Help please Read the passage from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings:
"There's one more thing. Take this book of poems and memorize one for me. Next
time you pay me a visit, I want you to recite."
I have tried often to search behind the sophistication of years for the enchantment1
so easily found in those gifts. The essence escapes but its aura remains. To be
allowed, no, invited, Into the private lives of strangers, and to share their joys and
fears, was a chance to exchange the Southern bitter wormwood for a cup of mead
with Beowulf or a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. When I said aloud, "It is
a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done... tears of love filled my eyes
at my selflessness
On that first day, I ran down the hill and into the road (few cars ever came along it)
and had the good sense to stop running before I reached the store.
I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson's
grandchild or Bailey's sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson.
Childhood's logic never asks to be proved (all conclusions are absolute). I didn't
question why Mrs. Flowers had singled me out for attention, nor did it occur to me
that Momma might have asked her to give me a little talking to All I cared about was
that she had made tea cookies for me and read to me from her favorite book. It was
enough to prove that she liked me.
In a response of at least one well-developed paragraph, identify one central idea of
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Then, explain how this passage directly develops
or refines that central idea. Be sure to cite specific evidence from the passage to
support your points