Significant experiences that affected Maya
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After reading why the caged bird sings I have listed some of the events in Maya's life that had a large impact on her.
One of the experiences of Maya's life that I thought had a large impact on her life would be when she got raped. At first Maya thought that Mr. Freeman was just showing her affection, and so she accepted it. Then he sexualy violated her, Maya didn't know what to do. Mr Freeman told her that if she told anyone about what happened that he would kill her brother Bailey. This was significant because it confused Maya about sexuality and affection. It can be also linked to her pregnancy, because the rape confused her about the subject soo much that she didn't know what love really was.
Another event in Maya's life that I thought was significant was her pregnancy. This opened her eyes to the qualities of life. She finaly found out what love really was, and she learned the truth about her sexuality.
When Maya was refused by the dentist, it was also very significant. The dentist stated "I refuse to work in that dirty niggers mouth." Maya's grandmother had lent the man money earlier and he hadn't paid her back, she used this as a method of forcing the man to do his work. This showed Maya that although she is African American, it doesn't mean that she is powerles. It also gave Maya a new found respect for her grandmother.