1) Summary of Character Traits  a) School smart (Maya is smart. When she moves to San Francisco from Stamps, Arkansas, she is skipped a grade.)  b) Caring sister (she always talks of her devotion to Baily)  c) Determined (she wants to get a job with the streetcar company and she keeps bugging them until they finally give her a job)  d) Proud (she lives with the junkyard kids instead of going back to her father’s; she slaps Dolores for calling her mother a whore) 2) Appearance  a) African American, tall, skinny, small and squinty eyes, big feet, large gap between her front teeth, black hair 3) What The Character Wants  a) Maya wants, ultimately, for her family to be happy. She wants the segregation of blacks to end (she is disgusted when young white girls call her grandmother by her first name). 4) How the Character Changes  a) After being raped, Maya stops talking as much  b) After spending time living in the junkyard, Maya learns tolerance, which will help her through out her life. She matures from a young girl to a mother, as well.  c) Becomes more mature once she gets her job with the street cars 5) Key Statements About the Character  a) “Ritie, don’t worry ‘cause you ain’t pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.” (p.56)  b) “In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldn’t help. … I knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him” (p. 73) 6) Key Actions  a) Father comes to Stamps and takes them to their mother  b) Moves back to Stamps, then to SF  c) Drives home from Mexico  d) Slaps Dolores  e) Stays with the junkyard people  f) Gets pregnant 7) What Others Think Of the Character  a) When they are younger, Baily really looks out for Maya. As they grow up, and after she spends time with her father, they drift apart.  b) Her grandmother loves Maya very much, and knows that she is a very smart girl with a lot of potential.  c) Her mother seems to care much more about her than her father did.

Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Maya is a strong willed, often stubborn, outgoing, somewhat outspoken, and rather intelligent girl. She becomes very tolerant due to some of her experiences. She also matures faster mentally than many other girls her age because of her situation and experiences.

From the time she was young and through adolescence, Maya considered herself ugly. She was a tall, somewhat lanky African American. She was skinny, and felt that her eyes were too small and squinty. She was also ashamed of her large feet.

Throughout the story, Maya is discouraged by the segregation of the blacks. For a long time she is denied the job that she wishes to have because of the color of her skin. Also, she wants her family to be together and to be happy. She is separated from her parents at a young age and lives with her grandmother and uncle for most of her childhood. When she is with her parents, she tends to feel secondary. There is always something a touch more important that she and her brother Baily.

Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” When the book begins, Angelou is a young child, a mere three years old. As she grows up, though somewhat sheltered by her grandmother’s position as a general store owner, her eyes are opened to the current ways of the South. Blacks are lesser people that whites, and that was the way it was for her. On several occasions she watched in horror as young girls called her grandmother by her first name, when they should have been respectful and at lease used “Miss”. Once breaking the segregation barrier for herself, she gets a job with the Streetcar Company. Having a job, and the responsibility that comes with it, she mentally matures faster than the other children her age. While living with her mother the first time, Maya is molested by her mother’s boyfriend. After this, she becomes almost completely silent. She avoids talking as much as possible, which is a contrast to her previous behavior. Maya spends time living with other children in a junkyard after her father asks her to leave. He asks her to leave because she and his girlfriend, Dolores, get into a fight and Dolores hurts Maya. After spending time with those children, she learns tolerance and matures more. Also, after becoming pregnant and realizing that she is responsible for another human life, she matures even more and becomes more responsible.

Maya and her brother Baily were very close during their childhood and most of their adolescence. Baily was always proud of Maya for her intelligence, even though at times she wished she could have forfeited it for good looks. Baily expresses his pride by saying, “[Maya], don’t worry ‘cause you ain't pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than cute behind.” (p. 56)

After being raped, Maya wishes to protect her brother. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him because, according to her, she isn’t as good of a person as she should be. Through out her life, Maya looks out for Baily and does what she can to protect him. After spending time in the hospital after her abuse, Maya resolves not to reveal the entire truth of what happened between her and her mother’s boyfriend.

In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldn’t help. …I knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him.” (p. 73)

Maya is reluctant to go when her father comes to Stamps to take her and Baily to their mother. After living with her mother for a short time, Maya returns to Stamps. Later after that, she moves back with her mother, in San Francisco this time. At one point, while visiting her father, she goes to Mexico with him. He gets drunk at a bar, and is out of commission, so Maya drives to the border, where she gets in a car accident, and her father is woken up. After the horrendous trip to Mexico, Maya and her father return home to find his girlfriend enraged. In an outburst, the girlfriend calls Maya’s mother a whore. Maya slaps her, which provokes Dolores, the girlfriend, to attack her. After that situation, Maya goes and lives with children in a junkyard. After living in the junkyard, she returns home to her mother. Later on after that, she gets pregnant.

Although Maya is younger than he is, Baily admires his sister for her academic abilities, among other things.

Maya’s grandmother loves her very much. She instills in her strong beliefs and good morals. She knows Maya is a very smart girl and does the best she can to work Maya to her full potential.

Maya’s mother spends more time with her than her father does. Although both parents love her, the love of her mother is more apparent.

It is her hope that the segregation will end, and the black people will be equal to the white race. The way in which Angelou portrays her life makes the reader feel pity at times, for the way Maya and her family is treated, rage at other when Maya acts badly, and joy when good things happen for their family.