I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: A Literary Analysis

I chose Child Abuse as my topic because I feel bad for the children who suffer from getting abused in different types of ways. These children are also scared to tell someone because of the threats they get. I read I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing, by Maya Angelou for this unit because her story was very inspiring, because she didn’t let her past destroy her future of becoming who she was before she passed away in May of 2014. Studies have shown that “34% of people who sexually abuse a child are family members” (Invisible Children). This quote relates to my topic Maya was sexually abused by a family member. In the novel, Angelou helps readers realize the impact of victims who suffer child abuse.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Specifically it will discuss the themes of racism and segregation, and how these strong themes are woven throughout this moving autobiography. Maya Angelou recounts the story of her early life, including the racism and segregation she experiences throughout her formative years. With wit, sincerity, and remarkable talent, Angelou portrays racism as a product of ignorance and prejudice. However, she finds the strength to rise above this crippling condition.

In Francine Prose’ paper, “I know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”, Prose describes why many high school student dislike reading literature that the American education system has preached. The premise of her essay is that today’s high school English classes are largely flawed in both material and teaching method. Prose contends that these practices are damaging to the students’ understanding and appreciation of literature. She harshly critiques the quality of required reading in American high schools and suggests a reconsideration of the English curriculum. She challenges the audience to acknowledge the curriculum’s impact on high school students and urges the audience to consider how it may addressed. Prose crafts her argument by using an appeal to logos, asking rhetorical questions and employing negative connotation.

In Francine Prose’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read: How American High School Students Learn to Loathe Literature”, the author is trying to explain why high school students are not asked to read more quality pieces of literature now a days. In my opinion I agree with Prose because I think the texts we read in high school are not challenging and not a lot of students enjoy the readings because they cannot relate. Prose uses the rhetorical strategy of degrading the books high school students are reading and she uses her own personal experiences to support her argument.

Writing, as described by E.L. Doctorow, is an exploration. In her novel, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott explores the writing process, providing her insight on stylistic, theoretical, and instructional points. These points are essential in the composure of a book and are prevalent in many literary works such as Tim O’Brien’s The Things they Carried. In his book, O’Brien relives his time on the frontlines of the Vietnam War, telling fictional stories of life before, during, and post war. The novels are tied together with O’Brien’s use of character development, dialogue, and design setting strategies as discussed in Bird by Bird.

In Graduation, a chapter in her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, Maya Angelou talks vividly about her middle school graduation in the segregated South. Graduation is an important milestone in most people’s life, as they get a degree and move on to their next level, something better and more important, with the hope that they can use their new knowledge to achieve their life goals and ambitions. This is what the all black children of the graduating class of 1940 in the grammar school in Stamps, Arkansas, believed as well, including Maya Angelou. In this passage, the author persuasively uses ethos to expose, as an African American girl, how her graduation ceremony was another episode of the unfinished struggle for freedom and against racial segregation.

Everybody in the town of Stamps always trembled with the anticipation. Today is the day that all the large classes from grammar school and high school were finally graduating. As the ceremony began the principal welcomed parents and friends. The principal talked about the “great leader” Booker T. Washington our great leader. Like a river diminishing to a stream and then to a trickle his voice became quiet.. He cleared his throat and said “ Our speaker tonight, who is also our friend, came from Texarkana to deliver the commencement address, but due to irregularity of the train schedule, he’s going to, as they say ‘speak and run’. He said that we understood and we wanted the man to know that we were most grateful for the time he was able to give

Stories are powerful. In the past, long before books, people used stories to pass down history and legends to create a deeper understanding of their heritage. It was also a way to pass down morals and values from generation to generation. More than just a way of preserving the past, storytelling is a great way to bridge the gap between a reader’s heart and that of the writer. Everyone has a story to tell no matter what kind it may be. Although there is an art to storytelling, at its very foundation, the practice is merely a means of communicating one’s experiences. Perhaps out of a lack of

The power of storytelling can create connections between people and allow individuals to find their inner

Throughout her life, Marguerite experiences many different situations and people that all contribute to the way she grows up and the person she becomes. Despite some of her tragic circumstances, she learns a lot growing up, mainly because of the African-American women in her life who teach her all different life lessons. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite gets to absorb teachings from her mother (Vivian), Mrs. Bertha Flowers, and her grandmother (Momma). These women allow Marguerite to learn and grow as an African-American female, all while paving her own way.

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya shields herself against the confusion of St. Louis by reading fairy-tales and telling herself that she does not intend on staying there anyway. Vivian works in a gambling parlor at night. Maya pities Mr. Freeman because he spends his days at home waiting for Vivian to return. Maya begins sleeping at night with Vivian and Mr. Freeman because she suffers from nightmares. One morning after Vivian has left the bed and the house,

Innocence can be attributed to ignorance in the sense that one is untainted by certain knowledge, especially during their early years of life. Authoritative figures withhold powerful information from children for the sake of preserving their innocence, for fear that it will affect them negatively. This knowledge is reserved for the time of appropriate maturity, when it can be of significant use. The well-known author and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, perseveres through many unfortunate events as well as favourable ones amidst her childhood, constantly changing and shaping her. Sadly, as a child, Maya Angelou dangerously explores the gap between innocence and experience prematurely many times. She experiences situations that, due to her innocence, she is oblivious to their meaning and effects. As a result, she grows up rather quickly as she acquires more knowledge, the dividing line between childhood and adulthood. In Maya Angelou’s memoir I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, her childhood innocence is abandoned as she undergoes many trials which consequently

“Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” (Censorship) The First Amendment gives Americans the right of free speech. Maya Angelou writes that,“we write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans because we can.” Writing empowers the author and the reader to share and grasp knowledge of people and the lives they live. Though Maya Angelou’s story is sometimes difficult for the reader to hear, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings should be taught in the 10th grade classrooms.

They way stories are told may morph, but never will storytelling cease. From their people skills to their memories, there is no argument that storytellers possess boundless talent and intelligence. They were the first educators. And now, storytelling is a large part of everyday life. The news in the morning, the gossip throughout the day, the casual response to the casual “What’s up?” – It’s all a form of storytelling. Our lives are steeped in it. In almost every conversation a story is told. At every turn a story is born. So we all are storytellers, and the world is our audience, just waiting to hear the gospel leave our

Welcome, today we will be taken on a journey by deconstructing and analysing the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. This poem explores the theme of Oppression which illustrates the nature of helicopter parenting upon today's youth. We will include a contemporary source which likewise explores this challenging youth issue. Essentially, this poem displays the damage that helicopter parenting can have on a child’s youth, oppressing them, taking their childhood away from them.