Maya realizes the power of language for the first time when she …show more content…
She discovers that deep relationships are formed with language and broken with silence. One such relationship is the one between her and her brother Bailey. Words form a unique bond between them because he is the only “one she [can] talk to” after her “post-rape, post-hospital affliction” (72,73). Although their special bond through words shows that language symbolizes their special trust in each other, readers do not truly understand the importance of language until Bailey is silent. Bailey makes no noise as he is whipped, and Maya “[lies] awake in eternity waiting for a sign, a whimper or a whisper, that he [is] still alive” (95). The hyperbole of lying awake in eternity allows readers to understand Maya’s deep love for her brother. However, silence is powerful enough to break this bond. The fact that Bailey’s silence makes Maya believe he is dead tells readers that Maya thinks language symbolizes his life, and this symbolism supports that language is the foundation of their relationship. Through the power of language, Maya understands the power of