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 …show more content…
“The needs of a society determine its ethics, and in the black American ghettos the hero is that man who is offered only the crumbs from his country 's table but by ingenuity and courage is able to take for himself a Lucullan feast. Hence the janitor who lives in one room but sports a robin 's-egg-blue Cadillac is not laughed at but admired, and the domestic who buys forty-dollar shoes is not criticized but is appreciated. We know that they have put to use their full mental and physical powers. Each single gain feeds into the gains of the body collective” (Angelou 218). Maya believes that blacks are being robbed of their lives and freedom to explore, grow, and succeed. This statement shows that ones with the very little they have will utilize it completely and have that to their advantage, and then they will succeed. Racism and prejudice are large factors that shapes Maya’s autobiography and eventually motivate her to ignore all of the negative influences and build her confidence. There are also many violent events towards blacks that show Maya the severity of prejudice in her society. One day when Maya was at the store a fight was on the radio where a black man and white man were battling in a boxing ring. When the black fighter Louis was getting beaten Maya thought, “It was our people falling. It was another
Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, author, and poet. She wrote many books and poems that conveyed the vivid experiences in her life. Maya Angelou’s works are well known and she is an eminent writer. One poem in particular that is well known is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” written in 1969. In this work she described racial inequality, and the lack of freedom African Americans experienced in the 1930’s and 40’s. Maya Angelou uses many Rhetorical strategies and literary devices to describe the lack of racial freedom in the world at this time.
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.
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou’s journey is a powerful example of what can happen when someone pursues their American Dream. When Maya is a young child living in Stamps, Arkansas, she has no control over her life and also faces crippling racism and a lack of self-confidence. Stamps has nothing to offer her, but when Maya moves to San Francisco a whole new world of opportunities opens up to her. Maya remarks, “To me, a thirteen-year-old Black girl, stalled by the South and Southern Black life style, the city was a state of beauty and a state of freedom” (Angelou 212). Despite Maya Angelou’s rough childhood and her struggles with racism and self-confidence, she uses her American freedom to fight for and secure
An example of Maya facing racism is during her eighth grade graduation. Maya was so excited to graduate. The school she attended enrolled both whites and blacks. First of all during the assembly the blacks had to recite their own national anthem titled “ The Negro National Anthem”. The principal gave a speech the the students and instead of treating the kids equal, he proudly stated the new achievements the whites were going to have, and
Maya Angelou is one of the most distinguished African American writers of the twentieth century. Writing is not her only forte she is a poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher, and lecturer (Angelou and Tate, 3). Angelou’s American Dream is articulated throughout her five part autobiographical novels; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, and All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. Maya Angelou’s American Dream changed throughout her life: in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya’s American dream was to fit into a predominantly white society in small town
What was the effect of the Black fighter, Joe Louis ' victory over his white opponent?
Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is an emotional coming of age autobiography set in the nineteen thirties – forties, focusing on her struggle with self-acceptance, insecurities, and prejudices. This journey is vastly explored throughout the United States such as, Arkansas, St. Louis, California, and even outside of the U.S. like Mexico. She travels with her brother to visit different members of their family, with each location having a story to tell. When she is three years old, she and her brother, Bailey, are sent to stamps with their grandmother after their parents got divorced. Notoriously in the South, segregation and racism is omnipresent. Here Maya is brought up by “Mama”, her grandmother. The siblings understandably feel abandoned by their parents after realizing they weren’t dead like they’d coaxed themselves to believe.
In the memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou presents the theme: coming of age. This theme is shown throughout the book many times, especially when something big happens to her, changing the way that she reacts to things and the way that she sees things. Another way that this theme is shown throughout the book is the way that she words things in the beginning, vs the way that she words things in the end. The change in her writing style and her language shows this. Not only was she growing up mentally but she was also growing up physically, I believe that even though she was older when she wrote this book she did a good job portraying her younger self at the beginning and her older self at the end. Maya Angelou shows the theme coming of age in her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, through the wording and structure of her writing, the events that happen to her in the book, and the way that she reacts to them.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , written by Maya Angelou tells the story of Mayas’ life being a southern black girl from Stamps Arkansas in the 1930s-1950s who didn’t have much. She was confronted with the fear of acceptance, displacement, racism, sexism, violence, rape, guilt, and loneliness through her life journey. Maya Angelou uses many techniques to overcome every single one of her obstacles that she is faced with. In the beginning scenes of the book we see that Maya fights with the wish of being accepted by others and herself. She vividly describes her Easter dress from the color it was to sounds it made when she would move.
As “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is an autobiography and therefore a work of nonfiction. Essentially, this means that the book is the first person, meaning that the story is being told from one character’s perspective. In this case. the narrator is Maya Angelou and we, the reader, tail along with her. Maya goes to describe the situations that she gets stuck in. An example of how her book is a first person narrative is the way she talks about the feelings that wash over her. In the following line from the book, she is describing the fear of sleeping with her baby as she does want to squish her during the night. “I lay on the edge of the bed, stiff with fear, and vowed not to sleep all night long” (Angelou).
Most novels have at least a bit of history in them. The Law of Now and Then is the conflict between novel and history. It can be applied to Maya Angelou’s life changing novel, I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings, because she writes her own point-of-view about events that happened in history; however, she is able to write the novel in a literalistic way. Also, Angelou wrote this novel with a child then adult perspective while she tells her own story. It may also be applied because we now can feel the pain and suffering that blacks then had to deal with and that will always be in history. A major event in history included in the book is when she became the first black and female streetcar conductor which was a pretty big deal back in the day. Ever
Maya Angelou’s 1969 novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is an autobiography that revolves entirely around Maya Angelou, a black African American girl in the 1930’s-50’s, and her difficult journey through life. The novel circles the themes of racism, sexism, and the outcome of being raped. Angelou explains to the reader the different remonstrance’s she goes through every day and how she struggles to grow up without a mother or a father. The book begins with her explaining how her mother sent her and her brother Bailey off to live with their grandmother and uncle in Stamps and how her parents are divorced.
‘I know why the caged bird sings’ by Maya Angelou is an autobiography of the author’s early years as an African-American girl who has experienced a lot of racism living in the US. Being in her 40s, she decided to share her story illustrating what it was like at that time, and in order to help the people reading it, overcome racism and trauma.
In the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the main character Marguerite Johnson, is influenced by a preponderance of characters including Bailey Jr. , Momma Henderson, and Mrs. Bertha Flowers. One of the primary influences is her older brother, Bailey Jr.. Momma, or Annie Henderson, the parental grandmother, also plays an important role for Maya. Additionally, Mrs. Flowers, the black aristocrat of Stamps, saves Maya during an especially difficult time. All in all, these three characters act as important role models in the development of Marguerite through her juvenile years.
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.