From what we’ve read of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” the narrator appears as the most powerless of all the characters in her book, especially when juxtaposed with those who possess more power, such as Momma, Mr. Freeman, or Mrs.Cullinan.
Shipped off to her Grandmother, she is subjected to punishments at the hands of Momma and her uncle, due to her small age.The constant movement around that she experiences shows how she has no control over where she lives, and nowhere that she really belongs to. Her mention of other “frightened Black children traveling alone” (pg 6) ties in race to this, as Black people would have still been struggling to find their place in the world, with this having the greatest repercussion on children, as they are the ones who must be reshuffled to accommodate the adults.
This idea of accommodating the adults and needing somewhere to fit in finds a home in Mr.Freeman, who’s advances Maya (or Marguerite) mistakes for fatherly affections and warmth. He takes advantage of her young age in knowing that she won’t really understand what he is doing, while also encroaching on her innocence by sexualizing her young female body. Her word (be that due to her age or sex) does not hold up in court, and her uncles take matters into their own hands. The only power awarded to her is through her family, and the revenge they seek on her behalf.
Finally, her race leaves her powerless in her services to Mrs.Cullinan, who takes away from her identity by renaming her as Mary. She only regains her power after performing the cruel act of breaking Mrs.Cullinan’s china, when Mrs.Cullinan exclaims “her name’s Marguerite, goddamn it”.This has connotations that she is no longer worthy of the name bestowed upon her by white folks, and that they remove themselves from her by giving her back her given name.
Reading Young Adult Literature 