Essay about Caged Bird - 650 Words

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, tells her story of how and when she grew up. In Arkansas at the time of Maya Angelous childhood, many things were looked upon as bad or unfavored. Mayas problem was that she was black and a woman. Her novel depicts her life in rural Stamps, Arkansas with her grandmother and in St. Louis, Missouri, where her mother resided. At the age of three Maya and her four-year old brother, Bailey, were turned over to the care of their paternal grandmother in Stamps. Southern life was filled with humiliation, violation, and displacement. These actions were exemplified for blacks by the fear of the Ku Klux Klan, racial separation of the town, and the many†¦show more content†¦She thinks she cannot be heroic like all the boys she read about in her comics, for the fact of being a girl. Being female was just as limiting for Maya as being black, and seemed to be something to struggle against rather than embrace. Maya knew that to be blac k and female is to be faced with violence and violation. In her society, blacks were no good and women were only useful for sex. Maya struggled throughout her childhood to accept her race and gender. This is brought into focus when she went to live with her mother and is raped by her mothers boyfriend. After Maya eventually reveals who did this to her, the man is killed. She believed that her own voice killed him. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism. She withdrew herself and vows never to speak again. Her mother feels that she has done everything in her power to make Maya talk, but she cannot reach her. She sends Maya and her brother back to Stamps. After Maya returned to Stamps, and with the help of her Teacher Ms. Flowers, she began to speak again. For the most part, though as a struggle, Mayas experiences have made her a much stronger person. African-American women, during Mayas time, faced great er troubles than a colored male would have. The society was racist and sexist as well. Maya saw this as a challenge and rose through everything, eventually becoming a successfulShow MoreRelated Maya Angelou as a Caged Bird Essay1153 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou as a Caged Bird    The graduation scene from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings illustrates how, living in the midst of racism and unequal access to opportunity, Maya Angelou was able to surmount the obstacles that stood in her way of intellectual develop and find higher ground.   One of the largest factors responsible for Angelous academic success was her dedication to and capacity for hard work, My work alone has awarded me a top place...No absences, no tardinesses, and my academicRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1482 Words   |  6 Pages Maya Angelou tells of her life experiences and struggles in her book â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† that gives us insight about Maya’s life as a young black girl growing up in a time of racism. 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Throughout the story, it is clear that Maya changes from being a setback of bigotry to end up distinctly a young lady with self-nobility and character that helps her to conquer partiality. The setting of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings concentrates on the issues connected with bigotry thatRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1126 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou was a gifted woman with one of the greatest voices of African American literature. Previously known as Marguerite Johnson, she was one of the most important women of our time. She was best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Not only was Maya Angelou able to overcome all the racial discriminations and interferences that she endured growing up, she was also able to prove to many people what a successful African American author and activist she was. She was a womanRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings2695 Words   |  11 Pages I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings According to Willard Scott, â€Å"Positive Feelings come from being honest about yourself and accepting your personality, and physical characteristics, warts and all; and, from belonging to a family that accepts you without question.† Maya Angelou illustrates this in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography on herself. It illustrates Maya Angelou’s struggles of accepting herself because of some cruel experiences in her life. Maya was an African American girlRead MoreEssay on I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1319 Words   |  6 Pagesseems to care much more about her than her father did. Thesis Statement: Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.† Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.† Maya is a strong willed, often stubborn, outgoing, somewhat outspoken, and rather intelligent girl. She becomes very tolerant due to some of her experiences. She also maturesRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pagesviews. She is one of the few recognisable civil rights activist working right beside Martin Luther Jr and many other leaders including presidents. Working in the Reagan and Bush ad ministry. She wrought a best-selling auto biography â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings†. Trough-out her legacy she continuously created poems promoting civil rights from her personal and social views. â€Å"still I rise â€Å"is one of her earlier working but is still consider one of the greatest poems on discussing the social views atRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings2495 Words   |  10 PagesIn 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, espec ially 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