How Does Maya Angelou Use Personification In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Angelou was born in Missouri in 1928. She spent most of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, pre Civil Rights Movement with her grandmother and her older brother. Angelou is most known for writing the poem Caged Bird. In the first stanza about the caged bird, Angelou declares that the bird, “can seldom see through/ his bars of rage/ his wings are clipped and/ his feet are tied/ so he opens his throat to sing”(Caged Bird). Angelou uses the bird as a metaphor for oppressed African Americans during this time period; the bird is held back by a barrier, just like African Americans were held back by unjust laws, a corrupt legal system, and their white peers who saw them as inferior. Similar to the bird, Angelou felt held back by others, but she did not let the “bars of rage” hold her back from her potential so, like the bird, she “opened her throat to sing” and used her voice to protest for herself and those who could not advocate for themselves.

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 “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.

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.

The main purpose of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is to recount the early life of Maya Angelou, through the eyes of her childhood. The book shows how her testimony marks the beginning of a new era: how racism and segregation helped her become a voice for the problems of our time, especially for women. As a child, thinking of herself as a fat black girl trapped in a twisted reality, she internalized that blonde hair and white skin were beautiful. She was raised in Stamps, Arkansas, a place so segregated that she believed white people were only a figment of the black imagination: “In Stamps the segregation was so complete that most Black children didn’t really, absolutely know what whites looked like” (25). As she grew older, she was continually a victim of discrimination: in a power play, her white boss shortened her name, Marguerite, to Mary. Angelou saw that move as demeaning, the way one would treat a pet animal. Furthermore, a white dentist refused to treat her because of her skin color: “Now, my policy is I don’t treat colored people,” said Dentist Lincoln (188). These two experiences helped Angelou realize how disgusting people could be.

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.

According to Willard Scott, “Positive Feelings come from being honest about yourself and accepting your personality, and physical characteristics, warts and all; and, from belonging to a family that accepts you without question.” Maya Angelou illustrates this in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography on herself. It illustrates Maya Angelou’s struggles of accepting herself because of some cruel experiences in her life. Maya was an African American girl who was struggling on living because of her parents divorce. She was pretty strong and she decided to move to Stamps, Arkansas from Long Beach, California with Bailey; her brother, to stay at her grandmother’s, because Maya’s parents are going

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a novel by Maya Angelou, where she writes about her childhood and her experiences while growing up. This non-fiction novel illustrates Maya Angelou’s childhood, being tossed around by her parents, and having to experience different cultures. Maya struggles particularly in finding friends, she is reserved, and will only open up to Bailey, her brother. Maya moves a couple of times to different places, which may contribute to her not having friends. The novel revolves around Maya Angelou, Bailey, and her grandmother, evolving through life from being a child to a teenager. This novel is set in the “South”, in America.

African Americans suffered through oppression in the past. Many people were afraid to talk about the struggles they faced daily. They were afraid that their voice would not be heard or that it was a crime to speak on how they felt. Thankfully, two poets became that voice; Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar in their extraordinary poems about the deserved freedom of African-Americans. In Sympathy by Paul Dubar and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, they both use the image of a bird in a cage to communicate their thoughts on life and freedom.

Biographical Case Study: Maya Angelou This paper explore two published articles that report on the bio sketch research done online (Internet) and offline (non-Internet) of the biographical timeline of Maya Angelou, the Poet, Author, and Historian. Her work life, upbringing, personal life and accomplishments will be depicted in this paper. In this biography, I will explore Mrs. Angelou’s life from birth to her subsequently death in 2014.

Maya Angelou is an American author who is known for her poetry and novels that lyrically illustrate the experiences of African Americans and also acts as a spokesperson for black pride and heritage (St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture). Although she speaks for people of color, her messages of hope and strength appeal to people of all ages and races. Angelou is best known for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in which she recalls herself as a young African American girl finding self-confidence in a highly prejudice world.  Maya Angelou’s work should still be taught in schools today because of her focus on civil rights and feminism, which continues to be a pressing issue in today’s society.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is an inspiring story about a young black girl, Marguerite, growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. She and her brother, Bailey, were raised by their grandmother while their parents lived in Saint Louis, Missouri. Marguerite must learn how to get what she wants in a world when its all about the white race of people. This novel explains racial injustice from a girl who endured many incidents of it.

In Maya Angelou’s poem, “Caged Bird”, She explains how a bird is trapped inside of a cage and can not escape from thick metal bars that hold it back. It imagines and signs of having freedom. People believe this is about a bird, but what if it isn’t. I believe that this is talking about a person who can’t make the decision if they want to keep fighting to do free.The bird can’t decide if it wants to fight to soon wear the bars of the cage down so it can finally fly away aswell or to give up and use its voice and

The memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography written by Maya Angelou as she grew up in the mid-20th century, where being a black girl and facing racial issues in society, had to overcome many problems that show the larger issue of the time period. I chose this book over the other nineteen memoirs because of the strong recommendations I received from my fellow class mates, and because of my interest in racial issues during the terrible times of segregation. Life was not fair, and Maya Angelou had to face a lot during the 30’s and 40’s in order to try to live a normal lifestyle and become a confident person. Maya shares her story with us to increase our knowledge of racism, prejudice, unequal treatment of women, and sexual

The mood of “Caged Bird” changes drastically from stanza to stanza. Angelou’s specific diction choices help to reflect the change from being positive to negative with some elements of hope involved. The parts of the poem involving the free bird provide the reader with a feeling of self government.In contrast, the mood associated with the caged bird is confinment. Despite the negative mood tied to the caged bird there are still elements of hope woven into these stanzas.