Characterization in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Characterization is a physical commentary of a character, the way the character acts and the constitution traits of the character. Bailey Johnson Jr. is the older brother of oxeye daisy Ann Johnson, the protagonist of the novel, I Know wherefore the Caged wench Sings by Maya Angelou. In inn for Maya to become self-governing, she needs to recrudesce from Bailey. Their sea captain relationship was holding her back. Bailey is described in the news as a bright, tricksy and light-spirited somebody. Maya needs to separate from Bailey because she relies on him to foment her battles.He is besides a God- standardised form to her, which is an inflamed obsession. Bailey also keeps Maya from believing in herself because Maya puts the likes ofwise much faith in him. Bailey influences Maya twain(prenominal) positively and negatively end-to-end the novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Bailey influences Maya negatively because she depends on him to play herself in her battles. Maya says in the book that, Bailey was the greatest somebody in my life. Bailey is really the exclusively somebody for Maya in her life and she looks up to him. He is basically the giant brother of Mayas dreams.Bailey gives Maya that confidence and couragement such as getting back at Mayas family members and friends who depend upon her slightly her imperfections. In the text, Maya describes one of his actions when she explains, When our elders utter unkind things about my features, Bailey would wink at me from across the room, and I knew that it was a result of time before he would defy r howeveringge. This is one of the key examples of Maya relying on Bailey too much and giving him that faith sooner of herself. Since Maya is relying on her older brother to defend her, she could never become a stronger soulfulness individually.Maya is not capable of becoming more(prenominal) independent because she is ignorant of her own credence on Bailey. Bailey is described in the book by Maya as a saver in her eyes, which is an unhealthy obsession for Maya. She believes that he is a God-like figure in her eyes. This is unhealthy for Maya because she puts too much faith into Bailey and not in herself. Maya describes Bailey as a saver when she explains that, It made me want to live a Christian life just to extract God I was grateful, meat that she wants to show God that she was thankful for a brother like Bailey.Not only does Bailey influence Maya to be herself and not to deal about the thoughts of others, but he also influences her to be a religious person and walk the path of rightousness. This is one of the reasons why Maya wants to become a person like Bailey because he gets into trouble and misbehaves but however he prays aloud in perform. In the text, Angelou describes that, Bailey could count on very some punishments for his consistently outragous misbehavior. He could even pray aloud in church and was apt at stealing pickles. This repeat also explains how Maya seeks to become more like Bailey. She wishes to be more like Bailey because he is a pure soul to her and she is fearsome for that purity in her life. As Bailey and Maya both begin to rick up and turn in their own ways, Maya begins to become independent. ace of the key challenges that Maya has faced that has made her independent was with Daddy Bailey. Daddy Bailey became very inebriated one night while they were in Mexico and Maya had no choice but to drive, even though this was her first time driving, both of them back home.This was the first time that Maya was in reality in control without the dish up of Bailey. This is all-important(prenominal) towards Maya because she begins to slowly separate from Bailey. This is important towards Maya because she begins to spend a penny that she doesnt need Bailey as help to her. She begins to realize that she doesnt need her big brother as a crutch anymore. In order for Maya to become independent, she needs to separ ate from Bailey. Their original relationship was holding her back.By the end of the book, Maya still looks up to Bailey for advice on her pregnancy and Bailey still has that influence on Maya. As Bailey continues to grow up, he becomes wiser about his life and the choices he makes in them. He continues to be the big brother she has unendingly loved. The evolution of Bailey is important because it shows the contrast of liberty and maturity between himself and Maya. The change in characterization of Bailey throughout the book influences Maya because when Maya and Bailey grow apart, Maya becomes more independent.