In the novel “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” Maya Angelou describes her life as a young awkward black girl in the American South during the 1930s and subsequently in California during the 1940s. when Maya is only three her parents divorce and ship Maya and her older brother, Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, who Maya and Bailey call Momma, runs the only store in the black section of Stamps and becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s childhood. It is actually interesting how much clout she has in the town for a black woman.…
The author uses imagery to illustrate and give the reader a clear understanding of his thoughts about injustice. Dunbar uses imagery by stating, “ Till it’s blood is red on the cruel bars” (line 9). This shows the bird’s relentless efforts to escape. The author includes this to relate the bird’s struggles and hardships to his own dealing with injustice. Another way Dunbar uses imagery to relate to injustice is by stating, “ When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer he sends from his heart’s deep core”( lines 16-19). Here the author uses imagery to show the reader that even when the bird is in pain he still fights for freedom and justice. The author uses this piece of imagery to relate himself to the bird in the sense of that like the bird, the author fights for his freedom, but along the way is…
Maya is scared for life and is led to believe that the very sound of her voice…
“I know what the caged bird feels, atlas!” (Dunbar). Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy” can be interpreted from a multitude of lens; whether seen from a more historical view or an emotional view, the poem conveys a very real and similar message. The poem plays off the idea of being “cooped up” in a cage and longing to escape its ‘cruel bars’ (Dunbar). When analyzing each of the three Professors’ interpretations, they all had a solid notion of what Dunbar was trying to express to his audience. Although, in my opinion, one of the three Professors really summarized the feelings behind the poem: Professor B. Professor B has a stronger interpretation of the text than Professors A and C.…
Prose exposes numerous straw man arguments with To Kill a Mockingbird. Prose critiques the novel in a confident, yet slightly harsh manner. She believes that the novel could’ve been different if there was just a bit more detail. Prose interprets To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that focuses on prejudice and racism.…
The poem does talk about two birds and how they are different, but the birds are not used for what they really are. The bird that was flying freely in the sky was used to represent the white people. The bird that was in the cage was used to represent the African American people. They suffered because they were not able to live and do what they wanted to. They were free in the sense that they were not slaves anymore, they could have a job and do other type of activities but White Americans made it harder for them because they were black.…
The poems “Sympathy” and “Why the Caged Bird Sings” are similar because they both talk about a caged bird who can not be free, even in his mind. They both talk about how hurt and frustrated the bird is. Both the authors know how the caged bird feels, but expresses it in such different but similar ways. They both talk about how the singing of the birds, but the singing is not with happiness, although it sounds like it. The singing of the birds is rage, even if it sounds very sweet.…
The poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is clearly stating that he wants to be free. This poem was published in 1895, and at this time conditions were horrible for African Americans. Dunbar felt trapped like the bird in the cage. There were not many educated African American men at this time, but Dunbar was an outstanding writer. This man wants to be free, and this theme is described through the explication of form, prosody, and symbolism.…
Characterization is a physical description of a character, the way the character acts and the personality traits of the character. Bailey Johnson Jr. is the older brother of Marguerite Ann Johnson, the protagonist of the novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. In order for Maya to become independent, she needs to separate from Bailey. Their original relationship was holding her back. Bailey is described in the book as a bright, clever and light-spirited person. Maya needs to separate from Bailey because she relies on him to fight her battles. He is also a “God-like” figure to her, which is an unhealthy obsession. Bailey also keeps Maya from believing in herself because Maya puts too much faith in him.…
In the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, the speaker explains how the free bird’s life is and how the caged bird’s life is.…
The themes in both, "Still I Rise" and "Sympathy", are very apparent. With such expressful words and phrases, both authors convey the true meaning and theme of each poem. In "Still I Rise", the reader sees the theme as self-respect. With phrases such as "You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes... but still, like air, I'll rise" (Lines 25,26, and 28), the reader sees that Angelou is explaining how someone could possibly put her down, and somehow she will overcome it with self-esteem. In "Sympathy", the reader sees that the theme is all about discovering how a "caged bird" feels. The author exemplifies this by repeating the phrase "I know why the caged bird sings!" (Lines 1,7,8,14,15, and 21). Then, he goes into detail and explains how he has made that discovery. "It is not a carol of joy or glee, but a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core" (Lines 18 and 19). "Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; for he must fly back to his perch and cling" (Lines 9 and 10). Dunbar explains why the caged bird is still singing while it is being put through so much pain. Such expressful words can truly convey what the thesis and main idea are in each poem.…
Personification is a type of figurative language that occurs, when you take something that is non-human such as an object, a speech pattern, animal, or idea and apply human like qualities to it, in order to make a comparison. This type of figurative language is used in the poem "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou when it states that "names the sky" for the sky doesn't have a name, but people do and so the sky has been depicted as a person through the use of…
Names are very important. A name sums up the individuality of a person. Names are what define people and their personality. The name you are given at birth by your parents sticks with you the rest of your life. Nobody has the right to call you something else.In the novel by Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings, many black people had nicknames because the people they worked for didn't want to call them by their real name.…
This can also be seen interpreted as happiness, a brighter future. In Maya’s poem we are giving a representation of two things, a free bird and a caged bird, the free bird is able to live it’s dream without no restraint. While the caged bird dreams of what it like to be free, it is filled with anger for the free bird. The overall comparison between the two is how they use personification to describe issues that can be applied to human beings.…
Hughes’s poem “Mother to son” is a mother talking to her son about her struggles in life but she continued to persevere, he uses metaphor to compare her trials in life to stairs. His other poem “Dreams” is a short poem that uses metaphor to compare a broken-winged bird to a dream that has been let go. The poem is referring to how letting go of your dreams is just like giving up on life. Angelou’s poem, “Still I rise” talks about the people who tried bringing her down but she continued to come back up. Poetic devices such as repetition, simile, and metaphor were used throughout the poem.“I know why the caged bird sings” also written by Angelou talks about her past experiences about racism and segregation, in addition to this symbolism and metaphor were used in this poem. The poems that were analyzed are similar to each other in many…