I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings

Summary: In chapter 24 of Maya Angelou's "I know Why the Cage Bird Sings" Maya gets a really bad toothache. The closest black Dentist was miles away, so her grandmother took her to the closest white Dentist that was in town. Momma took Maya there because she helped Dr. Lincoln during the Great Depression. Because people had no money to pay for things Momma would make trades in her store. It put food on their table and helped out others. Momma thought because she helped Dr. Lincoln that he would help her back. Momma was wrong. Dr. Lincoln said that, "I'd rather stick my hands in a dogs mouth"(189). The doctor never even looked at Maya let alone try and help her pain. Momma paused in disbelief and asked Maya to wait downstairs for her. Momma went into the office and yelled at him, to the point of tears. She argued with him telling the doctor that he was not a gentelman and that he had no respect. In the end the Doctor was just glad that he wasn't going to be killed. Momma left the office with authority. She went up to Maya and told her she was going to take her to the black Dentist. For a minute there Maya couldn't really feel the pain of her tooth ache anymore. She said "I was so proud of being her granddaughter and sure that some of her magic must have come down on me" (191). Maya knew with Mrs. Henderson on her side that she could never be hurt.

Response: Maya has had to deal with a lot of racism but this was the one time that I believe she felt safe. Maya was so lucky to have a grandmother that cared about her so much. Maya was in a lot of pain and Mrs. Henderson did everything she could to try and fix Mayas toothache. Mrs. Henderson did a lot for other people. During the Great Depression she helped people of all colors but it did not seem to help her in this situation. Momma does everything she can for Bailey and Maya. She thought that, that day she could could get help for maya pain quick and without any problems. Dr. Lincoln was a dentist that she had helped during the Depression and she thought he would return the favor by working on Mayas tooth. It was a shock to both Maya and Momma when Dr. Lincoln made those nasty racist comments. It made me think how people with color got through some of the things they had to go through. These days racism is around but it is no longer on the surface like it was back then. Even Children and women were not spared in the horrible display of racial discrimination. The white's had to keep up their appearances and there is no way Dr. Lincoln was going to screw up his image. When momma asked Maya to leave and she started yelling at the doctor, I felt that she was not only sticking up for Maya but she was also defending herself as a person. I liked the fact that she put him down till he cried because thats what he deserves. Mrs. Henderson was a good person and doesn't deserve that kind of disrespect, especially in front of her granddaughter. It's like the old saying "If you can't take it, don't dish it out." Mrs. Henderson put that doctor in his place. She didn't give up either, she stuck to her promise and took Maya to get rid of that awful toothache. Maya had a guardian that will always have her back and no matter what will make sure she is not suffering in any kind of pain.

Information

Summary: In Steve Johnson's short story "Its All About Us," he describes how there is no accuracy when it comes to social media, blogs and anything else on the web these days. He continues to tell us that, "There is an undeniably a vast increase in the sheer quantity of accessibility of pure crap, even when measured against the dregs of the newsstand and the cable spectrum." In other words you can't alway believe what you read or see on the web. There are professional journalist that write about true facts and they site all their work but are getting pushed to the side because of blogs, Wikipedia and other online websites. He talks about amateur writers and professionals and how they differ. There are more amateurs out there these days then professionals. Amateurs speak their mind, whether it's talking about their local community or world news. In a way it is a good thing that people in their communities are talking because people are getting more involved. The local conversations talk about personal experiences that you can't get from experts in the media. Its not the same getting your information from someone who has not experienced it themselves. Therefore it's a good thing that we have hard working journalists and the personal opinions of the people in the community.

Respons: In my personal opinion I listen to the experts, but it is helpful to see others opinions. For example I go online all the time to look for car parts and information about vehicles, and I constantly end up in someones blog post. There is useful information occasionally but I want to see what the  professional opinion is. Meaning if I'm looking for something particular I want to be directed to the right sights and not have to fish for what I'm looking for. I want the information that I'm looking for to be accurate. I don't want to try to fix something on my car and go on You Tube to follow someone else's instructions and then have something happen to my car. It is very important to be accurate in certain things but in others its nice to have someones personal opinion. On the other hand I would like to read posts from locals about news and things that are going on in my community because it is better to hear from the source. I know sometimes that the telephone effect happens with word of mouth but when it is put on the web people can cut that wire and get the straight information with any misinterpretations. Just like the article says the people in the communities know more about the issues that are going on then someone writing a story about it. I don't believe the we are losing our experts but I do think its going to be a battle between the everyday man and the hard working journalist.