I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Chapter 4
Marguerite learns a lot from her small town, and her impressions, she says, are the kind that stay with you your whole life. She remembers Mr. McElroy, a big man who likes to talk to Uncle Willie. He doesn't go to church, even though he lives right next door to Momma, and he is a black man who owns a house. The two children find this brave and very interesting.
Marguerite loves her brother, because he is handsome and kind to her, and they both have a strong intellectual curiosity, and a naughty sense of humor. Bailey protects her, and she admires his intelligence and his resourcefulness: he is good at stealing treats from the Store.
In Stamps, every food that can be preserved is. Momma and the other church ladies make sausage together. Every once in a while, Momma gives the two children money to buy fresh meat from white people on the other side of town. This is an incredible adventure for them. Some black children do not even know what white people look like, since the segregation in Stamps is so complete. Marguerite says, "I remember never believing that whites were really real." Chapter 4, pg. 25 She knew they existed, but she could not believe they were human. Though she might not have liked many people in her neighborhood, she knew them and understood them. She knew almost nothing about white people.