Family Cohesion

There is one aspect of this autobiography that I find particularly interesting.  Maya's family sent her and Bailey away.  However, while Maya and Bailey are living with their mother in St. Louis we learned about their mother's family in St. Louis.  The author's description of the family reveals that they are tight-knit and they go great lengths to protect each other. Maya provides a description of her mother's family which describes both their cruelty and kindness: "They beat up whites and Blacks with the same abandon, and liked each other so much that they never needed to learn the art of making outside friends . . . Grandfather became bedridden during out stay there, and his children spent their free time telling him jokes, gossiping with him and showing their love" (67).  This description is unique because it shows both sides of the family.  They will be cruel in order to protect their family which they love so much; they are a very close family.

What I find so interesting is that this family is so tight-knit, but they are not willing to accept Maya and Bailey as a permanent addition to their family.  First, their mother sends them away when they are still very young, and then she sends them away again after their short stay when they are older.  This is confounding to me.  Rather than admitting them into the family, they are viewed as outsiders who do not belong in St. Louis.  I would have thought that the strong family bond that exists within the family would have been extended to them as well because they are family and not outsiders.