Caged Bird Sings

In the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, by Maya Angelou the main character is Marguerite Ann Johnson (Maya). She is portrayed as a mature young girl suffering from the traumatic events associated with being a black female in America. She is said to be a smart and imaginative person. Maya felt that people judge her unfairly due to her awkward appearance. She fantasized that she actually was a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl trapped in a “black ugly dream” and would soon wake up and reveal her true identity. She faced three obstacles in the south white prejudice, black inability, and female subjugation.

The novel is described as a coming of age story starring a young, insecure black girl. Living in the south and in California during the 1930’s and 1940’s, Maya was exposed to the harsh and limiting effects of racism. As young kids, Maya and Bailey struggle with being abandoned by their biological parents. For some time, their grandmother is the only influential figure in their lives. Their grandma, who is eventually called “Momma” runs a general store in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya spends time at her Momma’s store, watching the cotton-pickers travel to and from the working fields.

The inequality of women is also vital in the novel written by Maya Angelou, “I know why the caged bird sings” a powerful and truly moving autobiography “written at the end of the civil right struggles in the 1960’s” (8). The reception of the novel was incredible, it is the most highly acclaimed of her autobiographies, making Angelou “one of the most renowned black women in America” (9). Maya Angelou describes her “caged life as a black girl growing up in the south” (10), her lost youth, the dangers of innocence and need for emotional and physical affection, “I had given up some youth for knowledge, but my gain was more valuable than the loss” (5). In the 1920’s and 1940’s, America was separated by discrimination and prejudice not only between

In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, Maya Angelou uses her personal experiences growing up as an African American female to present her primary claim that even in trying times there is something to be grateful for. Angelou’s secondary claims are mainly comprised of stories from her upbringing as well as the description of her grandmother’s attitude even though they are living through times of extreme poverty. In Each of the stories she speaks of one circumstance that seems completely unbearable but yet ends with some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. This structure can also be seen in her description of her grandmother’s outlook on life. By formatting her essay in this way, Angelou is able to develop pathos as well as ethos with the audience.

Her people endlessly toil to support their families and make ends meet despite working from dawn to dusk. Starting at a young age, she gradually learns about the hostility between white and black people. Marguerite must fight against oppression and the struggles of being a minority to survive. Maya Angelou writes, “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult” Also, on page 4 of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: “Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blond, would take place of the kinky mass that Momma wouldn’t let me straighten?

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Maya writes about how she is affected by cultural and contextual issues in that time period , in this book Angelou familiarizes her self as a caged bird because to Maya Being caged in society means to be trapped and unable to find your voice. “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.” Angelou wrote this book as closure for her life experiences. She wrote this book to have a voice that she once did not have. This book exposes the issues that African-Americans faced . Society viewed African- Americans differently then we do today. The 1930s was all about being prejudice against the black community even today that is less of

In this, Angelou remarks “Anything that works against you can also work for you once you understand the Principle of Reverse.” This would show that despite all the negativity surrounding Angelou’s skin colour, she had the ability to succeed, as everything that went against her, pushed her into being a woman with the knowledge of struggle and hardship. As a result, Angelou exclaimed that she was “the master of my fate” and “the captain of my soul” showing Angelou’s power to decide her fate. Similarly, with the introduction of Mrs. Flowers, Angelou found her identify stating “I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson’s grandchild or Bailey’s sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson.” Subsequently, Angelou was no longer what her oppressors wanted her to be, but was herself. Altogether, this sense of newfound identity by Angelou displayed her individuality, showing the audience the most important aspect of one’s self, is what they believed they were, and to Angelou, she was simply Marguerite.

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.

Once returning to Stamps, silent and traumatized, Marguerite meets Mrs. Bertha Flowers. Marguerite discusses her as “the aristocrat of Black Stamps.” (93) Marguerite looks up to Mrs. Flowers in many ways. She is beautiful and sophisticated and according to Marguerite, Mrs. Flowers “has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be.” (94) Mrs. Flowers took Marguerite under her wing and into her home. She shared her books with her and allowed Marguerite to read from them, spend time with her, enjoy cookies, and lemonade, all while bringing her back from her silent ways after her rape. She encouraged Marguerite to be “intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy” as not everyone had the ability or luxury to become educated. (99) Marguerite was in awe of

In Maya Angelou’s I Know the Caged Bird Sings (1969), the reader is absorbed into a personal account of her life starting from her childhood to young adulthood during the 1930s and 1940s. From a young age, Maya witnessed the first-hand effects of racism in the South for blacks growing up alongside her brother, Bailey. In the novel, Angelou faces racial discrimination and displacement inside and outside her own community that act as metaphorical cages barring her from the freedom to be her true self.

In “Champion of the planet,” AN excerpt from her life story, i do know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou presents U.S.A. with the portrait of a rural African-American community within the Forties, those that the world riveted to the broadcast of the heavyweight world championship match. The contenders ar a white competition and therefore the black champion, the good Joseph Louis Barrow. On the surface it's simply a sporting event, however at a lower place the surface their fate as nation looks to ride on whether or not the champion loses or another time prevails.

“You are a piece of the puzzle of someone else life. You may never know where you fit, but others will fill the holes in their lives with pieces of you” (Bonnie Arbon). In the novel, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, the protagonist, Maya Johnson, started off as a young African American girl who was diffident and self hating, and who later transforms into a confident, grown young women. There are various reasons that cause characters change however the most common are due to the additional characters/ people they choose to surround themselves around throughout life. Maya Johnson goes through this grand transformation based on the values that her “Mama” (Annie Henderson), brother (Bailey Johnson Jr.) and her mother (Vivian

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is about racism and sexism and about the early years of Maya Angelou how she had to overcome the criticism, loosing her parents going to live in Stamps, Arkansas with strangers that she got to know later on. This book explores racism, sexism, insecurity, poverty, and abuse Maya Angelou started to fight back and become stronger than she was when the book previously began. She is a strong black African-American woman who teaches women about the poverty, hard-times slavery how black people where treated, we were treated unequally whites were overruling us we had to take orders from them.

Creating my IOP gave me incite as to what the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” actually means; before drafting and writing the IOP the novel essentially just meant slavery was unacceptable and Maya Angelou was trying to fight against it in an attempt at being equal with everyone else. Subsequently, after the completion of the IOP, as well as a theme established, it gave more insight as to the deeper meaning of the novel. Using the theme at times one may feel caged or trapped by the words and actions of others helped to reveal the real meaning of the bibliography, which is seen as Maya’s fight to become one with herself and fully accept herself even though others may not, she essentially needed to find who she was and begin viewing herself

From the end of the Civil War to the mid 1900’s segregation within a southern society was just the way of life. White Americans were determined to keep the black population under control. Throughout this period of time many African-Americans like Maya Angelou and Richard Wright were put through extreme racism and segregation. Both of these writers shared their experiences through their excerpts I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch" by Richard Wright. The excerpt written by Angelou was written about the time when she was a young child about the age of three, while the excerpt written by Wright was written about him becoming a young adult. Although these two writers are in very different stages of life during these excerpts, both of the works still convey how Angelou and Wright are able to remain hopeful despite the intense barriers. Angelou and Wright demonstrate this message through the ideas of silence and hope, and through the use of images.