I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

In San Francisco, Maya, Bailey, Mother, and Daddy Clidell live in a fourteen-room house, which they share with other roomers. Because of this, Maya has a chance to interact with a wide range of people, from shipyard workers to restaurant owners. At first, she doesn't pay much attention to Daddy Clidell, treating him as "one more faceless name added to Mother's roster of conquests" (219). But as she gets to know him better, his honest manner and directness appeal to her, and the two develop a warm relationship. While Mother teaches Maya how to behave in social situations, Daddy Clidell teaches her how to play poker, and introduces her to con men, so she can learn their tricks. After finding out that Daddy Clidell managed to become a successful businessman even without any formal education, Maya begins to appreciate his humility and entrepreneurial streak.

As Maya grows older, she sees that such things as breaking the law are interpreted differently depending on the race of the person who commits the crime. She also feels that since Black people had to endure oppression and prejudice for so long, their misbehavior sometimes can be tolerated and justified because “life demands a balance” (225).

Bailey Senior offers Maya the chance to spend her summer vacation with him in Southern California, and she happily agrees. Because of her father's air of pomposity, Maya imagines that he lives in a magnificent mansion and becomes disappointed when she arrives at his house, located "in a trailer park on the outskirts of a town that was itself the outskirts of town" (227). Maya meets her father's girlfriend, a small, young woman named Dolores. She keeps the house they share with Bailey Senior "clean with the orderliness of a coffin" (227), and Maya finds it difficult to live up to the woman's standards.

Working in the kitchen of a naval hospital, Bailey Senior enjoys cooking and often prepares elaborate dishes at home for Maya and Dolores. He often drives across the border to Mexico to buy ingredients for his meals, but Maya notices that they are readily available at local stores and suspects that there might be other reasons for his frequent visits.

Planning yet another trip, Bailey Senior invites Maya to come with him but doesn't extend the invitation to Dolores, which angers her. Maya is thrilled to have a chance to practice her Spanish and readily agrees. As they cross the border, Bailey Senior shares his bottle of liquor with the border guard in his kiosk while Maya waits for him in the car. Her father speaks Spanish fluently and is soon on friendly terms with the guard. He asks if the man would like to marry his fifteen-year-old daughter, gesturing towards Maya, and the guard replies that they would have many babies.

Having crossed the border, Maya and Bailey Senior drive up a dangerous mountain road, heading for the town of Ensenada. They stop about five miles away from the town at a local cantina, where everyone seems to know Bailey Senior very well. As he interacts with the locals and drinks at the bar, he appears to be "the hero of the hour" (232), and Maya notices an entirely different side of her father. She sees him as a lonely man who felt out of place wherever he was and detects an ever-present mismatch between his aspirations and social standing. In the cantina, on the other hand, he is respected and admired, and he enjoys himself greatly, drinking and dancing.

Maya, too, joins the dancing, but after some time, she notices that her father is gone. For a moment, she's afraid that he had left her, but she is relieved to see their car still parked outside. Maya assumes that her father is with another woman, and after some time, he comes back, highly intoxicated, and falls asleep on the back seat. Maya doesn't want to spend the night in the car in Mexico, so even though she doesn't know how to drive, she gets behind the wheel intending to drive them back to California. In complete darkness, Maya manages to maneuver the car down the mountain road, and it makes her feel empowered. However, at the border crossing, she hits another car, and because her Spanish is lacking, she can't communicate well with the guard and the family in the other vehicle. Her father finally wakes up and, using all his charm and fluent Spanish, resolves the situation and drives Maya back to his house.