One would agree with James Baldwin's statement about the power of language in the context of Maya Angelou's amazing book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Summarily, James Baldwin was quoted talking about how a person's language can be a "vivid and crucial key to identity," and that when you speak, your dialect gives away "your parents, your youth, your school, your salary, your self-esteem, and, alas, your future." Maya Angelou celebrated this idea in her autobiography about growing up in Stamps, Arkansas with the characterization of two main characters: Momma and Mrs. Flowers. Maya Angelou was such a fantastic writer herself that her personality and language transcended the words on the page and spoke to the reader, but even more importantly, her characters were able to speak for themselves.
             As a reader enjoys Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, he is able to create a strong bond between himself and the characters in the story because Maya Angelou captures each character's essence through her language and actions. Maya was able to represent Momma's character especially well because the reader knew that Momma always meant business and that when she said something, she would put a little something extra behind her words. The reader also knew that even though Momma might have spoke and acted like a elementary school educated black woman from the South, she was full of ultimate wisdom and advice for Maya at any time of the day. Maya was at first confused when Mrs. Flowers told her that even though Momma talked the way she did, she was still one of the smartest women in all of Stamps, Arkansas. Mrs. Flowers was also one of the most influential characters in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," because she was able to move Maya with her incredible language and teach her the poems and literature that would make her a powerful writer. Mrs. Flowers was almost god-...