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Character Analysis: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

465 Words2 Pages

Edina Catic
Ms. Barton
ELA II, 6th hour
15 December 2015
Maya and Bailey Johnson Members of the same family support and take care of eachother. Specifically, siblings are an important aspect of life while growing up. Maya Angelou writes about her relationship with her older brother, Bailey, in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. While they were children, Bailey protected Maya whenever he could; Furthermore, as they both matured into teenagers, Bailey became one of the only people who Maya trusted. Even when they were both separated, Maya trusted Bailey’s input and advice over anyone else’s. As a child, Maya had been made fun of for her appearance, causing her to not have any self-pride. However, Bailey had always defended Maya against the rude remarks. Maya believed that “Bailey was the greatest person in [her] world” (Angelou 21). Bailey did not like the fact that his little sister was being made fun of. As a result of this, Bailey had made his own rude remarks towards those who insulted Maya. Bailey sticking up for Maya made her feel better about herself. The fact that …show more content…

When Bailey and Maya moved to Saint Louis to live with Mother Dear, Maya was being abused by their mother’s boyfriend. After Maya had been raped by Mr. Freeman, “[she] could talk to Bailey, but to no one else” (Angelou 88). Maya had gone through something that no child should ever have to experience. She had been really kept to herself and occasionally talked to Bailey. Eventually, the two siblings had moved backed to Stamps with Bailey crying during the entire trip back because he did not want to be separated from Mother Dear. However, “[Maya] could have cared less about the trip than about the fact that Bailey was unhappy” (Angelou 88). Maya was more focused on her brother’s emotions, which shows how important he is to her. Maya and Bailey had a relationship where both of them put the other

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