I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1969

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 28-30

Chapters 31-33

Chapters 34-36

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 25-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 25 Summary

Momma decides to take Maya and Bailey back to California so that they can be with their parents. Maya suspects that Momma is hiding from them the real reason for their departure, or, as she calls it, "The Truth" (194), which is her fear for their safety. Momma spends hours sewing new clothes for her grandchildren and plans to accompany Maya to Los Angeles, where their father lives, and Bailey is supposed to join them a month later when money for his trip becomes available.

Although she doesn't voice her observations, Momma sees that Maya and Bailey are different from other Black children in Stamps. As a thirteen-year-old, Bailey has developed a habit of speaking with an English accent, emulating his favorite book characters, D'Artagnan and the Count of Monte Cristo. One afternoon, he comes home shocked after being forced to help retrieve the dead body of a Black man from the pond. The experience shakes him and "raised the question of worth and values, of aggressive inferiority and aggressive arrogance" (198). Afterward, Bailey becomes sullen and withdrawn, and he can't understand why white people have such hatred toward Black people. Maya guesses that Momma began making arrangements for their trip to California the same night.

Maya is upset that she will have to be separated from Bailey for a month, and she doesn't like the idea of leaving Uncle Willie alone. She also doesn't want to leave behind her only friend, Louise. Maya doesn't mind saying goodbye to Mrs. Flowers saying that the woman had forever changed her life by encouraging her love of books.

Chapter 26 Summary

At the thought of going back to California, Maya’s guilt comes back to her “like a much-missed friend” (201). But no one raises the subject of Mr. Freeman, and Maya doesn’t dare to talk about him either.

When she and Momma arrive in Los Angeles, Vivian greets them on the platform, and Maya is amazed at how different her grandmother and mother are. In Maya's eyes, Momma is like a "large, solid dark hen" (202), while Vivian is a "blithe chick" (202). Maya and Momma stay at an apartment in Los Angeles, while Vivian arranges living accommodations for the siblings in San Francisco. Bailey joins them after a month, and their father, Bailey Senior, occasionally comes for a visit. Momma ends up staying with the grandchildren in California for six months, and looking back at this time, Maya is astonished by how well her conservative grandmother adjusted to life in a big city. Momma had to shop in supermarkets "larger than the town she came from" (203) and navigate unfamiliar Spanish street names. When it's time for Momma to return to Stamps, Maya is sad to be without her.

For some time, the siblings live with Grandmother Baxter and their uncles in Oakland. They go to school there, but no one checks their work, and on Sundays, instead of going to church, as they used to do in Stamps, the siblings go to the movies. They marvel at their mother, who runs card games at saloons, and is known for her beauty and sense of humor.

Shortly after the beginning of the Second World War, Vivian marries Daddy Clidell, a successful businessman, and moves the children to San Francisco, while Grandmother Baxter, Uncle Billy, and Uncle Tommy stay in Oakland.

Chapter 27 Summary

Soon after America declares war on Japan and enters World War II, the Japanese communities in San Francisco begin to undergo drastic changes. Businesses close, and whole neighborhoods disappear as Japanese people are sent to internment camps. After some time, the vacant space left by the Japanese population is occupied by Southern Black people, and the area becomes "San Francisco's Harlem in a matter of months" (208). Black people work mainly for local factories that supply the war effort, and for the first time in many years, they can make enough money to rent an apartment and pay for services such as dry-cleaning.

Maya notices that Black people do not sympathize with the dislodged Japanese, and no members of her family ever discuss their sudden disappearance from the streets of San Francisco. Maya describes the atmosphere in the city as one of "collective displacement" (211), and in it, she finally finds a sense of belonging. She also falls deeply in love with San Francisco, and in her eyes, it symbolizes "a state of beauty and a state of freedom" (212).

Despite better living and working conditions for Black people, racial prejudices still flourish in the city, and the hostility between the Black and white population “festered and opened like boils on the face of the city” (213).

Chapters 25-27 Analysis

As Maya and Bailey grow older, it becomes more apparent that they are not like other Black children in Stamps: Both siblings are more sensitive to racial injustice, and both find solace in books. Momma notices the changes in her grandchildren, and she also senses the growing tensions in Stamps, and thus makes a decision to move the siblings to California. It is characteristic of Grandmother Henderson not to discuss such matters with Maya and Bailey and not to explain her decision to them, even though they are old enough to understand her reasoning. Momma refrains from discussing the move with her grandchildren not because she doesn't respect them but because she is not used to voicing her concerns. She is not verbally affectionate and instead expresses her love and care for Maya and Bailey through action. When Momma sees that it's best for the children to leave Stamps, she makes all the necessary arrangements to bring them there, which is not easy because such trips are costly. Momma saves money for their fare, sews new clothes for both of them, and accompanies the children to Los Angeles. There, Grandmother Henderson seemingly effortlessly adjusts to big city life, hoping that Maya and Bailey will follow her example.

Once Maya has a chance to observe her mother and her grandmother at the same time, she can't help but notice how different the two women are. At first, Maya doesn't know how to behave with Mother because she is so worldly and beautiful. The girl looks at her mother with admiration and love, yet struggles to connect with her. Grandmother Henderson, on the other hand, becomes Maya's moral compass, and even though the girl doesn't share her conservatism and stoicism, she loves her deeply. In Maya's eyes, Momma Henderson symbolizes stability and orthodoxy, while Mother symbolizes change and nonconformity. Vivian is confident and self-assured, and her mothering style is more modern, and as Maya enters her adolescence, she becomes more drawn to her. After Grandmother Henderson leaves the siblings to go back to Stamps, Maya misses her greatly, but soon Mother gradually replaces Momma's place as the main female role model in Maya's life.

Once the siblings are settled in San Francisco, Maya finally finds a sense of belonging there. Unlike the close-knit, conservative community of Stamps, San Francisco is a city of diversity and relative freedom, and in the city's fluidity, Maya feels that she, too, can have a place.