Equality is not just for certain people, it is for all. Both authors express equality is a right for all in their texts, and use character’s actions to introduce the overall topic of the meaning of the theme. In Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen, the story starts off with a little black girl, Sarny, who spends her life on a plantation. Her owner, Carl Waller, brings a new slave into the plantation. His name is Nightjohn. He is a shaman. Nightjohn secretly teaches other slaves how to read and creates an underground school where they can all learn. Also, in “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, is a poem about two types of birds. A free bird and a caged bird. Although they are both birds, they have completely different lives. The theme, equality is a right …show more content…
The caged bird’s wings are clipped and feet are tied. He is unable to be free like the free bird. It is not equally that the caged bird is trapped in his narrow dull cage while the free bird is living merrily and being free. Therefore, both authors make use of the character’s actions to display that equality is a right for all. The theme, equality is a right for all, develops differently in each text; Paulsen utilizes character’s speech, while Angelou utilizes figurative language to develop the message. In the book Nightjohn, Sarny’s owner, Clel Waller, finds out that she is able to write the word bag. He becomes furious and starts beating and yelling at Sarny. Waller bellows, “It is against the law for you to read”(Paulsen 73). Being able to read or write is against the law. Just being able to learn letters alone is illegal. It is not illegal for white people though, only for black people. That is unfair because white people can have so much knowledge and so much education, yet, the black people cannot even be able to learn a single letter. If they wanted to learn, they would have to do it …show more content…
It is the dream the caged bird wants to reach, but knows it isn’t possible for it. It knows that it is unable to reach its wishes and dreams, stuck in the small, narrow cage where its wings are clipped and feet are tied. The free bird, however, is able to reach its dreams. It is possible because it is free. That is not equal to the caged bird though. It is unable to fly while the free bird is soaring in the blue skies. Its feet are tied, while the free bird is able to walk and explore the ground. Indeed, the theme, equality is a right for all, is shown differently in each text; Paulen makes use of the character’s speech, while Angelou makes use of figurative language to show this message. In summary, the theme, equality is a right for all, develops differently in each text; Paulsen utilizes character’s speech, while Angelou utilizes figurative language to develop the message. The book, Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen and the poem, “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both have similarities and differences. Both authors utilize the character’s actions to display the theme that equality is a right for