I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay

People are born into the world. They learn how to walk, speak, and think in order to make their own decisions. Because they are knowledgeable about these things, it is only right if troubles and hardships start to interfere in their life and become obstacles in their path whether they are personal, political, or psychological. In the autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, the main character, (herself) Marguerite, goes through psychologically damaging events, and experiences discrimination because of the color of her skin, but in the end she endures all those hardships, learns how to be independent, and proud of who she is. Along her journey, there are three specific figures who stood out in the book and in Marguerite’s

life.

The person who made the most influential sparks on Marguerite’s life is Annie Henderson, the grandmother who took care of her after she was “shipped” away to the Stamps by her father.

Annie Henderson gave Marguerite and her brother Bailey all the love, care, and support that their parents could not give them. She served as their mother figure hence the reason why they started addressing her as “Momma” instead of grandmother. Marguerite’s biological mother was never there for her. In fact, it could have been better if they had never reunited because when she lived with her mother, she was raped. This was an event in Marguerite’s life that will never go away. It will always linger around her as a horrible memory that she wants to forget. It makes it worse because the man who raped her, was her mother’s boyfriend. The person who took her back and gave her time to heal was Momma.

Marguerite learns to be proud of who she is and how to truly love herself because of Momma. In the beginning, she wishes that she would “[wake] out of [her] black ugly dream” (Angelou 2) to find herself with blue eyes and long, blond hair. Society was telling her that in order to be considered beautiful, you had to be white; however, Momma helps Marguerite realize that being a person of color is honorable and that finding beauty inside is more

important.

There was a time when a couple of white girls mocked Momma with mean and nasty actions. As Marguerite watched, she was angry and wanted to “throw a handful of black pepper in their faces” (Angelou 31) and to “scream that they were dirty, scummy peckerwoods” (Angelou 31). However, Momma was calm and she “never turned her head or unfolded her arms” (Angelou 32). She even addressed to them as “Miz” when the girls left. Although she was fired up, Marguerite says that when she looked at Momma, she noticed that she was beautiful and something happened out there that she didn’t fully understand, but she knew “Momma had won” (Angelou 33). Momma taught Marguerite that not only should you be humble, you should be the bigger person because you are better. Her strong, humble ways influenced Marguerite to grow up to be a determined, young woman.

Another example would be when around town, Momma is called “Mrs. Henderson”. At that time and place, referring to a woman of color with “Mrs.” was very rare and thought to be bizarre. This showed Marguerite that Momma is respected and loved even though she was a black woman.

The second figure in Marguerite’s life that helped her grow is her biological brother, Bailey. These two children grew up together, and experienced and shared all their childhood memories. When they were younger, there was a reverend who always came to join them every couple of months in their family dinners at night. Reverend Howard Thomas would always eat the “biggest, brownest and best parts of the chicken at every Sunday meal”(Angelou 35), so the two siblings started to make fun of him. They called him ugly and fat because of his unattractive outward appearance. They began to mimic his voice and start saying “Preach it” again and again, every time falling into laughter that wouldn’t die down. Soon enough, the two kids got into trouble and received the “whipping of [their] lives” (Angelou 44), but memories were made.

Bailey was always there for Marguerite in times when she was struggling or in need. When Marguerite was raped as a young girl, Bailey cried for her in the hospital after finding out. She did not tell anyone that Mr. Freeman, her mother’s boyfriend, raped her because he threatened to kill Bailey. Marguerite was protecting her brother in a way by not telling anyone what had happened, and only talked because Bailey said, “ ‘He can’t kill me. I won’t let him’ ” (Angelou 83).

When they would travel around or move their living spaces, they only had each other to turn to for comfort and familiarity. He was the first person Marguerite told when she found out she was pregnant. Not only did he keep quiet about it, he gave her advice as well. Marguerite and Bailey have a bond that can never be broken. They were just born with it.

Bailey served as a brother figure in Marguerite’s life, but he was also her best friend. They are only one year apart, so they are pretty similar in age. He protects her when she needs help.

Her first real friend and someone who makes her feel like a kid. The last person who served as a positive role model in Marguerite’s life is Louise Kendricks. After going through the unfortunate and horrible event, that scarred her mind, of being raped, Marguerite had difficulty with acting like a kid and having fun like a student should at her age. Her mind and train of thought was mature, but around Louise, she felt younger and brighter. Louise is not a main character in the autobiography, or known as a person who made a huge impact on Marguerite's life. Marguerite did not even tell Louise about the event. However, the fact that she helped her momentarily forget about the raping incident is a huge thing itself.

Louise and Marguerite share memories of just young teenager things like crushes and love stories. Because Marguerite was sexually abused, she has a fear of all males and doesn’t like interfering with them besides her own brother, Bailey. When Tommy Valdon gives Marguerite a Valentine, she gets scared and rips it all up. Louise questions it, but she respected Marguerite's choice.

One does not live life by themselves. They live life with all the people around them who are in their day to day lives because the people around are the ones who influence one’s actions and thoughts. Marguerite started off as an insecure, little girl who was afraid, but ready to make a change, just like a caged bird who dares to sing. The growth in her life as the years went by and as the time flew is incredible. She learned how to be comfortable in her own skin and became a proud, independent young woman. The positive figures in her life helped her, but more importantly it was herself who grew. She accepted the advice and comments from the people around her and put it all together to become the woman she is today.