Prejudice in Maya Angelou´s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The intriguing thing about this poem is it’s use of the imagery of a bird, the first line is the audience being addressed as “little bird” something that could easily be a childhood nickname, “Fly away little bird / Fly away to a better place / Where you will soar through the sky / In the wide open space” This is a simple verse of the author imploring the ‘little bird’ to fly freely, nothing different until paired with the second verse “Fly away to live out all your hopes and dreams / Enter the real world / Of wondrous things / Through the dark clouds and over the rainbows” Using the mirroring words of ‘hopes and dreams’ and ‘dark clouds and over the rainbows’ creates the thoughts of highs and loves and everything in between, a common happening in the ‘real world’, which is usually used in regards of a child growing up and becoming up and creating a life for themselves. This is defined even more in the next three lines; “Fly away to destinations unknown / Fly away to discover yourself / And embrace what you find” these lines emphasise the thought of growing up and moving on in life, but the use of ‘embrace’ encourages the ‘little bird’ to not be afraid of change or transforming themselves, instead to welcome the difference and

Home is many things, for it can vary from the place where someone lives or even just a plain meaning that is different for everyone. In many cases, the thought of home is where people believe they belong. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the story of a girl named Marguerite Johnson and her life from an early age to her passage through adolescence to finally her young adult stage. Throughout her early life, she moves from home to home, two important ones being Stamps, Arkansas, and San Francisco, California. During her time in these two locations, there is an overwhelming amount of symbolization pondering the idea of belonging and where eden and exile is for her. At first, she does not know where she belongs, if she does belong

The authors message in this poem is that never ever give up in whatever situation we are in and to express ourselves even though the stronger wants to suppress the weaker. This poem can be considered as the poet’s personal expression. Maya Angelou can be symbolised as the caged bird in the poem. The poet feels like a caged bird because she had no freedom when the African Americans were fighting for equality during the civil rights movement. Maya Angelou is said to have a strong personality as she overcame many adversities and became the famous figure she is

Maya Angelou, the current poet laureate of the United States, has become for many people an exemplary role model. She read an original poem at the inauguration of President Clinton; she has also appeared on the television show "Touched by an Angel," and there read another poem of her own composition; she lectures widely, inspiring young people to aim high in life. Yet this is an unlikely beginning for a woman who, by the age of thirty, had been San Francisco's first black streetcar conductor; an unmarried mother; the madam of a San Diego brothel; a prostitute, a showgirl, and an actress (Lichtler, 861927397.html). Her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings argues persuasively

In Graduation, a chapter in her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, Maya Angelou talks vividly about her middle school graduation in the segregated South. Graduation is an important milestone in most people’s life, as they get a degree and move on to their next level, something better and more important, with the hope that they can use their new knowledge to achieve their life goals and ambitions. This is what the all black children of the graduating class of 1940 in the grammar school in Stamps, Arkansas, believed as well, including Maya Angelou. In this passage, the author persuasively uses ethos to expose, as an African American girl, how her graduation ceremony was another episode of the unfinished struggle for freedom and against racial segregation.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill. What is the limit? Is it those spiteful words that make the choice of jumping off the bottomless cliff seem easier? Hurdling off into the darkness is the only way out. Or is it ourselves that put us at the breaking point? Failure is all around. Maybe that’s the only way that success can arise. In Maya Angelou’s poem, “Caged Bird,” we see two people and how much they limit themselves. Langston Hughes’s poem, “Mother to Son,” a mother is limiting herself to her past and telling her son not to do the same. Robert Frost wrote about a person that is limiting their view to two choices and, consequently, is not seeing the other possibilities in “The Road Not Taken”. Everyone has their limits, but the ones who don’t let those limits block the other possibilities will conquer their existence. The cliff is open to anyone. Will you take the fall?

Prejudice can be defined as any preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience, 2. Harm or injury that results or may result from some action or judgment, and due in part to the first Amendment, which gave all Americans the right of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, many Americans believe they have the right to verbally judge whomever and whatever they seem fit, to no extent. However these same American underestimate the impact prejudice can have on a person’s body and mind because as we all know prejudice grows. Prejudice can also affect all phases of life: the past, the present, and the future. Maya Angelou said, “ Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the

In the two poems both show the caged bird of the black race. “ But a bird that stalks/down his narrow cage/can seldom see through/ his bars of rage…”(M.A 8-11). Although the message is very subtle, it means that blacks are the caged bird

Growing up in the South during the years of segregation as a young black girl was difficult. As we will see in a short story written by Maya Angelou, having someone to look up to can make a lasting impression and encourage young girls to make better choices in their lives. There are too many girls, both now and then, that have no role model to look up to. For some, they have no one to set good examples. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, it is evident what a good role model can do to someone's life. By analyzing this text, we will take a deeper look into not only what the text says but what I feel is the underlying meaning behind the words Angelou wrote. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has 36 chapters as well as the prologue. In this paper,

Maya Angelou conveys the theme of how jealousy may overcome the euphoria of freedom. Angelou incorporates the use of an oxymoron “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” (line 26-27). An oxymoron is proposed “graves of dreams” by contrasting to opposite ideas (line 26). By describing the sensory details presented in the diction “graves” it compels the reader to envision of death and glum feelings. When arranging dark visual imagery, Angelou paints a picture for the readers that the caged bird realizes his dreams face the terms of discontinuing. The vocable “dreams” brings a warm and hopeful tone of goals one may want to accomplish in life. She discusses light visual imagery to connect the freedom

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya shields herself against the confusion of St. Louis by reading fairy-tales and telling herself that she does not intend on staying there anyway. Vivian works in a gambling parlor at night. Maya pities Mr. Freeman because he spends his days at home waiting for Vivian to return. Maya begins sleeping at night with Vivian and Mr. Freeman because she suffers from nightmares. One morning after Vivian has left the bed and the house,

The first stanza of the poem introduce the free bird. Angelou uses words such as “leaps . . . and floats” (Line 1-3) in description of this character’s movements. These actions relate directly to moving without restrictions. The words leaped and floats are contradicted immediately in the second stanza as Angelou brings the caged bird into the picture. Angelou uses diction that complements confinement

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.

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.

This poem contains another literary device called juxtaposition. The free bird is juxtaposed with the caged bird, both are described but they are very different. Adults need to think about how they use their power over children. Helicopter parenting; is using power that causes children to be restricted and to shrivel up inside rather than flourish just like the caged and free bird in the poem. Angelou’s free bird is a free child, someone who has the freedom to pursue their ambitions no matter how questionably they become.