I know why the caged bird sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
“Whatever the contest had been out front, I knew Momma had won” (p. 33)
In Chapter 5, three “powhitetrash” girls come to the Store and mock Annie Henderson. They call her by her fist name, showing a great lack of respect for their elder, crudely imitate the way she hums Church songs, and pouch out their mouths like hers. Marguerite, watching the way in which these three girls demean her grandmother, becomes infuriated. But what makes her even more upset is the fact that while these three powhitetrash girls are tormenting her grandmother, she merely does as they ask and continues to hum. And as the girls walk out of the store, they all say, “ ‘Bye, Annie’” (p. 32). But Mrs. Henderson responds, “ ‘Bye, Miz Helen, ‘bye Miz Ruth, ‘bye Miz Eloise.’” (p. 32).
Marguerite “burst [like] a firecracker” (p. 32). “How could Momma call them Miz?” (p. 32). At first, she didn’t comprehend how her grandmother could be so polite in addressing those bratty children who had made fun of her. She wanted nothing more than to get revenge on those rude girls. But that was only a momentary reaction.
After hearing Annie Henderson change from humming the other song to humming “Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down” (p. 33), she began to understand. Her face was “a brown moon that shone on [her]. She was beautiful” (p. 33). That is when she knew that Momma had won. The lesson that she had learned by watching her Grandmother handle the situation with the three powhitetrash girls was that one earns their dignity by treating others with dignity, no matter how the others treat you. Even though the girls were treating Momma with awful disgrace, because she did not react to it, and she did not let it bother her, their disgrace was only reflected on themselves, not on her. While one may think that by not standing up to the girls, by not yelling back at them, and by not kicking them out of her store, she appeared cowardly,
“Whatever the contest had been out front, I knew Momma had won” (p. 33)
In Chapter 5, three “powhitetrash” girls come to the Store and mock Annie Henderson. They call her by her fist name, showing a great lack of respect for their elder, crudely imitate the way she hums Church songs, and pouch out their mouths like hers. Marguerite, watching the way in which these three girls demean her grandmother, becomes infuriated. But what makes her even more upset is the fact that while these three powhitetrash girls are tormenting her grandmother, she merely does as they ask and continues to hum. And as the girls walk out of the store, they all say, “ ‘Bye, Annie’” (p. 32). But Mrs. Henderson responds, “ ‘Bye, Miz Helen, ‘bye Miz Ruth, ‘bye Miz Eloise.’” (p. 32).
Marguerite “burst [like] a firecracker” (p. 32). “How could Momma call them Miz?” (p. 32). At first, she didn’t comprehend how her grandmother could be so polite in addressing those bratty children who had made fun of her. She wanted nothing more than to get revenge on those rude girls. But that was only a momentary reaction.
After hearing Annie Henderson change from humming the other song to humming “Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down” (p. 33), she began to understand. Her face was “a brown moon that shone on [her]. She was beautiful” (p. 33). That is when she knew that Momma had won. The lesson that she had learned by watching her Grandmother handle the situation with the three powhitetrash girls was that one earns their dignity by treating others with dignity, no matter how the others treat you. Even though the girls were treating Momma with awful disgrace, because she did not react to it, and she did not let it bother her, their disgrace was only reflected on themselves, not on her. While one may think that by not standing up to the girls, by not yelling back at them, and by not kicking them out of her store, she appeared cowardly,