I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

BOOK REPORT

ON

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”

Section I

1. In the text “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” a young black girl is growing up with racism surrounding her. It is very interesting how the author Maya Angelou was there and the way she described every detail with great passion. In the book Maya and Bailey move to a lot of places, which are, Stamps, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; and San Francisco, California. Maya comes threw these places with many thing happening to her and people she knows. She tries to hold onto all the good memories and get rid of the bad but new ones just keep coming. That is why this book is very interesting. It keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

2. In the beginning of the book the Maya and Bailey moved to a place called Stamps. They moved in with their Grand mother. She owns the store in the middle of the black part of Stamps. During the cotton picking season their grandmother gets up at four in the morning to get the lunches to the people who pick the cotton. In chapter two the young girl falls in love with reading epically William Shakespeare. Then later momma (aka the grand mother) found out that a black man messed with white women and the white people were on a rampage. When people call Maya ugly her sister steps in and bags down on the people who are saying it.

3. A reverend comes to mommas house once a month to discuss the ceriman but everybody hates him cause he eats the best part of the Sunday dinner. Later in the book Maya is raped and sexually harassed by Mr. Freeman. After Maya got sick the pants that she got raped in were found, and Mr. Freeman went to jail but got out that night. After the trial Maya and Bailey were sent back to stamps to live again with their grand mother. Maya goes to someone to help make her talk, because after she got raped she did not talk.

4. Bailey was late to dinner and he got a beating. Bailey told that he was watching a white female actress that looked just like momma. She made the movie ad they had to wait for it to come out to see it again. In the next chapter at the church people start to plan a party so people can have some relief from their hard lives. Now they are getting ready for the fish fry. The men show how well they can fish and the women showed how well they could cook.

5. In seventh grade Maya got a note from an eighth grade boy to be her valentine. She became very mean. She yells never again and she tares up the note and lets it go in the wind. He still wants her has hid valentine. but she says no. And then one day she takes a leap and flirts with one of his friends.

6. During a Gradation Party Maya gets a toothache and goes to see a white doctor. The doctor refuses to put his hands in a black girl’s mouth. So momma storms out. Later she takes Maya to see a black doctor. After that Maya thinks of her momma as a superhuman.