Quotes
“I never talked about St. Louis to her, and had generally come to believe that the nightmare with its attendant guilt and fear hadn’t really happened to me. It happened to a nasty little girl, years a years before, who had no chain on me at all” (Angelou 134).
Why does Maya say that the events in St. Louis happened to another girl, not her? How could this help her cope?
She says that the events happened to another girl, because she believes that what happened to her while in St. Louis was her fault. This false pretense allows for her to cope with what happened to her while she was in St. Louis.
Who was Joyce's only friend?
Bailey
What did Florida/Mrs. Taylor pass on to Maya that made her attend the funeral?
Yellow Brooch
What grade is Maya graduating from?
8th grade.
Who was the white man that “joked” about how he was going to lock up Mr. Bubba and Bailey?
Mr. Jim
“...his eyes gave off a watery nothing--a nothingness which was completely unbearable. I saw a glassiness, observed before only in new marbles or a bottle top embedded in a block of ice” (Angelou 130).
What does this gaze of nothing reveal about the emotion of Mr. Taylor? What can we interpret he is feeling?
This gaze reveals that Mr. Taylor is probably not himself right at that time. He believes he just faced a ghost, and he is feeling very frightened. He really does not know what to feel, since this obviously has never happened to him before, and he is probably not feeling completely sane, either.
Who was Baileys first love?
Joyce
Why does Bailey suddenly become so depressed and gloomy in chapter 21?
Joyce left Stamps to get married in Texas.
What present did Bailey give Maya on her graduation day?
A soft leather bound copy of a collection of poems by Edgar Allan Poe.
Why is Maya sad when she leaves Stamps to go to California?
She has to leave her first friend, Louise, and she is separated from Bailey for a month while they travel to California.
“The colored men backed off and I did too, but the white man just stood there, looking down, and grinned. ‘Uncle WIllie, why do they hate us so much?’” (Angelou 167).
How does this quote demonstrate the differences between the two races within Stamps?
The colored people act genuinely concerned and frightened that somebody would do this to another human. While Mr. Jim who is a white man almost seems happy that something like this happened. This shows a difference in opinions on the importance of human lives within the black community.
Who did Momma first take Maya to see for her cavities?
Dr. Lincoln.
Why did Maya not like Joyce?
Joyce took away most of the attention that Maya received from Bailey. She also hurt his feeling when she left to get married in Texas.
Why did Donleavy come and talk to everyone at the graduation?
He wanted to speak to the class and try and convince people to vote for him, because he would reward them well. He said he would give them a baseball field and new equipment if he won the election.
What happened to Bailey when he went on an errand in “whitefolks” town?
He saw a group of men fish a dead colored man out of a pond and the man was rotten and bloated from being in the water.
“‘Annie, everybody has a policy. In this world you have to have a policy. Now, my policy is I don’t treat colored people’” (Angelou 160).
Why does Dr. Lincoln say everyone has a policy? Why does Dr. Lincoln have a policy? How does this policy help his business?
He has this policy so that he doesn’t have to treat the colored community that lives within Stamps. He doesn’t want to lose business from the white people by treating people of color, so he created a policy that would ensure he didn’t lose business with white customers.
Who was valedictorian at Mayas graduation?
Henry Reed
With whom did Joyce leave Stamps with and where are they going?
A railroad porter. They are going to
What differences did Maya notice between the “whitefolks” neighborhoods and theirs?
Roads were smoother, trees were different, and air seemed different.
Why did Momma decide it was time for her to take Maya and Bailey on a trip to California?
Momma wanted Bailey to get away from Stamps for a while after he saw how Mr. Jim treated the dead colored man.
“Somewhere in my fatalism I had expected to die, accidentally, and never have the chance to walk up the stairs in the auditorium and gracefully receive my hard-earned diploma. Out of God’s merciful bosom I had won reprieve” (Angelou 147).
How does this quote reflect upon Maya’s religious life? How was she raised religiously, and how does she feel about God now?
This quote proves that Maya was raised with a very strict religious life. She believes that one big screw up screws up her whole life, and she really doesn’t think of God as a forgiving person. She feels God was probably looking down on her in disappointment, and she felt completely abandoned after being raped.
Who is the widowed man?
Mr. Taylor
Why does Mr. Taylor’s story scare Maya?
Maya is superstitious because of her religions beliefs and Mr. Taylor’s story is about how he was scared by what he believed to be his wife’s ghost and little baby angels
How did Momma get her revenge on Dr. Lincoln?
She made him pay her ten dollars by saying there was interest on the money she lent him.
Why is Maya not going to miss Mrs. Flowers?
Because "she had given me her secret word which called forth a dijin who was to serve me all my life; books" (Angelou 170).