I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Literary Analysis

Even though some of the speeches were voiced as far back as 1950, many of the author’s subject matter and presented perspectives are applicable to the today’s society, most unambiguously the African-American community.

People of all ages were gathered at Uncle Willie’s store to hear the most historical fight for the title of boxing world heavyweight champion, which the African American Joe Louis was part of, a fight that changed the way people saw African Americans and proved that they were as a strong as the white men. All the people gathered in the store had the same skin color and same purpose, they all wanted Joe Louis to become the boxing world champion, to prove wrong to the people whom tormented them and treat or considerate them less than humans beings.

With an exhilarating thesis statement to kick off her essay, Hurston values the use of various rhetorical strategies to show triumphant input from an individual’s exclusive distinctiveness as an African American. With the uses of imagery, analogies, metaphors and anecdotes, Hurston demonstrates her story of her childhood to showcase her love, culture and recognition as a person of color. With Hurston’s uses of illustrative language, she associates a nice mixture of similes and metaphors to establish an image that conveys sound and emotions to everyday tasks as simple as listening to music. With a contrasts between the white man’s culture and perspective of colored Americans, Hurston definitely makes sure that the reader is aware that it is

Blacks in the United States have had to persistently fight against torture, racism, and segregation and still do. For years, in the United States people of color were not given the same rights as white men. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., “Graduation” by Maya Angelou and “A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X, the authors discuss their experiences and fight against inequality. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou were just a few of the hundreds of thousands of blacks who restlessly fought for civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou showed that in the face of adversity to persevere you must always remain strong and steadfast if you wish to succeed. Even with Malcolm X and Maya

The audience of this poem are the people who want to learn about how America was during segregation. Teachers have taught us what they have been told to teach. However, Angelou has lived through this time and has experienced segregation. She is a credible

With every high comes a low. People must have their lows in order to know what exactly they are fighting for. Persistence plays a big role in that fight. Despite the obstacles that one has to overcome in order to make it a successful and conclusive battle, there are also good and bad experiences that one learns from. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King, Jr., he demonstrates, to not only to the clergymen, but the world, that he is not giving up on equality, despite of being in jail. He makes it clear that due to certain promises not being kept, injustice and inequality, he takes the actions he is. In the excerpt “Graduation”, author Maya Angelou shows that with any obstacle or disadvantage that comes her way,

This act of persistence is evident through this quotation “she neither marched up to the stage like a conquering Amazon, nor did she look in the audience for Baily’s nod of approval.” This quotation depicts how even after being belittled by her White oppressors, she stood up for the black community, for her own education, and for the ideals of equality and freedom. Furthermore, her not looking at Baily for reassurance demonstrates her independence and her coming of age, an independence that is transgressive in the eyes of society, she is now able to affirm her own choices. Even though, in the beginning of the essay, she is shown to have an aversion to her own skin color as she has internalized all a lot of hatred that she faces, in this quotation it is clear that now she marches for herself and her whole community. Moreover, even though she is only sixteen, her enduring and unyielding battle against racial injustice and educational inequality is a testament to her indefatigable spirit. This is evident in this quotation “We were on top again. As always, again…. I was a proud member of the wonderful, beautiful Negro race.” This quotation demonstrates persistence as Angelou goes on to appreciate her race and realizes that they could be on top even after being continuously discouraged because of her skin color. She now referred to herself as a part of the wonderful, beautiful race, coming to terms with her own

Why does Angelou include paragraphs 42, 44, and 45 at the end of her essay? Would the extent of Mrs. Flower’s impact on the author be as

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.

Maya Angelou, an African-American woman, wrote the poem, “Still I Rise,” in 1978 when racism was still prominent. Maya Angelou was reaching out to a racist community to prove oppression will not bring her down. Angelou brings up topics of what she and every other African-American person has to endure when living in their communities, and how they feel. She also brings up topics of oppression and marginalization throughout this speech to state that she will continue to rise up above it. Maya Angelou utilizes rhetorical questions, hateful diction, as well as, similes and metaphors to prove to others that she, and other African-American’s will rise against the racism and oppression they face.

In an excerpt from her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings called “Graduation,” Maya Angelou narrates the anticipation surrounding graduation in her small town of Stamps, Alabama. Angelou effectively contrives noteworthy differences between paragraphs 1 through 5 and 6 through 10 through the use of emotional and descriptive diction, powerfully bold comparisons, and a shift in perspective in order to instill pride and dignity in Angelou and her race despite the era’s highlighted social injustices which she endures.

Nikki Giovanni's "Poem for Black Boys" is a poignant literary work that addresses several issues concerning the young black male in America and the conflicting views taken by members of the African-American community during the Civil Rights Movement with an inclination towards the peaceful movement perpetuated by the likes of Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. and his non-violent contemporaries. Giovanni's use of allusion, imagery and the sardonic humor of the speaker blend effortlessly to denounce all of the negative connotation of the young African-American male and to sound the battle-cry to black male youths that while society-at-large may place them in a box, it is up to them to prove society wrong.

The book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is a very moving story, and a big perspective changer. This story is an autobiography of Marguerite "Maya" Johnson also known as Maya Angelou. She wrote the story in elaborate detail, gave her view on how it really was back then, and showed how prejudice people really were. Maya Angelou's story took place in the 1930's - 1950'si Southern California. She told her story in a child’s point of view an later as an adult’s perspective. The style in which she wrote the book was amusing, sorrowful, and personal all combined.

In the essay “What’s Your Name, Girl?” Maya Angelou explores the injustice and suffering of her childhood as a black girl living in Stamps, Arkansas. Immediately, as the essay begins, you acquire insight on how Angelou seemed to be envious of white girls: “But Negro girls in small Southern towns, whether poverty-stricken or just munching along on a few of life’s necessities, were given as extensive and irrelevant preparations for adulthood as rich white girls shown in magazines. Admittedly the training was not the same. While white girls learned to waltz and sit gracefully with a teacup balanced on their knees, we were lagging behind, learning the mid-Victorian values with very little money to indulge them.” (17-18). Angelou recognized how unfair black people were treated. They had to scrounge up money whenever they could, while white people would effortlessly “waltz and sit gracefully” whenever they wanted to. She was envious of white people’s social statuses and what little work they had to do in the world and she wanted to be one of them; she wanted to live an easy life.

Angelou further delves into what it means to be and what it’s like to be black during this time. Since black people were not accepted as equals and as capable individuals the black community often placed