I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (The End)

Summary:
In this last section Maya and Bailey do a lot of growing up. Maya along with her brother and grandmother move in with Vivian had her new partner Daddy Clidell after the World War II. They all live together in San Francisco, and she goes to school there. She immediately was promoted to the next grade,when she transferred to an all white school, she was one of the few African American students in her class. There was only one teacher she recognized as the one that did not treat her differently because of her race. She Maya receives a scholarship to the California Labor School. There she studies Dance and Drama. Furthermore Maya sees Daddy Clidell as a good father figure. She gets to see the difference when she goes to spend the summer with her real father and step mother Dolores. Her father continues to procrastinate his marriage;he hasn't married Dolores yet, but said he will. Dolores seems to be a very jealous person especially since Big Bailey sometimes takes business trips to Mexico and leaves her in the mobile home. This time when Maya is there, Big Bailey takes Maya with him to Mexico. They seem to be bonding, and Maya starts enjoying the trip when she uses her knowledge of Spanish. Unfortunately one day Big Bailey was no where to be found and Maya waited for him in the car. Later on he came out of a bar, drunk. because he passed out, Maya had to drive for the first time. She had a little accident, that did not get him mad, instead it brought his consciousness back. He then drove them back. To add insult to injury, upon arriving at her fathers mobile home, Dolores begins arguing with Big Bailey. Maya head her mention how she felt that he had been neglecting her, and choosing his daughter over her. Maya then confronts Dolores and apologizes for making her feel that way; Maya did it in a kind way. However Dolores took it the completely wrong way and began insulting Maya's mother by using derogatory terms. Maya then slaps her, as she said she would. Dolores retaliated by stabbing her. After her father makes her stay at a friends house, Maya chose to run away. She wanted to go back home and tell Vivian, but she knew that that would cause more problems between her parents. She stayed in a junkyard where she gained somewhat of a family. Her temporary/ newly found family was made up of a group of black, Mexican, and white homeless teenagers. After staying there for a month she calls for Vivian to pay the air fair back to San Francisco. 

When she goes back home she realizes that Bailey has begun to go against his mother. Its in a weird way, because he starts dating white prostitutes, and dressing different in order to resemble the men that his mother dates; he wanted to catch her attention. When this did not work, he moved out, saying he needed to leave the nest.

Maya became the first black woman to work on the San Francisco streetcars, when she decided to take a semester off of school . Furthermore she was confused about her sexuality when she realized that her voice was deeper, she had no hips and undeveloped breasts. She was confused about being either a lesbian or a hermaphrodite. Finally she asks her mother about this and  her mother tries to clears her confusion by saying that these changes were completely normal. However, while still trying to figure this out, she decides to find a boyfriend. Instead of finding one she ends up pregnant, and announces her 8th month pregnancy when graduating. Her mother and step father simply tell her that she has to accept her new responsibilities. She gave birth to a baby boy.

Quote:
"Mother came to my bed one night bringing my three-week-old baby. She pulled the cover back and told me to get up and hold him while she put rubber sheets on my bed" (Angelou 288). 

Reaction:
I chose this quote because I noticed the change in Maya's attitude towards her mother. Before she was sort of iffy about the relationship between her and her other. Before she would refer to her mother as Vivian, and by the end of the story she writes Mother. It shows that over time Vivian gained her daughters trust, respect, and love.