guide.

Warriors Don't Cry is a nonfiction memoir published by Melba Pattillo Beals in 1994. The book is set in the 1950s and 1960s, using entries from Beals' diary to recount her experiences as part of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American high school students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. In addition to recounting the physical violence, emotional and verbal abuse, and opposition from the Arkansas government that Beals endured, Warriors Don't Cry also describes Beals' experiences with institutional racism throughout her early childhood into adulthood.

Warriors Don't Cry was the runner-up for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, which honors "outstanding reporting" on human rights issues and justice. The book was also named the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book for 1995. The book received positive reviews from major outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post . Beals' memoir inspired many artists across various media; in 2008, Read magazine adapted Warriors Don't Cry into a play; in 2021, Donnetta Lavinia Grays created a one-woman musical based on the memoir. Christopher Parker and Kelley Hurt created a jazz suite inspired by the text, titled No Tears Suite: A Monumental Ode to the Little Rock Nine, in 2017.

In 1999, Beals published White Is a State of Mind: A Memoir, considered a sequel to Warriors Don't Cry. The sequel recounts Beals' life during the "Lost Year"—when governor Orval Faubus closed integrated public schools, heightening racial tensions and inciting racial violence—and the subsequent events in Beals' life, such as attending college and graduate school. Beals also published March Forward Girl (2018), a prequel to Warriors Don't Cry , and I Will Not Fear: My Story of a Lifetime of Building Faith under Fire, a retrospective connecting Beals' experiences with racism to her spiritual growth.

Warriors Don’t Cry Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Warriors Don’t Cry is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How does Mr. Blossom tell the kids to respond to bullying?

Superintendent Virgil Blossom instructs the nine students not to respond to abuse in order to "keep the peace."

When the students are in the courtroom, what happens to Thelma Mothershed?

Thelma Mothershed , who has a heart condition, begins to turn blue and struggles to breathe which reflects her medical condition.

school work

The narrator and author, explains that the group, called the Little Rock Nine, is visiting Central High School in Little Rock. As teenagers in 1957, the nine of them were the first Black students to be integrated into the school. There was...

Study Guide for Warriors Don’t Cry

Warriors Don't Cry study guide contains a biography of Melba Beals, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Warriors Don't Cry
• Warriors Don't Cry Summary
• Character List

Lesson Plan for Warriors Don’t Cry

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Introduction to Warriors Don't Cry
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Warriors Don't Cry Bibliography

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — American Literature — “Warriors Don’t Cry”: Resilience, Courage, and Social Change

"Warriors Don't Cry": Resilience, Courage, and Social Change

• Categories: American Literature Book Review

About this sample

Words: 599 |

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Words: 599 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Resilience in the face of adversity, courageous acts of defiance, the power of collective action, enduring relevance.

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Warriors don't cry.

• Word Count: 555
• Approx Pages: 2
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            Growing up as a teenager, Melba Pattillo Beal's had to fight one of the most courageous wars in history. No, not a war that took place in the trenches of a battlefield, but a war that took place in the halls of an American high school "a war against color. Melba was one of nine black students."" Warriors Don't Cry-, basically a collection of events in Melba Pattillo Beal's life. The whole book revolves around her experiences as she integrated in to the all white school central high.              Melba grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas a town in which was in the south and was experiencing major segregation in the fifty's, from rest rooms to schools. She starts out in the book telling how no black child is born knowing about segregation and that there is a whole race that is supposed to be superior to them. I strongly agreed with those views in which she expressed, because it is very hard to explain certain things to small children, they ask a lot of questions and something so subordinate is just unethical.              The author endured a lot of racism when she was young; one example is when she entered the bathroom which was labeled white women. They treated her as if she was an animal. This one event made me very angry when I read it, not just because I am black, but because these where human beings expressing this type of hate towards there fellow man. I feel racism was so unnecessary and just reading this book made me very angry, but I try to suppress my feelings.              Arkansas was going through a reconstruction period, but barriers were put in front of the reconstruction by many groups such as Mrs. Thomason's segregationist group and even the Governor of Arkansas Orval Faubus. The governor even went to the length of using the National Guard to keep the school segregated. The Rule of Law was being directed on what was wrong and right by the white majority that it is why it took two years to integrate central high.

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1. warriors dont cry.

Warriors Don't Cry By Melba Patillo Beals Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals is a moving collection of memoirs that were taken from Melba's diary during her childhood years and through her rough times being a solider for her people as she and eight other black students endured incredible amounts of hatred and racism while integrating Central High School. ... Her transformation from innocent young woman to warrior was quite abrupt. ... India says, "You"ll make this your last cry. You"re a warrior on the battlefield for our Lord. God's warriors don'...

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2. warriors dont cry

Title- Warriors Don't Cry Author- Melba Pattillo Bates Historical Event Depicted -The integration that took place in Little Rock Main Characters- 1. Melba Pattillo- the author and narrator of the book; She was 15 when the integration took place 2. Lois Peyton(mother Lois )- Melbas mother, who...

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Warriors Don’t Cry

Melba beals, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions, danny quotes in warriors don’t cry.

It’s Thursday, September 26, 1957. Now I have a bodyguard. I know very well that the President didn’t send those soldiers just to protect me but to show support for an idea—the idea that a governor can’t ignore federal laws. Still, I feel specially cared about because the guard is there. If he wasn’t there, I’d hear more of the voices of those people who say I’m a nigger […] that I’m not valuable, that I have no right to be alive [….] Thank you, Danny.

“Look out, Melba, now!” Danny’s voice was so loud that I flinched. “Get down!” he shouted again as what appeared to be a flaming stick of dynamite whizzed past and landed on the stair just below me. Danny pushed me aside as he stamped out the flame and grabbed it up. At breakneck speed he dashed down the stairs and handed the stick to another soldier, who sped away. Stunned by what I had seen, I backed into the shadow on the landing, too shocked to move. “You don’t have time to stop. Move out, girl.” Danny’s voice sounded cold and uncaring. I supposed that’s what it meant to be a soldier—to survive.

“You’ve gotta learn to defend yourself. You kids should have been given some training in self-defense.” “Too late now,” I said. “It’s never too late. It takes a warrior to fight a battle and survive. This here is a battle if I’ve ever seen one.” I thought about what Danny had said as we walked to the principal’s office to prepare to leave school. I knew for certain something would have to change if I were going to stay in that school. Either the students would have to change the way they behaved, or I would have to devise a better plan to protect myself. My body was wearing out real fast.

As I stepped into the hallway, just for an instant the thought of fewer troops terrified me. But the warrior inside me squared my shoulders and put my mind on alert to do whatever was necessary to survive. I tried hard to remember everything Danny had taught me. I discovered I wasn’t frightened in the old way anymore. Instead, I felt my body muscles turn steely and my mind strain to focus […]. A new voice in my head spoke to me with military-like discipline: Discover ink sprayed on the contents of your locker—don’t fret about it, deal with it. Get another locker assigned, find new books, get going—don’t waste time brooding or taking the hurt so deep inside. Kicked in the shin, tripped on the marble floor—assess the damage and do whatever is necessary to remain mobile. Move out! Warriors keep moving. They don’t stop to lick their wounds or cry.