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

She often wrote about the Civil Rights Movement and the revolutionary social times throughout America. One of Maya Angelou’s influencers in writing was Paul Dunbar, hence why one of her most idolized pieces is named I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing (Shmoop Editorial Team). Her message was the same as Dunbar’s, the need for freedom in America and portraying it in literary terms. Angelou too used a bird to express her anger throughout her poem. Maya Angelou was similar to Dunbar in the ways of being oppressed.

“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 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

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

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

In Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged Bird Sings Maya goes from being a very young and sporadic girl to a loving and nurturing mother. Throughout Maya’s life she goes through many trials and tribulations. By finding refuge and strength in her family she surpasses racism, rape, and displacement issues.

Maya Angelou was an African American woman who wrote about standing up for oneself and the people who have been oppressed. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou talked about a free man and an oppressed man. She went into detail that the difficulties that the written about the oppressed man was forced to face. Two aspects was presented to the reader, Maya Angelou presented the success of a free man and obstacles and difficulties that the oppressed man. “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky.”

In Maya Angelou’s autobiographical book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she reveals stories from her life. From humorous, to tragic, to inspiring, these stories reveal Angelou’s life to readers. Throughout the book, readers are taken from place to place learning about how Angelou grows from a small child hates herself to a young woman who has found where she belongs in the world. Through her life experiences, Maya Angelou finds her identity by not allowing life to overpower her but to empower her.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.