Character Analysis: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

A person’s childhood experiences can shape who they are for the rest of their life. In her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou describes her struggles as a child living with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas and later as a teenager in San Francisco with her mother. Stamps is a strongly segregated town where her isolation from the town’s white residents leads to her prejudice and distrust towards them as well as a connection to and pride in her own black community. Her firm, religious grandmother and her independent, ambitious mother shape her personality, creating a foundation that allows her to persist through hardships. Maya Angelou finds, through the lessons of family and roots in a close knit community, the

As a child, she attends church regularly where she is taught rules that she must follow in order to be a proper Christian. Her grandmother firmly enforces these rules, with harsh punishments if she makes a mistake. One such punishment occurs when she casually says ‘by the way’ in a conversation and her grandmother becomes furious. After whipping her, she says that “anyone who says ‘by the way’ is really saying, ‘by Jesus’ or ‘by God’ and the Lord’s name would not be taken in vain in her house” (Angelou 103). The harshness of Momma’s reaction to Maya’s slip up drills the significance of taking religion seriously into Maya’s mind. Religious rules and values guide her decisions and help her evaluate the consequences of her actions as she gets older. During Mr. Freeman’s trial Maya chooses to withhold information about her rape. After Mr. Freeman is killed, Maya believes it is her fault because she lied during his trial. She thinks to herself, “Obviously I had forfeited my place in heaven forever” (Angelou 86). She is sure that as a consequence of her lie, she will not be able to go to heaven. Her immediate and definitive reference to religion demonstrates how ingrained it is in her mind and how important it is to her life. Years later, religion helps her make a choice to be kind to Dolores despite their mutual animosity toward each other. In this instance, Dolores is upset and emotional after a confrontation with Maya’s father. Even though Dolores responds with hostility, Maya feels she has succeeded because she has “shown [her]self in a favorable and Christian light” (Angelou 245). Her motivation to be compassionate is based on her deep-seated religious beliefs and to show that she practices her religion in the way that she has been instructed. Her religion has taught her that in this