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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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Context

Plot Overview

Character List

Analysis of Major Characters

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Important Quotations Explained

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

Quiz

1. What is Maya Angelou's birth name?

(A) Margaret Ann Johnson

(B) Mary Ann Johnson

(D) Maya Ann Johnson

2. Why did Maya and Bailey's parents send them to Stamps, Arkansas?

(A) They had to move to St. Louis

(B) They had financial troubles

(D) They got divorced

3. How did Maya and Bailey get to Stamps?

(A) By bus

(B) By train

(D) By plane

4. Why does Uncle Willie hide in the potato bin?

(A) Because he's crippled

(B) Because the police think he's a suspect in a crime

(D) Because he's afraid of ghosts

5. Who is the “most important person” in Maya's life?

(A) Bailey

(B) Momma

(D) Louise

6. Which author is Maya's first love?

(A) James Weldon Johnson

(B) Henry Reed

(D) Rudyard Kipling

7. What does Momma do while the poor white children mock her in the yard?

(A) Rake circles in the yard

(B) Yell angrily

(D) Weigh potatoes

8. What does Maya do to defy Mrs. Cullinan?

(A) She breaks her heirloom china

(B) She tells her not to call her Mary

(D) She talks back to her guests

9. Who is Maya's first friend?

(A) Bertha

(B) Vivian

(D) Louise

10. What does Maya do for the first time in Mexico?

(A) Drive a car

(B) Drink a margarita

(D) Get angry with her father

11. Why does Bailey stay late at the movies?

(A) Because he loses track of time

(B) Because the actress reminds him of his mother

(D) Because Joyce made him

12. Who rapes Maya?

(A) Big Bailey

(B) Daddy Clidell

(D) Mr. Freeman

13. Where does Maya live after running away from her father's friend's house?

(A) A garage

(B) A junkyard

(D) A friend's house

14. Which famous figure sustains black pride for those who congregate at the Store?

(A) Martin Luther King, Jr.

(B) Joe Louis

(D) Michael Jordan

15. How does Vivian make a living?

(A) By working in gambling parlors

(B) By working in hospitals

(D) By working as a waitress

16. Why does Maya stop talking?

(A) Because she only likes to read

(B) Because Grandmother Baxter hits her

(D) Because Mr. Freeman rapes her

17. What does Grandfather Baxter teach his sons to be?

(A) Kind

(B) Thieves

(D) Mean

18. In which city does Maya feel she belongs?

(A) St. Louis

(B) New York

(D) Los Angeles

19. Why does Maya sleep with the neighborhood boy?

(A) Because she is in love with him

(B) To prove she is not gay

(D) Because she's bored

20. What does Maya hide from Vivian and Daddy Clidell?

(A) Her pregnancy

(B) Her job

(D) Her trip to Mexico

21. Whom does Maya consider a real father figure?

(A) Uncle Willy

(B) Mr. Freeman

(D) Daddy Clidell

22. What does Maya do before she slaps Dolores?

(A) She warns her

(B) She does a little dance

(D) She scratches the car

23. Who makes Maya feel like an equal human being?

(A) Mr. Donleavy

(B) Miss Kirwin

(D) Mrs. Cullinan

24. Blacks replace what ethnic minority in San Francisco during World War II?

(A) Japanese

(B) Germans

(D) Italians

25. What breakthrough does Maya achieve in San Francisco?

(A) She becomes the first black student in her high school

(B) She becomes the first black streetcar conductor

(D) She becomes the first black bus driver

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