Role Playing as Art in Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird"

In Role playing as Art in Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird”, author Myra K. Murry discusses the growing up in the segregated south and the roles the characters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings have to fill in order to keep the social order and their lives.
“In Marguerite's world, rigid laws govern every aspect of a child's life: there are laws for addressing adults by proper title, laws for speaking and more for not speaking, laws about cleanliness and obedience, and about performance in school and behavior in church. (3)” These laws are meant to protect children and the community at large. It is thought that is an African American follows these rules, they feel that they cannot be harmed by the white community. Maya and all the character’s follow the rules, Momma remains stone faced, humming, while she is insulted by the local white trash girls, Uncle Willie does his best to straighten up and present a whole body to perfect strangers. Murry goes on to finish by talking about how art, in this case the Angelou’s writing, can save Maya from being repressed.
This essay is helpful in looking at the community surrounding Maya in order to show the lack of community support around Pecola in The Bluest Eye.