In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography by Maya Angelou, Ritie (Maya), the main female character, is raised mostly by other female characters, who each teacher her how to cope with different situations and problems in life. Ritie’s relationships with her three strongest, female relatives help her grow up to be a survivor, because they each teacher her to have a characteristic of themselves; Momma teaches Ritie to be disciplined and moral, Grandmother Baxter teaches Ritie about sinisterness and power, while Mother Dear teaches Ritie to be independent and have hedonism. Annie Henderson, or Momma, is Ritie’s mother-figure, throughout most of her childhood and the book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This influence conditions and
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Grandmother Baxter was, at first, dauntless, pragmatic, and shady. This first Grandmother Baxter taught Ritie that family takes care of and protects family, that business is business, and that to have power and control over others is good. For example, after the family found out about Ritie being assaulted by Mr. Freeman, the Baxters made sure that he was taken care of (killed), and with Grandmother Baxter’s connections in her shady business work, this murder was left unsolved and kept on the down-low. This shocked Ritie, and made her realized the fullness of the power of family. But when Ritie returned to the Baxter family later, Grandmother Baxter was not as she remembered; she was chronically-ill and forcefully dependent on “willies”. This second Grandmother Baxter, who Ritie had to share a room with, taught Ritie to adapt to where she was and how life had to be. For example, when Ritie first returned and started sleeping with Grandmother Baxter, she barely could get any sleep due to Grandmother Baxter’s constant coughing and need to smoke, filling the air with toxic nicotine, making it hard for Ritie to even breathe. But as time went on, since there was no ability to change the living situation at the time, Ritie adapted to what she was dealt and learned how to cope with how she had to
Grandmother Baxter was, at first, dauntless, pragmatic, and shady. This first Grandmother Baxter taught Ritie that family takes care of and protects family, that business is business, and that to have power and control over others is good. For example, after the family found out about Ritie being assaulted by Mr. Freeman, the Baxters made sure that he was taken care of (killed), and with Grandmother Baxter’s connections in her shady business work, this murder was left unsolved and kept on the down-low. This shocked Ritie, and made her realized the fullness of the power of family. But when Ritie returned to the Baxter family later, Grandmother Baxter was not as she remembered; she was chronically-ill and forcefully dependent on “willies”. This second Grandmother Baxter, who Ritie had to share a room with, taught Ritie to adapt to where she was and how life had to be. For example, when Ritie first returned and started sleeping with Grandmother Baxter, she barely could get any sleep due to Grandmother Baxter’s constant coughing and need to smoke, filling the air with toxic nicotine, making it hard for Ritie to even breathe. But as time went on, since there was no ability to change the living situation at the time, Ritie adapted to what she was dealt and learned how to cope with how she had to