Warriors Don't Cry (Page 147-204)

Title: Warriors Don't Cry
Author: Melba Pattillo Beals
Pages: 147-229
Chapters: 14-19

SUMMARY: The Screaming Eagles 101st Airborne Division followed the Little Rock 9 from a distance and protected them from the danger. The problem was that they couldn't get into verbal or physical affair with students at Central. Melba's protector (guard) Danny has good bonds with her and he told her that he's duty is to keep her alive. The guys who protect the Little Rock 9 are very generous. The Little Rock 9 are escorted everyday to school via Station Wagon, which is driven by Sarge who keeps the crew entertained through conversations. Melba was pushed around and Danny couldn't do anything about it but be concerned and the teachers simply ignored it even when she was bleeding. Melba begins to think about her past normal life that she struggled to cling to it because of the integration movement. Melba's old friends call her "The Chosen One" and stop calling her and treat her differently. The first three days at Central was tough and Melba had plans for weekends but she couldn't get her mind off from all the media and integration. Things get serious when Melba was spread acid in her eyes but Danny saved her by washing it off immediately. Rumors scatters that 101st Airborne Division members were in girls' locker room. The memoir continues like an ECG machine reading with constant ups and downs. Another simile: Like a roller coaster.

QUOTATION: " I told myself I had to be like a soldier in battle. I couldn't imagine a 101st trooper crying or moping when he got hurt" (Beals 149).

REACTION: This quote is packed with power, emotions, and simile. I found that it has an ironic side to it because Ms. Beals looks at a soldier/warrior as someone who can bear the pain and hold their tears but isn't a soldier supposed to fight back (especially when he/she is on a battlefield)? Despite my point of irony, the quote holds a strong resemblance to the memoirs' name "Warriors Don't Cry" and Ms. Beals compares herself to a warrior/soldier who shouldn't be sniveling even when she is being pushed, choked or kicked. Personally, I call her a true warrior because she contains a warrior side in her. Being able to hold back even when being bullied by other students and on top of that the mental pain she bore with her is truly imbuing. She has the right to call herself a warrior by using simile or anything. There is a second comparison in the quote; it is when Ms. Beals compares herself to one of the 101st Airborne Division stating that they are true warriors who do not cry.