I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (104)

Summary:
 In this next section Bailey and Maya live with their mother's parents for six months and then later move in with their mother, Vivian, and her mother's boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, who ends up molesting Maya many times before he rapes her. Maya used to sleep with her mother and his, in her mother's bed. When he molested her, he would masturbate while holding her, but because Maya is young, she simply sees it as something to be happy about. She actually is pleased by the fact that she is being held by someone. However, she is puzzled when Mr.Freeman threatens to kill Bailey if she tells anyone what has being going on. She doesn't understand that he has done something wrong, instead when he ignores her, and then repeats his molestation, she feels as though he is rejecting her. When he rapes her, Maya is a little bit more conscious that something is wrong because she hides her bloody underwear under her bed. After Maya's mother kicks out Mr.Freeman, Bailey finds that underwear under the bed. That is when Maya spills the beans at the hospital in which her mother took her upon finding out about the underwear. When confessing, Maya is asked if there have been any previous incidents like so, and she ends up lying to the court and Mr. Freeman is only given one year and one day in jail. When he is released he is beaten to death, and that causes Maya to believe that her lying provoked his death. She ends up not speaking to anyone but Bailey; at the first the family simply deal with it, thinking they are being empathetic. However, as time goes by they begin to get violent and both are sent back to Momma in Stamps. Bailey is pretty upset, while Maya is kind of happy to be back in Stamps. When there, she gets a job at the age of ten. At first her maturity level (in her mind) was already high because of what the nurse had previously told her about going through the hardest part of life, but now there is truly a slight growth.

Quote:
"One morning she got out of bed for an early errand and I fell asleep again"(Angelou 72).

Reaction:
This quote makes me extremely angry, because I feel as though the scars in which the rape might cause, could have been prevented! I have to admit, as a younger girl(around Maya's age in this section) I used to sleep with my father and mother, or my grandmother and grandfather, and even my aunt and uncle, and I felt as though nothing was wrong with that, just as Maya did. HOWEVER, is my aunt, mother, or grandmother were to wake up while I was sleeping, I would have not been left alone with the man. I'm not sure if it is because of the different mind set that my mother has, or is it that Vivian, Maya's mother, was careless in this situation. Not being a mother, I do not  have that sixth sense that many may have, by any means common sense should have came to her when she was leaving her young daughter with a man who apparently is lucky to even be with her. I truly believe that if Vivian was more involved in her daughter's life from the beginning, then this would have been avoided, or at least the possibility of it happening would have been slightly smaller.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings(54)

NEW BOOK!

Summary:
In this modern American classic a young girl by the name of Maya tell us how she, along with her brother Bailey, were sent to Stamps, Arkansas, when she was three and her brother four. Their parents had gotten divorced, and their father sent them to live with his mother, whom they later on call Momma. Momma takes them in to live with her and her disabled son Willie (Maya and Bailey's uncle). Momma not only owns a store in the black section of the town, but also is one of the most respected residents. She serves as a great example for her grandchildren when it comes to dealing with racism and respect. Momma insist that Maya and Bailey follow rules and respect their elders. One day, while in the store, Maya witnesses her grandmother being mocked by three poor white children who enter the store. While Maya is crying historical, because of her anger, Momma is calm; she ignores the children.  That is because, she strongly believes that it is not safe for black people to talk to white people, especially in an offensive manner. Maya said that Momma would have called herself the realist instead of the coward. This means that Momma finds it pointless and useless to mouth off to a white person, as many others did. She felt that its best to ignore them, than sink to their level.
Furthermore, Maya is a very insecure young girl. She constantly reiterates how she would hear that she's ugly because of her hair, dark skin and size. She had kinky hair, dark skin, and she was too big for her age. This  led her to replacing the meaning of beauty with being white. She feels as though her resolution is to be a white girl. On the other hand, her brother Bailey is very handsome; when others bother him about his sister's appearance, he insults them about their looks. Maya sees her brother as the most important person in her world. By the end of this section Bailey and Maya meet both their father and mother. Both of them are like strangers to Maya,but Bailey gets along with their father, and is in love with their mothers looks. He realizes that they really look alike and are alike in personalities. However, after meeting them, Maya still sees them as strangers.

Quote:
"People spoke of Momma as a good-looking woman and some, who remembered her youth, said she used to be right pretty. I saw only her power and strength" (Angelou 46).

Reaction:
I found this to be a powerful quote, because it reinforced the thought that i had while reading about Momma. I felt that Momma was, in fact, powerful, based upon the fact that she took in two young children who were facing racism, guilt, and in Maya's case low self-esteem. She was giving her grandchildren a home that embedded  moral discipline, respect, and rules to surviving racism. In my opinion, that is hard! For Maya to say that her grandmother is powerful, is like a hint to the reader, or in my case, an affirmation.