Sympath and Bury me in a Free Land

“The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch, a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird because of his youth and innocence, and because of his innocence he cannot fully understand the racism in the story. Jem also has many similarities to the caged and free birds in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, whether it be Jem’s

In the Poem, “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, he showed understanding to a bird in a cage. And I can be 99% sure he is not a bird and never was a physical bird. So what is the author suggesting? First I looked at who is really feeling and expressing this sympathy. I feel like the author is the one who is identifying with the caged bird, and he is the speaker., Next is observing the tone of the poem. The poem has a dark and sad tone to it using words like “blood is red on the cruel bars”, “pain still throb is old, old scars”,”wing is bruised”, “not a carol of joy or glee” (Dunbar)

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

As an African American author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Jim Crow laws prevailed and “separate but equal” was considered constitutional, Paul Laurence Dunbar attempted to display the feelings of African Americans. Dunbar said that he wanted “to interpret my own people through song and story and prove to the many that we are more human than African” (Baym and Levine). In his poems “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy”, Dunbar skillfully revealed the discontent of blacks facing unjust treatment by using metaphor and imagery. The author extracted from his own experiences and family history in an endeavor to express the condition of his entire race in this grueling period.

During the 1960s segregation was at its peak. In the poem titled “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and in the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both authors describe caged birds longing for freedom and free birds. Both of these poems relate to Hunter-Gault's story of being discriminated against University of Georgia. The exposition of her story is that the university is doing everything in their power to keep her out. She also encounters many conflicts while earning her right to attend their school. Discrimination has taken place all throughout US history but in Hunter-Gault's case she rewrote history by being the first student of color to be excepted to an all-white school.

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

The poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is well known for its little caged bird. The articulation of this poem derives from such aspects as the use of rhetorical devices such as imagery and repetition, and overall meaning of the piece being strengthened by such written aspects. There are some freedoms that must not be restricted such as freedoms to (feel,...)

When the wind stirs through the springing grass…/ and the faint perfume from its chalice steals/ the speaker is alluding to his own experience as a black man in post-Civil War America. Dunbar’s parents were both former slaves, his father escaping by serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, moved to Dayton, Ohio which was still racially segregated like the rest of the country. Still, Dunbar attended M street High School that regularly outperformed white students at the opposing schools on standardized tests (JBHE 1). While there’s no real indication that Dunbar’s poetry is resonant of his life, one can see clear intersection between his lyrics and the life he lived. In Sympathy, he wrote eloquently about the pain that the caged bird goes through beating his wings against the bars speaking metaphorically about the generation before him that lived through enslavement.

In the poem “Sympathy”, the author, Paul Lawrence Dunbar uses imagery to express his attitude about injustice. Throughout the whole poem Dunbar uses the phrase “caged bird” (Dunbar 1, 7, 8, 15 and 21) a lot. The very first time he mentioned the caged bird, he also added that he knows what that bird feels. By Dunbar writing this, he confirms that he has been in the same position that this bird is in. In this situation Dunbar uses the bird to refer to a person, this helps support the fact that he has been in the same situation as the caged bird, trapped.

After the abolition of slavery the South became racially segregated and set many restrictions on African Americans. In the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, these authors portray a caged bird trying to break free from their cage. The authors use this bird as a metaphor to show the oppression and restrictions against blacks. The symbol of the caged bird is important because it shows the reality for oppressed black people and reveals their resistance to racism.

‘And his tune is heard on the distant hill’ means that even though the bird continues as a prisoner, someone manages to listen to his melody; many even hear it from far away. ‘For the caged bird sings of freedom’, the final line of the stanza, establishes what the bird sings about, he wants freedom. Most of the African-American literature consisted on the horrors of slavery and segregation, and it lasted up to the 60’s (racism stayed as relevant during present-day but slavery and segregation are outlawed); many writers even doubled as civil activists. Despite this, people consider their literature as masterpieces nowadays. They represent the caged bird, with their opportunities limited and a free world they could only dream of. However, their voices managed to get heard and their pleas received answers. They managed to get allies throughout the world to help them in their

Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote the poem, “Sympathy,” expressing how he relates to the caged bird’s condition. While it appears impossible to have any relation to a caged bird, the poetic device metaphor assists with understanding the connection between the two, and if the connection is real.

In line it says “” This shows that the bird sings not of joy, but of sorrow ,of sadness, a cry for help, while being stuck in his cage. He prays to be free and to not be enslaved in his cage where he must stay till he dies yet he prays to be free out in the wild, free of restraint and boredom. While in the other poem it says on line “” . This shows that this bird sings with fear that he will be stuck forever in his cage but doesn't beat against the cage. He just sings with sadness and not sing because he is worn out because he is stuck and simply has no way of trying to get out. This shows that the one in the poem sympathy is fighting with all his might, then sings while the other bird’s wings are clipped so and his feet are tied so all he can do is sing for someone to help

“Sympathy” inspired “I know why the caged bird sings” by stepping up and saying his parents went through slavery. Paul Laurence Dunbar said this because people who’ve been slavery know all about how much you suffer, the pain you go through, the angriness on how much they make you do, and something in your life you”ll never forget. He also inspired her by not being afraid to tell some of his hardest moments in life. Paul gave hints like “i know what the caged bird feels, alas” this means he through stuff like slavery.

The mood of the poem is sad and the tone is dark. The bird, love, is in danger from others. The sparrow seems vulnerable and lost. It cannot help itself. The end of the poem describes love as hungry, as faceless and the sparrow singing, famished in the speaker's hand. These are gloomy images. The author of the poem’s husband died. Her poem shows yearning and longing.