Comparing Dunbar's Sympathy And Caged

The poems, Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, and I,Too by Langston Hughes, both show a theme of being unfairly treated and wanting to be normal and free. Both poems display similar themes and describe how this feels to be in these harsh situations. The vivid imagery and description in these poems allowed the reader to visualize a picture of the scene when reading these poems.

“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

Maya Angelou is a leader by example, she sets the standard by her actions and the stories she tells teaches the audience a lesson. Majority of her work is to inform us of the past and she wants us to learn from her experiences in life; she is a life teacher. The purpose of this poem was to inform us of the history of our country. The poem is titled “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and her purpose of writing this is to teach the reader why the caged bird sings. Maya Angelou wants to put the reader in her shoes to get the ultimate experience of racial inequality but instead by taking the role of a caged bird or a free bird.

In the second stanza, Dunbar refers to the emotional and physical abuse that imprisonment and oppression puts on both the caged bird and the African Americans. Dunbar begins the second stanza with,

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

In “Caged Bird” Maya Angelou writes, “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream...and he names the sky his own.” This shows how the author feels that the free persons are claiming the world their own, while the restrained race watches and can do nothing due to their ‘cage.’ Another example is when Angelou writes, “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” which demonstrates how she feels that without the freedoms others enjoy she is not able to pursue her dreams and goals but instead is ignored. And lastly, in “Caged Bird” the writer says “For the caged bird sings of freedom,” which explains how badly these people want their freedom. It shows that they long for the same rights others don’t appreciate enough.

“I Know Why The Caged Sings Bird ” by Maya Angelou & “Sympathy” by John Dunbar, are not only similar because one was based on the other but for many reasons. One of those reasons being meaning by this it is not only the repeated words but the words themselves that are used.The Caged bird symbolises ‘no escape’ or ‘no freedom’ so as it's continued in both passages they want to be freed.Flying and being in the air is symbolising ‘freedom’ because they finally can feel the air they can finally go and do as they please. From Maya Angelou's “his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” means he can not be freed he’s too damaged and detained.Which is another similarity to John Dunbar's when, “bird beats his wing,Till its blood is red on the cruel

“Sympathy” inspired “I know why the caged bird sings” by stepping up and saying his parents went through slavery. Paul Laurence Dunbar said this because people who’ve been slavery know all about how much you suffer, the pain you go through, the angriness on how much they make you do, and something in your life you”ll never forget. He also inspired her by not being afraid to tell some of his hardest moments in life. Paul gave hints like “i know what the caged bird feels, alas” this means he through stuff like slavery.

The writer of “Sympathy”, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was the son of former slaves. He and his family lived in the time of racial discrimination. Dunbar wanted to study law but couldn't because of his family's limited finances. Dunbar could have wrote the poem with his parents enslavement in his mind as he talks about the bird crying because “he would be free” (17). His poem only has a caged bird because at the time African Americans were discriminated against. While in “Caged Bird” Angelou has both a free bird and a caged to bird to show both the dark and light times in her life. The caged bird is used to represent her sexual abuse and rape at the age of 8 by her mother's boyfriend. “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind … and dares to claim the sky” shows how even as Angelou had dark periods in her life, she was surrounded by people who loved her and brought light into her life, the free bird. (1, 2,

The poem Sympathy and I know why the caged bird sings are similar because they both have a bird that is trapped in some way. They make him sound like the bird is happy but he is desperately trying to get out and can't because of the cage.

Angelou herself is talking to people who feel oppressed during the time of segregation. This poem takes place in an era in which there was a time of racial prejudice against the blacks. While white americans were being treated fairly, the blacks were not. In this poem, she describes that there are two birds. One that is free and one that is caged.

Poetry can be described as a form of literature that evokes a particular emotional response or an artistic mindfulness of experience using rhythmic and aesthetic qualities of language. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou, published 1983, and Sympathy, written by Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1899 both incorporate poetic devices to illustrate the common theme of racism. The profound pathos of racial bias is vividly and emblematically embodied in the poems using symbolism, metaphor and form. I know why the caged bird sings and Sympathy construct their common theme by portraying symbolism with varying effectiveness.

Maya Angelou is known for her powerful soul connecting poetry but one of her most beloved poems is “I know why the caged bird sings”. In the poem “I know why a caged bird sings”, she utilizes a caged bird to describe a person calling for freedom. Maya Angelou wrote this poem around the racial stand point in the late 60’s. She depicts many examples of figurative language to portray the emotions of a person deprived of their civil liberties because of their skin color. In Maya Angelou poem “I know why the caged bird sings,” she expresses the hardships of racial discrimination and segregation using personification, imagery, and symbolism.

On other hand, the caged bird’s “stands on the grave of dreams, his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream, his wings are clipped and his feet are tied”, symbolising the oppression and represents the the African-American community. The bird has extremely limited freedom because of the locked cage and constantly longs to be free. The caged bird cannot escape and this symbolises the segregation and discrimination that Angelou grew up

In his poem Paul Laurence Dunbar begins by describing a caged bird that see’s the outside world and longs to get a taste of it. He never mentions a free bird as Maya Angelou does, and keeps the perspective form the captive bird the entire time. In his second stanza, Dunbar’s bird does something different: “I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars” (“Sympathy” 8-9) Unlike the bird in Angelou’s poem, Dunbar’s attempts to escape his confinements. This is the main difference between these two works: While Dunbar’s bird tries to free himself, Angelou’s only cries out to a deaf world. However, one must also recognize that after the bird in Sympathy beats his wings and fails to fly, he sings out with the same plea as