I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Chapter 33 Summary

  • When Maya returns home to San Francisco, she sees that she was not the only one who grew up.
  • Bailey Jr. has also had his share of experiences. Basically, he has become a gangster. He tries to imitate the conmen around his mother and ends up a sad sixteen-year-old in a cheap zoot suit with a white prostitute. This is not a good look for him.
  • Vivian, not surprisingly, isn't happy about the whole situation, and she argues with Bailey Jr. constantly.
  • Finally, in a majorly tense scene, he is kicked out of the house. He says that—at sixteen—he is a man, and it's time for him to live on his own. Right.
  • Later, Maya goes to see him in his apartment, where he says he'll work on the South Pacific Railroad.
  • Maya doesn't think this is a good idea. We don't either.