Literary Elements In Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

“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

In the beginning of the novel, Angelou describes the effect of racial discrimination had on her at a young age. Dissatisfied with her appearance for an upcoming church service, Maya imagines herself with blonde hair and blue eyes, which were

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.

came to Stamps unexpectedly. Having no choice, Maya and Bailey went with Bailey Sr. to go live with the mother, Vivian Baxter whom we know as Mother Dear. While Maya and Bailey were living with their mother and her family in Saint Louis, Missouri, Maya meets her mom’s fiance, Mr. Freeman. Being naive Maya initiated sexual acts with Mr. Freeman, however, Mr. Freeman took it too far when he sexually assaulted Maya. After going to court and hearing that Mr. Freeman died Maya isolated herself and didn't talk because she feared someone else will be put in danger. As Maya and Bailey were sent back to Stamps, Maya begins to admire an older woman, Mrs. Flowers who influences her. Mrs. Flowers tells her that "language is man's way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals," (p82). Mrs. Flowers is the one who shows Maya how to truly appreciate books and says, "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning. This is very important to Maya because this is where she gets the inspiration to start using her voice for something good. This influences her throughout her whole life, and this is how we see and know Maya Angelou now. Books have been an important part of Maya's

In the era, Maya grew up in men are considered accomplish and successful than a woman. Often women are homemakers with children based on the typical stereotype of what a woman supposed to be in society. Maya Therefore, Maya questions her sexuality after reading about lesbians because of her lack of interest in affection from men and appearances that isn’t considers a normal girl behavior. Maya had her first consensual intercourse with a classmate to ensure herself that she is normal, which result in her becoming a mother after she graduated high school. In her path of becoming a mother, she became better woman then the own mother because, unlike her mother, Maya raised her son as a single mother regardless of the outcome of her life. Therefore, Maya is also a great example of how much a woman can do even with a child. She never let the outcome of her life stop her from achieving greatness, showing that women don't have to sacrifice to achieve their goals. Maya learns to survive and thrive in a racist dominated society earning respect and title as an African-American and as a

Maya meets Mrs. Flowers who wanted Maya to talk with someone and let out her guilt about lying in court. After staying with Mrs. Flower Maya started wanting to be like her, Maya wanted to be white. Maya moves back to Los Angeles with her dad, where she and her dad invade a party in Mexico where her dad gets drunk and for the first time in her life she drove a car, as soon as they reach home Maya make decision to move to junk the yard to live independently “being born black is itself a liability in a world ruled by white stands of beauty which imprison the child prior in a cage of ugliness” (Smith “Opening” 121). Throughout the novel it runs a theme of ugliness, where Maya is not comfortable with herself and calls herself ugly several times in the novel. Maya finds out a lot about herself after she experiences all the ups and downs, where she learns to live happy and independently. Though Maya and her struggles with acceptance Angelou suggests that a person needs to love themselves in order to have a successful life.

Maya Angelou uses background information to manipulate the reader’s emotions. She does this first by telling the story in chronological order. Once the order is established, the reader starts to understand where Angelou is coming from. The other way that she manipulates emotions is by slowly changing the tone throughout the novel. When these factors are put together, they are meant to create sympathy from the reader. A sense of sadness that the black community faced during the 1940’s.

In Stamps, Arkansas, there is a small black community where everyone knows each other, especially Maya’s grandma, “Momma”. Throughout Maya’s childhood living in Stamps, she will see many things a child her age shouldn’t see, and that isn’t appropriate for her eyes. These scenes Maya begins to see, begin to put ideas in her head that she can’t help to think about, which a little girl definitely shouldn’t be doing. ““Now this ain’t gonna hurt you much. You liked it before, didn’t you?” I didn’t want to admit that I had in fact liked his holding me or that I had liked his smell or the heard heart beating, so I said nothing,” (78). Maya is raped by Mr. Freeman as a child and this taking place just makes everything worse. Maya’s innocence is stolen and because she is such a little girl she doesn’t begin to notice it but she eventually will as she gets older. Maya does not know what to think at this age and does not want to tell anyone so this forms another cage in her childhood. At the age of 8, Maya has been changed forever with her innocence taken. “Then there was pain. A breaking and entering when the senses are torn apart. The act of rape on an eight-year old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can’t. The child gives because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot,” (65). Maya is now an adult and is thoroughly thinking about what

Maya Angelou uses figurative language in her work of literature . In her Memoir “I know why the caged bird sings” she uses figurative language such as similes, diction and imagery to convey a message to her audience. For example in chapter 1 Maya writes “Each year I watched the field across from the Store turn caterpillar green, then gradually frosty white.” Maya wants the audience to picture that the season is changing. Secondly she uses diction in her work of literature. Maya stated “The sound of the empty cotton sacks dragging over the floor and the murmurs of waking people were sliced by the cash register as we rang up the five-cent sales.” She uses her own words to make the audience know that sound of the cash register is waking people up.

Her savviness led to her families’ survival throughout the Great Depression during which she was able to lend money to both black and white people. Guided by her faith, Momma rises above the circumstances around her such as the racially charged climate of the South. When three young “powhitetrash” girls come into her store, mimicking her physical appearance, rather than respond Momma begins humming hymns. Maya, enraged by Momma’s subservient response to this disrespectful treatment thinks of shooting the girls. In this moment Maya becomes furious with Momma, believing that she “allowed” the disrespect, not understanding that Momma didn’t believe those white girls were better than her but feared any potential the backlash their actions could have on her family or the store. Momma’s actions showed Maya the powerless position of even the most esteemed black folk, and taught her a sad but necessary lesson, black women must be survivors, and survival could not be prideful. “Momma intended to teach Bailey and me to use the paths that she and her generation and all the Negroes gone before had found, and found to be safe ones” (47).

There are a variety of themes for this novel. Two themes that stands out is love and racial segregation, Maya’s family loved each other so much, that they protected each other through all the racial prejudice acts. The tone, purpose and theme, are all demonstrated in chapter three pages seventeen through nineteen. In that Maya gives phenomenal real life examples.

Living with their grandma, "Momma", who possesses a general stock store, and Uncle Willie, they endure supremacist occurrences both in the store and in the city – no place feels safe. Sent to live with her mom, Maya bears the injury of assault by her mom's significant other Mr Freeman ("a breaking and entering when even the faculties are destroyed"). After Freeman is killed, she quits talking, alarmed of

Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography that describes the coming of age of a Southern black girl who overcomes society’s cruelty as she grows up. Taking place in Stamps, Kansas during the 1930s, the autobiography captures Marguerite Ann Johnson’s, or Maya’s, battle of finding herself and coming to terms with who she is while growing up in a time period comprised of oppression and discrimination. Furthermore, Maya endures many childhood hardships due to her race, and she defeats these obstacles with her intelligence and fortitude. Thus, Maya Angelou utilizes her vividly detailed experiences of racism’s impact on her and her resistance to racism to demonstrate the struggle of the Southern black girl who grows up in a society overwhelmed with white superiority.

Maya Angelou describes what her life with her grandmother is like while constantly being discriminated against her race. She then found her father, and he leaves Maya and Bailey off to their mother’s house. There, the mother’s boyfriend rapes Maya. After suffering from psychological shock, Maya then moves back to her grandmother’s. As a teenager Maya gets nervous about her sexual identity and tries to discover it. Through these harsh times, the naïve and softhearted Maya grows to become a strong, independent woman.

The feeling of displacement leaves a painful hole in one's heart. Whether a person is a male or female, white or black, lives in the North or South, or young or old, displacement takes a toll on their character and personality. Maya Angelou creates a theme of displacement in her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's novel has been critiqued by many notable scholars for being a classic autobiography. The critics note the importance of the setting to show universal displacement and the use of characterization to display the influences in Angelou's life. The critics also note that Angelou's diction and tone allow her pain and suffering to be evident throughout her novel and into her life. Angelou's use of setting shows how she was personally affected by displacement. She also uses characterization and tone to personalize her childhood experiences. Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is critiqued to have a theme of displacement based on the setting, characterization, and tone.