Caged Bird Sings, By Maya Angelou

From her early life as a mute, to her poems, to speaking at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton, and even to her time as a teacher, Maya Angelou and her contributions and writing pieces, have taught many, and changed the world immensely. Maya Angelou had a very difficult childhood. When she was 3 years old, Angelou’s parents divorced. Neither Angelou’s father nor mother could take care of her. Angelou and her brother Bailey were sent to live with her grandmother whom they called Momma, in Stamps, Arizona.

Maya’s younger years were filled with pain and tragedy. When she was only three years old, her parents separated, moving Maya and her brother into the home of their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. While growing up in this area, Angelou became aware of the discrimination and racism that was prevalent during this time in America. (Hyperlink.com) At the age of eight, Angelou was reinstated into the care of her mother. It was during this time period that Maya was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Shortly after this incident occurred, Angelou became mute and would not speak again for five years. This time period in Maya Angelou’s life would

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She was born into a devastating decade, that suffered numerous tragedies. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. She is still living today, yet I believe her legend will never die. Furthermore I will share with you what motivated her and some of her gratifying experiences. How she was effected by society, and what she did about it. Also how the time period she was born into made her the extraordinary woman she is today.

Angelou was sexually abused while she lived with her mother’s family before she was 7 years old, then she was sent to live with her paternal grandparents for years. Angelou stopped talking to people for six years after the sexual abuse. People gave her all kinds of bad names while she grew up, only her grandmother showed her the bright side of the world. Angelou’s grandmother encouraged her to become a teacher and teach people all over the world once herself and the lord is ready for it. Grandmother’s encouragement turned out to be true, Maya Angelou eventually became a great writer and taught people what she learned from her grandmother all over the

Majority of African American women get judged on the day to day basis. When scrolling through social media there will be large amounts of individuals who will bully or even belittle a colored female because of the natural kinks of her hair, her sense of fashion, the full shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem “Still I Rise” by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about embracing females, but it mainly introduces similar life situations that many African American women have experienced. The symbols and point of view that Angelou specifically added in her poem made her readers realize that there are many meanings to this poem.

Maya Angelou describes what her life with her grandmother is like while constantly being discriminated against her race. She then found her father, and he leaves Maya and Bailey off to their mother’s house. There, the mother’s boyfriend rapes Maya. After suffering from psychological shock, Maya then moves back to her grandmother’s. As a teenager Maya gets nervous about her sexual identity and tries to discover it. Through these harsh times, the naïve and softhearted Maya grows to become a strong, independent woman.

Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography that describes the coming of age of a Southern black girl who overcomes society’s cruelty as she grows up. Taking place in Stamps, Kansas during the 1930s, the autobiography captures Marguerite Ann Johnson’s, or Maya’s, battle of finding herself and coming to terms with who she is while growing up in a time period comprised of oppression and discrimination. Furthermore, Maya endures many childhood hardships due to her race, and she defeats these obstacles with her intelligence and fortitude. Thus, Maya Angelou utilizes her vividly detailed experiences of racism’s impact on her and her resistance to racism to demonstrate the struggle of the Southern black girl who grows up in a society overwhelmed with white superiority.

Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.

When Maya was young, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend; scarring her for life. She had to face her parents getting divorced and being left by them at such a young age. Despite the tragedies she experiences, one is more prevalent and that is prejudice. People are often discriminated against due to where and when they grew up. Maya Angelou, a native of the racist South, portrays the theme of prejudice through different points of view perfectly.

Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. During her childhood, her and her brother went to live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas after her parents divorced. In Arkansas, Maya suffered through several hardships that led to the theme of her poetry. This being significance of African Americans and women. Being an African American, she experienced the racial discriminatory lifestyle that many supported in the south. What had an even larger impact on her, was being sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend during a visit when she was only 7

Maya Angelou was very brave. One of the things that makes her brave is being able to talk about being sexually abused. At the young age of seven, Angelou was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. This happened while she was briefly staying with her mother in St. Louis. For the rest of her life, she would have that memory in her brain, reminding her of such a traumatic experience. In 1970, Angelou had an autobiography that was on the New York Times’ bestseller

The great poet Maya Angelou once said in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” (Maya Angelou Quotes.) Angelou’s autobiography and words have inspired many readers and rape victims. One victim, fourteen-year-old Melinda Sordino, a fictional character from Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, is inspired by Angelou after her own tragic date rape and subsequent depression and silence. Melinda relates to Angelou and is inspired by Angelou’s power to speak and to seemingly conquer her rape. Melinda has a poster of Angelou and uses it as an example and inspiration. Due to Maya Angelou’s rape experience as a young girl, understanding Maya Angelou’s life gives readers insight

Identity is what evolves us, it is what makes us think the way we do, and act the way we act, in essence, a person’s identity is their everything. Identity separates us from everyone else, and while one may be very similar to another, there is no one who is exactly like you; someone who has experienced exactly what you have, feels the way you do about subjects, and reacts the same to the events and experiences you have had. This became prevalent to me as I read through many books, that everyone goes through the process of finding who they are. A prevalent theme throughout literature is the idea that over time one develops their identity through life over time, in contrast to being born with one identity and having the same

Identity is a word that is used very commonly and regularly by people in their daily life. Identity formation is a process of developing distinct, separate identity. “A person’s identity has many attributes. It is a representation of one’s unique personal experience, memory, ethnicity, culture, religious orientation, gender, occupational role, amongst various other factors. Erikson refers to identity as “some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image.”Identity may be defined as one’s consciousness of one self and others’ perception of one’s individuality”, (Yamin, 2008).