‘I knew immediately why she had sent me away. She was too beautiful to have children.’(Maya Angelou, 1984, P58)
This was Maya’s way of justifying her mother actions. Even if it maybe considered a bad thing what her mother did, Maya still thought she was wonderful. Later on in this book Maya’s mother did another bad thing. She shot someone twice, which again maybe considered a bad thing to do.
‘Since she had intended to shoot him (notice: shoot, not kill) she had no reason to run away, so she shot him a second time. – He had been shot, true, but in her fairness she had warned him.’(Maya Angelou, 1984, pages 202 and 203)
The language used when Maya describes this event show she thinks that this is not a major or bad thing that has happened. Maya again shows her mother as not a bad person even though what she has done is wrong. Maya’s mother was also believed to be a prostitute; Maya believes this too but again discards the idea because she knew that if that were true then she wouldn’t be able to live with her, which she wanted to. Even though Maya’s mother could be considered a bad mother, Maya thinks extremely highly of her. This can be seen from the choice of lexis, Maya uses to describe her mother. Maya always used nice words such as ‘beautiful’, ‘warm’, ‘glorious’. Maya is also enthusiastic when talking about her mother.
At one point Maya goes to stay with her father and his girlfriend. Maya believed that being her mother was so beautiful, any woman her father was with after her mother would have been just as beautiful if not more. This was the start of Maya’s disappointment when meeting her stepmother. Maya disliked Dolores (her stepmother); you could tell this from the contrast in tones, from the happy tone when see talks about her mother to the dull and spiteful tone used when describing Dolores.
‘If Dolores had been a little less aloof, a little more earthy…- She was mean and petty and full of pretense.’(Maya Angelou, 1984, pages 222 and 223)
Dolores theoretically was a good, honest person. She was a good, hardworking wife; she took Maya into her home and treated her well. Even though this, she is still seen as the bad one by the end of this part, from the way Maya talks about her. Maya uses mean words to describe Dolores, and is also sarcastic towards her when talking about her and their home.
‘She was on close terms with her washing machine and ironing board.’(Maya Angelou, 1984, P221)
This shows one of the sarcastic phases used by Maya Angelou. It also shows that Maya was not the innocent party in her conflict with her stepmother. Maya went out of her way to irritate Dolores and to make her jealous of Maya relationship with her father. Dolores still comes of as the bad one at the end, after an argument with Maya. Maya tries to be nice to Dolores, but Dolores ends up calling Maya’s mother a ‘whore’. Even though this is possibly true and Maya questions this, she still defends her mother. It is Maya that makes the first attack on Dolores; Maya justifies her behaviour, which leaves her looking the better person.
‘What did she expect if she called my mother a whore?’ (Maya Angelou, 1984, P239)
Another character who has an unexpected outcome is the dentist, Dr Lincoln. At one stage Maya, as a child was in a lot of pain with toothache. At the Maya was living with her grandmother in Stamps. The nearest Negro dentist to them was twenty-five miles away, which was too far for Maya to travel in such pain. As a result Maya’s grandmother took her to a dentist near by that owed her a favour. Many would believe a dentist to be a respectable, good, reliable person. This was not the case of Dr Lincoln. He refused to help a child in pain, even though Maya’s grandmother stopped him losing his business by lending him money. When speaking to Maya’s grandmother, Dr Lincoln was very abrupt and rude to her. He did not even acknowledge Maya, or the fact her face was swollen and she was in pain.
‘I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s’(Maya Angelou, 1984, P184)
This was the harsh phase that Dr Lincoln used. This also shows discrimination and racism, another major theme in Maya Angelou’s autobiography. After Dr Lincoln refuses to help, Maya’s grandmother follows him in his office. When she later describes what happened she says that Dr Lincoln and the nurse were as ‘thick as thieves’. This is a simile used to accentuate Dr Lincoln characteristics.
From the way Maya Angelou has written her autobiography ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ she has managed to successfully express peoples true characters. People that may be considered to have a good character such as Dr Lincoln have been shown for who they really are. This has been done by the choice of lexis and the tones that she has used to create different atmospheres when describing certain characters.
