I know Why the Cage Bird Sings

 In the book I know Why the Cage Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, the protagonist Marguerite constantly feels rejected. The interior conflict was always there, since the beginning and just continues to grow as she becomes older. When she and her brother Bailey were toddlers, they were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Marguerite, Maya for short, had grown up thinking that they had done something wrong, which is why they were there and not with their parents. She grew up blaming herself for every flaw, every mistake. When their parents finally take them to St. Louis to visit, Maya feels she is in a foreign place. She's attacked by her mother's boyfriend and even then she feels responsible. She  becomes confused, alone, and stops talking, and her mother sends her and her brother back to Stamps. There Maya meets someone named Mrs. Flowers. Even though it is still only the beginning of the book, I can already notice the internal conflict start resolve. Mrs. Flowers had made Maya feel special and I predict that such a small gesture can go a long way.

 I always try to live by the rule to at least one good thing for someone every day. Whether it's holding the door for someone, saying hello, or giving them a compliment. I do this because I know that small things can make people happy. For example, I usually drop my brother off at school, and I used to not think very much of it. I was just doing it because I had the time and my parents didn't always have that. Plus, it was fun to race him down the sidewalk and talk about what was going on at school. So one day when I was dropping my brother off, a parent of a student who went to that school came up to me and said that I was really doing a great thing, taking my brother to school. How so many girls would hate having that chore and how they would love to see their kids getting along the way we did. After hearing that, I honestly felt like skipping home. That comment just made me feel so good about myself. And just think, if everyone could experience that feeling once in a while, everyone would be in a better mood.

 So, when Mrs. Flowers, the fancy gentlewoman, paid Maya some attention, she felt amazing. Just by reading to her, giving her cookies, and giving her tea, she felt wanted. For the first time, in a long time. The text reads, "I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson's grandchild or Bailey's sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson." I think that with this feeling she can have a better attitude towards herself, and start to open up to others. I think that even though this was only a small moment in  the book, I think it is important. I feel this is where Maya starts to see herself differently. And I think this will lead to a pattern in her future decisions. So for now, I think this conflict of low self-esteem is starting to be resolved. Maybe she'll come across others who treat her respectfully like Mrs. Flowers. But I think she'll soon just become accustomed once again to being put down. After all, there is still much in the book Maya is yet to experience.