The siblings in the works Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, onny Blues by James Baldwin, and eath of a Salesman by Arthur Miller play significant roles in each other lives. The siblings in these works show a great amount of care and concern for one another, sometimes acting not only as best friends, but as substitute parents.
Bailey and Maya from the autobiography Know Why the Caged Bird Sings were not only brother and sister, they were also best friends. They told each other everything and looked out for one another. When Maya was raped Bailey was the only one who convinced her to identify the rapist. After the rape Bailey was the only one that Maya would speak to. Maya looked out for a Bailey a great deal while growing up as well. When Joyce broke Bailey heart, Maya felt bad for him and began to hate Joyce.
Bailey and Maya were extremely close as children because of the lack of emotional support they received from their parents. As children they moved around a lot between different states and family members. Maya and Bailey attached to each other because they really never had anyone else. As they grew older their relationship changed. Maya and Bailey grew farther apart as they became more independent. Bailey eventually even joined the service and moved far away from Maya. They had a need for each other as children, but as they grew older their need died off.
In the play eath of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Biff and Happy had a good relationship despite the fact that Happy was always following in the shadow of Biff. Happy constantly sought after his father attention and approval. Happy would do whatever it took to get approval from his father even if it meant participating in his fantasies. Biff also cared a great deal about what his father thought about him despite his failures and anger towards him. Even though they had completely different jobs and lived on opposite sides of the country, Biff and Happy were as close as can be and overall had the same goal in life: to please their father.
Willy Loman, Happy and Biff father, was a mentally ill man and his issues could have had a great deal to do with the bond between Happy and Biff. They may have bonded with each other more than they did with their father because of his issues. Happy and Biff live far way from each other as adults but shared the dream of going into business together. Biff even invites Happy to come join him out west. According to a conversation they had one night, Happy and Biff were very close while growing up. Even as adults, when they talked to each other it seemed like they still were the best of friends and told each other everything.
In the short story onny Blues by James Baldwin, Sonny and his brother were very close to one another. After their parents pass away the narrator tried to act like he is the father of Sonny by looking after him and setting up a place for him to stay. It was clear that the two brothers were extremely close and cared a lot about each other. After Sonny gets out of jail and gets clean they begin to enjoy each other as friends again. The narrator is the only person that Sonny has to look out for him, and Sonny begins to appreciate it.
The main thing that got in the way of the narrator and Sonny relationship was Sonny using drugs. Once he got clean they began to understand each other even though they had very different opinions on life. Sonny goal in life was to be a musician, and that terrified the narrator. It was obvious the narrator cared a great deal for Sonny throughout the story, but the feeling did not seem mutual until Sonny writes him from jail.
While close, the siblings in these three works are very different from each other. Bailey and Maya lived completely different lifestyles. Bailey was definitely the wild and rebellious one. Maya had her wild side, but she was much calmer than Bailey. Biff and Happy were complete opposites from each other in their lifestyles. Biff worked out west on a farm with his hands, while Happy worked as an assistant in an office in New York. Happy made it a hobby of sleeping with different women, while Biff wanted to settle down with someone. Sonny and his brother also had opposite lifestyles. The narrator worked very hard to have a better life and was a family man. Sonny strived to be a successful musician, and in the process became hooked on heroin. All of these siblings in these three stories came from the same families, but turned out completely different from one another.
The close bonds that all of these characters have with their siblings has to do with the fact they had to rely on each other so much while growing up. Bailey and Maya became very close because as children they had no stable adult that they could live with because they moved around so much. Biff and Happy grew so close because they had a mentally ill father and they didn have many other people to relate with besides each other. Sonny and the narrator parents were deceased and they were the only family that was mentioned in the story. They had to be there for each other because they had no one else.
The siblings in these stories were all close, and they attempted to provide each other with an emotional security that was lacking in their homes. These siblings all tried to compensate for their lack of parenting by helping each other through life. In families when some bonds are weak or non-existent, other bonds can become stronger.
