Maya Angelou once said “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated” and this phrase speaks volume in comparison to Angelou’s life story. She was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. The name Maya was given to her by her older brother, Bailey Jr. Maya Angelou is not only a sister, but also an inspirational role model, a mother, an author, a poet, a civil rights activist, and an actor. In 1969 Angelou’s world renowned book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” was first published. Within the book, she speaks on her early life as an insecure young black girl who had to grow up in Southern America in the 1930s and later in California during the 1940s. Written over and over in a multitude of history books, black history still remains in the shadow of being a horrific story that Africans and decedents of Africans had to endure. Angelou’s autobiography is a testimony to first-hand witness accounts of the social injustice people of color had to experience. Within Angelou’s book, she shows her strength and inner will to do better. Along with early life, Angelou also speaks on her resistance against racism during her life in both Southern America and California. Angelou’s resistance is not the only one noticed during this time though. Many other African Americans also resisted racism by installing fear in those of the “superior race”, demanding respect by vocalizing voices of the unheard, and as well as moving forward to desegregation
Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri (1928) as Marguerite Johnson; however she grew up in Stamps, Arkansas where her grandmother ran a general store. Angelou has acted and written several plays, poems, and a six-part autobiography “I Know Why the caged Bird Sings” making her one of this country’s foremost black writers. In this story Angelou tells about how her grandmother (momma) triumphs over a pack of taunting neighborhood children. I feel very strongly about this particular piece given the time set and the way black people were treated by the whites, and how without harsh words or threats some black people overcame the taunting and cruelties of the whites.
In the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, by Maya Angelou the main character is Marguerite Ann Johnson (Maya). She is portrayed as a mature young girl suffering from the traumatic events associated with being a black female in America. She is said to be a smart and imaginative person. Maya felt that people judge her unfairly due to her awkward appearance. She fantasized that she actually was a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl trapped in a “black ugly dream” and would soon wake up and reveal her true identity. She faced three obstacles in the south white prejudice, black inability, and female subjugation.
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.
During the timeframe of both Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, society held largely different expectations that limited men and women more than they do today. The Bean Trees is about a woman named Taylor who leaves her hometown, and is eventually left with a child, leaving her to learn how to raise it as a single mother. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is about the life of Maya Angelou as she grows up in America. In both of these novels, these women were not seen as the norm. Because of society’s expectations placed upon them, they were seen as odd, and both Taylor and Maya handled these expectations differently. One went against society’s expectations because she did not want to be stereotyped,
Have you ever considered how a young, insecure, black girl growing up in the South during the 1930s dealt with physical and verbal discrimination directed toward her African American race? This may not seem like a big deal at first, but consider that this was a time before the African American Civil Rights Movement; a time during which racism and segregation were a fact of life. It was a daily struggle for blacks to live in a society that clearly and openly did not accept them as equal people. They were frequently ridiculed and disrespected just because of the color of their skin. Since they were evidently treated
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.
Society today has an upheaving amount of problems that span from racism, poverty, persecution, and war, etc. Banners of books are attempting to eradicate any written piece that touches on the mere obstacles of society. The people who hold the vandalism tools in this situation are parents, who have children in the public school system. One book at a time, they annihilate authors and classic novels, themes, and genres in order to get their agenda across. The First Amendment to The United States Constitution prevents congress from making any law that abides from the freedom of speech. Equally, authors like Maya Angelou have the freedom of speech in our country to write, and in Angelou's case, the freedom to write about her life. Maya Angelou,
The lines from the poem Maya cannot finish, “What are you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay . . .” capture two of the most significant issues she struggles with in her childhood and young adulthood: feeling ugly and awkward and never feeling attached to one place. First, Maya imagines that though people judge her unfairly by her awkward looks, they will be surprised one day when her true self emerges. At the time, she hopes that she will emerge as if in a fairy-tale as a beautiful, blond white girl. By the age of five or six, Maya has already begun to equate beauty with whiteness, a sign that the racism rampant in the society in which she grows up has infiltrated her mind. Second, uprooted and sent away from
In Maya Angelou’s novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, there are a variety of literary elements used throughout the novel. Literary elements are used to make a novel more intriguing. All literary elements play a significant role in every novel. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, there were four literary elements that were emphasized. These four literary elements that Maya Angelou uses are, foreshadowing, symbolism, mood, and theme.
Like many African American writers in American history, migration is a defining part of Maya Angelou’s life and character. In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya thoroughly discusses each of the moves that shape the person she becomes. From St. Louis at seven to a Southern California junkyard at fifteen, Maya’s life is filled with both voluntary and involuntary migrations. Some of these moves are intensely emotionally taxing, while others allow her to grow and flourish. Although her expectations vary from move to move, without fail, her reactions and circumstances elicit a change or response that define her character. Indeed, as Dr. Jerome De Romanet discusses, “Place is not always therefore an essentially geographical
The poems “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou are both poems that speak on the issues of the mistreatment of African Americans, and how these challenges were created simply by the color of one’s skin and overcome. While the poems “Mother To Son” and “ Dreams” by Langston Hughes refer to the hopes of African Americans for a better standard of living, and the consequences of departing from these dreams of bettering themselves. This comparison of these four poems is important because all four aim to better society for African Americans, and inform the population struggles that they maybe be able to relate, and provide them with the inspiration to keep pushing forward. These poems explain why the desire for equality was so important to African americans at this time, and what they had to go through to get it. I believe that these poems are all used as methods of expression, information, as well as rebellion against the racial in injustice that was suffered for so long.
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, the changes Maya experiences display how everyone goes through change and that molds them into themselves. Bad changes can lead to more devastating and crucial changes later on in life. Good changes can spark hope inside of everyone that things will get better if we just believe they will. The changes the readers find throughout the novel lead up to the, discovering how those changes altered Maya throughout her life. Maya’s good and bad experiences that adapted her life advocates that change adds up to be crucial in order to grow and become the person you want to be.
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.
American author Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Over the course of her life, Angelou has written almost a dozen books as well as countless poems. Most notably is her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” about the struggles she faced during her adolescence. Angelou’s story, although heartbreaking at times, is one of strength and perseverance. Maya Angelou used her literary talent to transform her hardships into a message of hope and inspired others to do the same.
Maya Angelou was an american poet who wrote “Still I Rise” and was well-known and respected for being an author, actress, dancer, speaker, and civil rights protester. She was born on April 4, 1928 in St.Louis Missouri.“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” was an book she wrote that made history due to it being a very successful non-fiction written by an African American. Unfortunately, her parents got divorced 1931 and Maya and her brother, Bailey Johnson Jr. were forced to live her father’s mother, Mrs. Annie down in Arkansas. Another devastating and traumatizing issue she had to face was knowing she got sexually abused and raped by her step-father, Mr.Freeman. During 1942, she dropped out of school to grow to become San Francisco's first black female cable car conductor. One year later, she made a decision to finish high school, however she became pregnant with Guy and finished highschool just a few weeks priors before her delivery. As she start ed getting interested During 1959, a special invite was offered for Maya to become the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by Martin Luther King. Unfortunately, Maya died on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86. Another artist is Alessia Cara, who is an Canadian singer as well as a songwriter. She was born on July 11, 1996 and wrote this song to show other individuals what she went through and how she dealt with her insecurities like her hair falling off. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and “Scars to Your