Read this passage from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: ...some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors. She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was couched the wisdom of generations.

What impact does Angelou's use of the phrase "homely sayings" have on this excerpt?

It helps indicate that great humor and joy can be found in the simple expressions used by ordinary people.

It helps convey the idea that one need not use big words or complicated sentences to express wisdom.

It helps capture the embarrassment she feels over the way the people who are supposed to teach her speak.

It helps suggest that people judge one another not only by what ideas they express, but by what their mothers believe.