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Themes Of Freedom In Maya Angelou's A Call To Arms

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A Call to Arms Maya Angelou’s autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, reveal to the world her personal struggles, conviction, and dedication, all of which inspire and enrage every reader in different ways. Marguerite (Maya) Johnson was born in 1928, the height of segregation in the U.S. Her book tells of the continuous struggles and prejudices that she, along with her race, faced through her life, including her childhood rape, family issues, and the constant theme of discrimination of the African Americans of the time. As a reader, one cannot help but feel disgust at the way Maya and her family and friends were treated by the whites who reigned during her life and the absolute separation that was in place when antagonization wasn’t occurring. This separation was so complete that “...most Black children didn’t really, absolutely know what whites looked like. Other than that they were different, to be dreaded, and in that dread was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for and the ragged against the well dressed”(Angelou 25). It is surprising to hear, what with the intimacy the world has today, that many children couldn’t fathom what a person of another race looked like; that the only thing they knew was that they should be feared, and if they weren't feared, they were hated. Despite that, there are many instances of whites alienating and ‘poking fun’ at Maya’s family, with the most
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