I know why the caged bird sings- chapter summaries

chapter one summary

when maya was 3 and bailey was 4 years old, parents divorced & were sent to mommas to live there.
on the train alone from california to stamps, Arkansas
half way witha porter and the other half alone with paper signs stuck to them labeling their final destination
momma owns & runs only store in the town
store is centre of community
momma one of most respected residents
momma wakes up 4am during to sell sandwiches to black cotton labourers during cotton- harvesting season.
in mornings the cotton pickers are full of energy but by the end of the day they can barely get home.
they earn less than they should- struggle to pay debts.
steroptype of happy cotton pickers inrages maya

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chapter two summary

Willie, mommas disabled son becomes **** of jokes in community
maya returns home from schol one day to see willie hiding his disablity from customers in the store- maya symphazises with him and understands his struggles
she feels closer to him now knowing how he feels.
maya falls in love with reading
she likes william shakespeare- feels guilty as hes a white man.

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chapter three summary

one afternoon, Mr.Steward, a white former sheriff, comes to warn momma that the white people are on a rampage as a black man has messed with a white woman.
she hides willie is potato bin so they dont start on him as hes black
luckiy they dont go into the store.

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chapter four summary

maya hears she is ugly constantly.
***** hair,dark skin,large for her age.
bailey- small, attractive child
bailey always insults the person picking on maya
maya sees bailey as the most important person in her life.

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chapter five summary

momma believes children should follow rules and respect elders
poor white children dont follow this.
annoys maya to hear them disrespect momma& willie by calling them by their first names.
when mayas 10, children mock mooma and she sends maya inside the store as its angering her.
momma stands there and does nothing
one girl does a handstand and she shows that she is not wearing underwear this infuriates maya
momma fought and won the battle with the children.

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chapter six revision

Reverend Howard Thomas, visits momma.
disliked by maya and bailey as he is gready and eats all the best bits of sunday dinner.

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chapter seven summary

Momma dont think its safe for blacks to talk to whites.
she dont speak harshly about whites, just refers to them as they.
a black man accussed off assulating a white woman and stayed in mommas store to hide.
when he left he was arrested and in court he made it clear he had been staying at mrs Hendersons
people only call them mrs when their white showing momma is highly respected in the community.

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chapter eight summary

at christmas their parents send gifts
children cry outside, wondering what they did wrong to be sent away
momma stopped them from being ungrateful
they couldnt stop thinking about how their parents are enjoying christmas somewhere else without their children
they later destroy the gifts

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chapter nine summary

big bailey visits stamps
has his own car and speaks like a white person
height and manly features shock maya
stays for 3 weeks
tells maya and bailey he is driving them to st louis to see their mum
momma is sad but tells them to behave.
maya cant believe he is her dad sees him as a stranger
bailey gets on with big bailey and laughs and jokes with him
when maya sees her mum, vivian, she is mesmerised by her beauty.
bailey falls in love with her
big bailey leaves for california for few days
maya feels like she has been digt by another stranger

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chapter ten summary

arrived in st.louis during heyday of prohibition
bailey and maya meet all kinds of crime
grandmother baxter entertains the men and has influence with police
vivians brothers have city jobs, positions that are rarely given to blacks
have a reputation for crime, beating up both races
they treat the children well and tell them stories from childhood
uncle tommy tells maya not to worry about not being pretty as she is smart.
bailey and maya live with grandparents for 6 months before moving in with vivian and her boyfriend Mr freeman.
mr freeman feels insecure about his relaytionship with vivian
change in location dont affect maya, never feels like she belongs anywhere
feels like she and bailey are ment to be different to everyone else.

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chapter eleven summary

maya starts reading fairytales and tells her =self she dont intend to stay in st louis
vivian works in a gambling parlor at night
maya feels sorry for mr freeman as he waits all day for vivian to get home
maya sleeps in vivians and mr freemans bed at night as she gets nightmares
one morning vivian leaves for work and mr freeman masturbates holding her close to him while he does
afterwards he threatens to kill bailey if she tells anyone
maya dont know what happened but enjoyed being held by someoneand feeling wanted
he ignores her for weeks then molesters her again
but then ignores her againn
she feels rejected and hurt
gets losted in books to forget
wishs she was a boy as all the heroes in the books are boys
bailey has made new friends
her and bailey grow apart
she spends saturdays in the libary.

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chapter twelve summary

in late spring, vivian stays out all night
mr freeman sends maya to get milk when she gets back he rapes her.
threatens to kill her if she screams
threatens to kill bailey if she tells anyone
he sends her to the libary but cannot cope with intense pain between legs
she hides bloody underwear under vivians matteress
vivian thinks maya is getting measles
maya hears vivian and mr freeman arguing, he finds out the next morning he has moved out
when bailey trys to change the bed sheets the pants fall out from underneath the matteress.

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chapter thirteen summary

vivian takes maya to hospital
bailey begs her to give the rapists name, promising the rapistist wont kill him
she reveals who it was and mr freeman is arrested
maya feels trapped when attorney asked whether there was any sexual incidents prior
she fears rejection off family so lies in court
mr freeman sentenced to one year and one day
he is temporarliy released after the hearing
later that evening the police arrive to inform that mr freeman had been beaten to death
the family swiftly change the subject
family never speaks of the incident
maya convinced he was killed because sje lied in order to condemn him
she decides to not speak to anyone apart from bailey to protect them from her lies
family accept her silence as part of shock of the **** however after time they become offended and angry and violent towards her

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chapter fourteen summary

maya and bailey return to stamps
maya unsure if momma sent for them or her mother cant handle her silence anymore
maya relieved to be back but bailey misses vivian
bailey exaggerates the big city to curious residents, he has a sarcastic tone but no one notices his insults
he remains kind to maya
she understands his frustration and he understands her silence

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chapter fifteen summary

mrs bertha flowers offers to get maya out of her silence
invites maya to her house
gives her books and tells her to read them out loud
maya happy she made cookies just for her
mrs flowers assigns her to remember a poem she will recite on her next visit
maya returns full of joy to the store with a bag of cookies
using her voice she tells bailey there is cookies for him
momma gets angry and whips maya as she used a phrase she believes is offencive to god.

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chapter sixteen summary

maya works in mrs viola cullinans home.
miss glory the cook tells maya mrs cullinans couldnt have children and she feels sorry for her
mrs cullinans friends anger maya as they suggest she should be called mary as margret is too long
maya corrects them and says her name is margariute
mrs cullinans starts calling her mary which makes her furious
she knows momma wont let her quit but she wants to.
finds anyway to get fired
slacks in her work but its not noticed
breaks mrs cullinans heirloom china, she gets angry and becomes racist towards maya
mrs cullinans friends hear her sob and scream, they crowd in the kitchen
one asks if mary is responsible and mrs cullinans replies with her name is margaret

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chapter seventeen

one night bailey stays out after dark
willie and momma dont mention their concern
momma and maya go out looking for him
find him strolling home
doesnt give any reason for being late.
he recieves a whipping
maya sees him have no soul for a few days
later bailey tells maya he was out watching a film with a white actress in, kay francis, who looks like vivian and he stayed out late to watch it a second time
they waited for another kay francis film to come out
maya laughs at irony that a white woman can look like a black woman
movie delights maya but saddens bailey
on the way home bailey scares maya by runnig acroos a track that has a moving railway car on it
maya fears he will jump on a railway car in the future and leave
a year later he boards a boxcar but lands in baton rouge for 2 weeks.

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chapter eighteen summary

annual revivial meeting interrupts everyones daily lives in stamps
people from black churches attend
preacher delievers a speech on admonishing those who practice false charity
everyone knows its against white christian hypocrisy
they give to poor blakc swith high expectations
speech promises revenge and justice
after prechers announces the unsaved must come forward and choice the church they want to join
after everyone shows their righteousness
but when they make a noise their heads fall and silents happens, sensing another sin in the black world.
maya sees it as the people that attend are trying to escape thier harsh lives.

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chapter nineteen summary

people cram inside the store to listen to the heavyweight boxing match
all hoping joe louis, the blakc hero defends his title
maya says if louis looses then everything the whites say about blacks will be true
louis wins the fight
everyone in the sore celebrates
maya says louis proves blacks are the most powerful in the world.

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chapter twenty summary

in the annual summer fish fry, women show their baking and men fish in the nearby pond
during this time maya wonders off from the music and noise to a clearing and sits in the trees
she meets louise kendricks
at first they are both shy
but soon they are holding hands and and spinning around
they become best friends
in 7th grade she recieves a note from 8th grader tommy valdon asking her to be his valentine
she shows louise and she says it means love.
maya says not ever again- not explaining it
they tear note in tiny pieces and throws it in the wind.
on valentines day mayas teacher reads out all the valentines cards
tommy had sent maya another one saying he seen her rip the other one up and that he doesnt think she meant to hurt him
he considers her as his valentine even though she didnt reply
she decides to flirt with him but his crush is becoming weak.

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chapter twenty one summary

bailey makes a tent in the yard
begins playing aexual games with girls
he is the father, the girl is the mother and maya is the baby who keeps guard
six months later he looses his virgiinity to joyce and older more developed girl
he starts stealing things from the store for her
after few months she disapears
her aunt tells momma she has ran away with a railroad porter she met in the store
bailey is heartbroken
momma shocked she didnt notice it happening in her store
maya didnt like her and hates her for leaving and hurting bailey

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chapter twenty two summary

one stormy night george taylor comes to the sroe and stays the night
he is morning the loss of his wife
momma urges him to be grateful for the years he had with his wife
they didnt not have children
he tells momma he seen florida, his wife, the previous day and she told him she wanted children
momma and willie ask if it was a dream but he claims to be awake
maya hates ghost stories but this scares her
maya goes to her funeral
momma insists she goes as florida left a yellow brooch for her.
her first confrontation with death
returning from memory of funeral she hears mr taylor narrating his experience
night before he saw a blue eyed, fat blond baby angel laughing at him
mrs taylor was there talking to the baby nd making it laugh and in the end she says she wants a baby

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chapter twenty three summary

black families in stamps see 8th graduation as a big thing
maya takes a seat in the school hall, feeling uneasy
the white speaker, mr. edward donleavy gives a speech about the improvements to the local schools
he claims many people from mayas school have become good athletes
maya feels like her only hope in life is within sport
the whole class is in shame
maya thinks she has no control over her life
Henry reeds validectory speech lightens the mood
but maya is stilll in a bad mood
he continues to speak with clarity
after he turns to the class behind him and gets them to sing "ev'ry voice and sing"- popular ***** national anythem
maya listens for the first time and takes pride in her community.

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chapter twenty four summary

maya gets toothache
nearest denist is 25 miles away for blacks
momma takes her to a white denist instead
in great depression momma loaned money to many people including dr lincoln
momma thinks he owes her a favour
when they get there he tells them he wont work on her mouth because she is black
he would rather work on a dogs mouth than a black persons.

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chapter twenty five summary

bailey returns from errand shoke up
he had just seen a rotting dead mans body from the pond
a white man ordered bailey to help him put him on a wagon
the man pretends he isgoing to lock bailey up with the dead an
afterwards momma plans a trip for bailey and maya to california to live with their mother.

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chapter twenty six summary

momma lives in la with bailey and maya whilst vivian works out arrangements
bsiley and maya start to see vivians insercuirities and fears
vivian concerned for their well being
she has trained as a nurse but works in gambling parlour

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chapter twenty seven and eight summary

comments on changes to usa since start of ww2
she says no one talks about japanese displacement
says black community pay no attnetion to japanese as blacks focus on advancing themselves
constant change of displacement during wartime
san fransico makes maya feel at home for the first time
when arrives at schhol she gets put up a year
soon sent to a white school and was one of three black children.
white students are aggresive and better educated
miss kirwin treated all the studets fairly and didnt look at race.
at 14 maya recieved a schoolarship to california labour school where she studied drama and dance.

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chapter twenty nine summary

daddy cildell becomes only real father figure to maya.
he intruduces maya to his con men friends
maya doesnt see them as criminals as they have always been treated badly from the start due to their race.

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chapter thirty summary

big bailey invites maya to mexico for the sumer.
she will be meeting his new girlfriend dolores
maya and dolores send letters in anticipation of the greeting
the appreanances they described in the letters were the opposite to what they look like- shocked
big bailey plans to marry dolores but keeps postponning the planning
they live in a mobile home
dolores likes to keep the place clean and tidy
mayas a messy person so they take a dislike from the start
big bailey makes many trips into mexico to get groceries
one day he invites maya along, making dolores jealous
he jokingly asks maya to marry him.
he stops at ensenada were everyone warmly welcomes him, he shows his true self.
maya starts to enjoy hersel but then looses her dad and gets frightened so sits in the car and waits for him
he comes back very drunk and passes out in the car

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chapter thirty summary part 2

maya drives 50 miles to the border even she has never driven before
she had a small accident at the check point
at this point big bailey wakes up and sorts the matter
he is not suprised or angry about the accident
he is not suprised she can drive
maya annoyed he is appreciative of her achievement
ride home is silent

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chapter thirty one summary

maya hears arguement betwwen big bailey and dolores
dorlores feels like maya has come between them.
big bailey leaves and dolores crys
maya tells her she never ment to get in between them- feels good for being nice
dolores calls vivian a whore
maya warns her that she will slap her then she actually does.
dolores then stabs her with a pair of scissors
maya runs to her dads car and locks herself in while bleeding
big bailey hers the screaming so returns to investigate
he takes maya to a friends house who bandages her wound
after they go to another friends house where she stays the night
next morning big bailey comes and gives her some money and tells her he will be back that evening
maya dont want to face her dads friend so packs her stuff and some food and leaves
she knows she cant go to her mums as it will cause arguements between her and big bailey

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chapter thirty two summary

after leaving her dads friends house she spends the night in a car in a junkyard
when she wakes up there is gangs of black mexicans and white homeless teenagers laughing at her
they tell her she can stay there as long as she follows the rules: opposite sex cannot sleep together, stealing is forbidden, everyone works,
she stays for a month
everyone enters dance contenst on saturdays
maya and her partner come second on her last weekend
she learns about diversty
at end of month she rings her mum and asks her to pay for her airfare back to california

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chapter thirty three summary

maya says she has changed a lot since the start of the summer
she says bailey has changed a lot more though
they have different personalities now
but both still like dancing
bailey seeks vivians approval by wearing fancy chlothes and dating a white prostitue- mimicing life of her male friends
vivian unware of what she has caused her son to do
she asks him to stop dating the white prositue but he says no and starts disobeying rules
he then moves out
they quickly make up and she promises to get him a job in the south pacific
maya upset that he has moved out but doesnt show it
bailey is certain he is mature enough and that its time to leave

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chapter thirty four summary

maya takes a term off from school to work
certain she will get a car conductor job even though there is a racist policy against it
she succeeds in finding a job in san francisco and becoes first black streetcar conductor
when returing to school she feels out of place
an american black women says she dont just have to deal with teenagfe problems she has to deal with sexism and racism aswell
blakc women that survive these problems become strong

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chapter thirty five summary

the well of lonliness is mayas first intro to lesbianism
she doesnt understand
fears she may be one
confuses with hermaphrodite
she has a deep voice, underdeveloped breast and hips and no under arm hair
asks vivian about wierd growth on vagina- says its normal
she decides to get a boyfriend to settle the lesbian matter
this doesnt help her fears
a few weeks later she finds out sh is pregnant

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chapter thirty six summary

accepts full responsiblilty of pregnancy
writes to bailey for advice
vivian disikes abortion but basiley thinks it will stop her schooling
she throws herself into school
after graduation she admits she is 8 months pregnant
vivian and daddy cildell accept her pregnancy
gives birth to a son
fascinated and afraid to touch him
vivian makes her sleep with her 3 week old son
fears she wil crush him
attempts to stay up all night but fails
vivian wakes her later on showing her how he sleeps in the crook of her arm
she tells maya not worry becuase if her heart is in the right place she will do the right thing regardless
she peacefully returns to sleep with her son.

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