I Know WhyThe Caged Bird Sings
I Know WhyThe Caged Bird SingsI know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1) Setting "I": - Stamps, Arkansas, in a black ghetto neighborhood where Maya lives with her grandmother and paralyzed uncle - St. Louis, San Francisco, a junkyard, and Southern California; A brief incident takes place across the border in Mexico - starting from 1930�s to mid-late 1900�s, she was born in 1928 2) Character "I" 1: Primary Characters - Maya� a black girl with nappy black hair, broad feet, and a space between her teeth; the narrator of the book; the novels based on her growing up. - Bailey Johnson (Junior) - Maya�s older brother and a major person her life; he gives her advice, he�s good looking, intelligent, and mischievous; he loves his mother. - Momma Henderson - Maya�s grandmother, she owns a black general store in Stamps; Maya and Bailey come to live with her when their parents get a divorce; Momma is the only black female entrepreneur in town. She is devoted to her religion. - Vivian "Bibbie" Baxter - Maya and Bailey�s mother; a beautiful, smart, and willful lady; She is a trained nurse, but also makes a lot of money playing poker games in gambling parlors. - Daddy Bailey - Maya and Bailey�s father; he is a vain, selfish, and conceited man, who is not a good father. Chris Corey pg. 2 3) Character "I" 2: Secondary Characters - Grandmother Baxter - the children�s nearly white grandmother; she is a precinct leader - Grandfather Baxter - dies a few years after Maya returns to Stamps - Uncle Willie - Maya and Bailey�s uncle; he lives with Momma Henderson; paralyzed since he was three - Dolores Stockland - Daddy Bailey�s girlfriend; she is jealous of Maya and attacks her - Mrs. Bertha Flowers - Momma�s sophisticated friend who helps Maya find confidence through books - Mr. Freeman - a past boyfriend of Vivian�s; he rapes Maya and is killed by her uncles - Tom, Tutti, Ira & Billy - Vivian�s brothers; they are tough; they beat Freeman to death after he rapes Maya - Daddy Clidell - married to Vivian; poorly educated property owner; Maya�s closest father head figure - Viola Cullinan - Maya�s first employer, a barren white woman; her husband has two children with a black mistress; Maya hates her because she changes her name just for her convenience - Joyce - seduces Bailey and breaks his heart by running away with a railway porter Chris Corey pg. 3 - Tommy Valdon - Maya�s first admirer - Louise Kendricks - Maya�s first real friend - Bootsie -leader of the junkyard community which Maya is a part of after running away 4) Conflict "I" 1 Human vs. Society As a child, Maya had to live with her grandmother because of her parents divorce. After a long period of not hearing from her parents she neglects the fact that they even live. When they come back in her life, she doesn�t get along...
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