Caged Bird Sympathy

Oppression exists at varying levels and the way in which we choose to view it can have a significant impact on our ability to break down the barriers that continue to oppress disenfranchised groups. Much like the analogy of a caged bird facing both individual cage wires as well as the confining cage as a whole, examining the microscopic and macroscopic levels of oppression is essential in furthering our understanding of social justice. Long-term and persisting injustices towards subordinate social groups can also lead to internalized oppression, creating a complex system of disempowerment and self-loathing. As members of society committed to social change, it is important that we continue to educate ourselves on the issues of oppression and oppressed groups while ensuring we act at allies and advocates in our efforts to tackle these barriers.

At a point in time in the life of every person, a feeling of being trapped or stuck occurs. The poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar represents the speaker’s vast knowledge of the feeling of being enclosed in a place where they are tremendously uncomfortable. The speaker explains the actions of a bird trapped in a small cage and explains the motives behind the actions. The speaker reveals that the song the caged bird sings is not a melody exuberating joy, but a cry begging for freedom.

During the 1960s segregation was at its peak. In the poem titled “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and in the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both authors describe caged birds longing for freedom and free birds. Both of these poems relate to Hunter-Gault's story of being discriminated against University of Georgia. The exposition of her story is that the university is doing everything in their power to keep her out. She also encounters many conflicts while earning her right to attend their school. Discrimination has taken place all throughout US history but in Hunter-Gault's case she rewrote history by being the first student of color to be excepted to an all-white school.

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, author, and poet. She wrote many books and poems that conveyed the vivid experiences in her life. Maya Angelou’s works are well known and she is an eminent writer. One poem in particular that is well known is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” written in 1969. In this work she described racial inequality, and the lack of freedom African Americans experienced in the 1930’s and 40’s. Maya Angelou uses many Rhetorical strategies and literary devices to describe the lack of racial freedom in the world at this time.

In the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar also explains how the slaves sang songs to relieve their pain and misery which was caused by slavery. Dunbar also went through something similar to what Douglass went through when he states, “I know what the caged bird feels.” It’s different when you have been through it yourself, and when you have just heard about it. Experience is the real deal, and once you have, you’re scarred for life as Dunbar states with the help of imagery, “I know why the caged bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars.” The use of imagery in this quote helps the readers imagine what the poet is talking about. When you go through all that, all the misery and pain, you need a way to express your emotion and the things you have been through. That’s why the slaves sang their songs, “It’s not a carol of joy and glee, but a prayer that it sends from its heart’s deep core,” stated Dunbar in the poem. In the previous quote he uses invocation to call

Paul Dunbar, an African American poet who was famous during the Harlem Renaissance, wrote a poem titled, “Sympathy” in 1899. The poem expressed his relations to a caged bird and how he understands how the caged bird feels. Dunbar’s use of imagery and repetition helps to clearly depict the struggle to obtain freedom and the feeling of imprisonment.

“The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch, a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird because of his youth and innocence, and because of his innocence he cannot fully understand the racism in the story. Jem also has many similarities to the caged and free birds in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, whether it be Jem’s

Caged bird was written by Maya Angelou. This poem described the difference between a caged bird and a free bird and their different characteristics, emphasizing on the Caged bird. Sympathy was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This poem is about black’s freedom and racism.

Near the end of the poem it is revealed that the bird “opens his throat to sing” Maya Angelou felt this way in her own life. She wrote, sang and danced because it was her way of expressing her longing for freedom despite being oppressed for most of her life. Although freedom, to the caged bird, is “fearful” because it is “unknown”, he still sings “a fearful trill”. The cries of help are heard but the overarching parents only hear it as background noise.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” depicts two birds which are used as metaphors to express the state in which the two classes of people live. In one description the poem describes the standard of living of a bird of privilege which alludes to the lives of whites. Then it describes caged birds whom of which are crying out for freedom, and are meant to represent African Americans during this time. It describes the feeling of being trapped and calling out for

The poem Sympathy by Paul Laurance Dunbar is about slavery. The birds represent the slaves. He explains how the birds are trapped and want nothing more than to escape the cage. How they may hurt from trying to escape but will never give up in trying to escape. Like the slaves who are enslaved and cannot live life. They will not stop fighting for their freedom and will do whatever to try and get it. Professor B had the strongest interpretation while professor C had the weakest interpretation of the poem.

The poems “Sympathy” and the poem “ I know why the caged bird sings” are similar because they both talk about being the poem is talking about the bird being trapped. They talk about this in the poems because a person in slavery probably feels like a bird in a cage. And being told you had to go work for someone you didn’t know without pay or a good place to stay you would be upset . The poem “Sympathy” inspired Maya Angelou’s writing because she knows what it looks like she was the granddaughter of a slave. She probably heard stories that her grandma told her. She knows it was a bad thing and that the feeling of a bird in a cage is like being free.

Dunbar utilizes the analogy of caged bird in his poem “Sympathy” to expose the emotions and struggles of enslaved African Americans to achieve freedom. He begins his poem by describing the free bird singing when “sun is bright and first bud opens” to portray the beauty of landscape. However, the beauty turns into sadness when the poet states "I know what the caged bird feels, alas" which depicts a tone of sadness. This contrast between a free bird and caged bird initiates the losses of caged bird. It cannot go out and experience the freedom under the open sky. It struggles with physical constrain “till its blood is red on the cruel bars” helps visualize the intensity of struggle the bird is experiencing to gain his freedom to go where he desires, and to be with those who give him happiness. This struggle is similar of African American who tried to rebel in hopes of gaining their freedoms, but all resulted in vain. Their wounds, just like the caged bird, are “old, old scars” emphasizes that African Americans

The poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou tells the story of two birds: one bird has the luxury of freedom and the second bird lives its life caged and maltreated by an unknown tyrant. Maya Angelou wrote this poem during the Civil Rights Era, the period when black activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s fought for desegregation of African Americans. This poem parallels the oppression that African Americans were fighting during this time period. In “Caged Bird”, Angelou builds a strong contrast that shows the historical context of discrimination and segregation through the use of mood, symbolism, and theme.

In the poem ‘Caged bird’, the element of juxtaposition is used to express the idea of imprisonment (maybe slavery in particular) by using two birds, one freed and the other imprisoned. The imprisoned birds symbolize both the enslaved African-Americans and Maya Angelou. Imagery is used to juxtapose in stanza one where it interacts with nature- ‘back of the wind’, orange sun rays’, and