Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Biographies I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings In the beginning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite, later known as Maya begins to tell the story of her childhood. When her parents divorced, they sent her & her brother, Bailey to live in Stamps, Arkansas with their Grandmother (Momma) and their Uncle Willie. The kids go to school in Stamps and work in the store that Momma and Uncle Willie own. One year, while they were in Stamps, their father came to visit. When he was getting ready to return to California, he asked the kids if they wanted to come back with him to live. They agreed. Momma was also glad to have them off her hands even though she enjoyed having them around. While they were in the car, their father revealed that they were going to St. Louis to see their mother. Maya and Bailey hadn’t seen her for a very long time to they were happy about the side trip. After three days in St. Louis, their father left again. They were there to live with their mother. Maya felt that he was a stranger anyway so it Maya and Bailey’s mother had three brothers who had good jobs with the city. Their family was respected in the area they lived in and everyone knew who they were. The children were also introduced to Mr. Freeman, their mother’s boyfriend. He didn’t interact with them much. He often came home late at night and they didn’t talk to him very much. One morning, after Maya’s mother had left, Mr. Freeman came into the bedroom and molested Maya. Later in the novel, he rapes her. When her mother finds out, she has Maya taken to the hospital and checked out. Maya finally tells Bailey what happened to her and who did it, he tells the information to the authorities. Mr. Freeman is arrested and a trial is scheduled. While Maya is on the witness stand, she lies and tells the court that Mr. Freeman never touched her until he raped her. He is sentenced to one year and one day in prison, but he was released that afternoon. Maya and Bailey move back to Stamps and Maya begins working for a white woman named, Mrs. Cullinan. Mrs. Cullinan had other black employees as well as Maya but she always called Maya Mary instead of her given name, Marguerite. This upset Maya and she throws Mrs. Culli¬ nan’s valuable family plates on the floor. She is fired immediately and is Later in the novel, Maya moves to San Francisco to live with her mother. She sees her father more now because he lives in southern California. Bailey is away now, but still visits. Maya and her father drive to Mexico one day to buy food. While they are there, her father becomes intoxicated. Maya has to drive home while he sleeps in the back seat. At the border, the hits another car. There were minor damages and her father woke up to take care of the problem. When they get home, Maya and her father’s girlfriend, Dolores, get into an argument. Dolores called Maya’s mother names and Maya hit her. Dolores jumped up, grabbed her, and cut her. Then, she chased her out of When she is fifteen, Maya decides to get a job. She wants to be a trolley driver in San Francisco. She isn’t hired at first because of her color, but she keeps applying until she finally gets the job. Maya becomes the first black female trolley conductor in San Francisco. Next we find out that Maya is pregnant. She doesn’t tell anyone but Bailey. Finally, she tells her mother and stepfather in a note. Although they aren’t proud, they are supporting of Maya. The novel comes to an end three weeks after Maya gives labor to her son. Even though she’s been awkward all her life, she suddenly becomes graceful and attentive to the needs of her child. I enjoyed reading this book, but, I didn’t agree with many of Maya’s choices. In chapter thirty-five, she asked a boy she didn’t even know, “Would you like to have sexual intercourse with me?” They were not married, nor did they plan to be married. She just wanted to try something new. In my opinion, this was a stupid decision. They used no protection whatsoever, and she ended up pregnant. I know Maya Angelou is a very successful poet and that she has done many things in her life that she should be recognized for, although, I do not think her teenage years were Bibliography: Word Count: 784
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