I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Character Analysis Essay

This character analysis was based on the autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, written by the famous and inspiring Maya Angelou. In the beginning of, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite Annie Johnson or Maya Angelou is a precocious girl and she suffered from the typical traumas associated with being a black girl in America, as many black girls have. But she also struggled from the traumas of displacement. Her parents gave up on their marriage, and soon after, they sent away Maya and Bailey, her older brother by one year. The three and four year old were sent to Arkansas to live with their grandmother and Uncle Willie.
She was smart and imaginative, however she felt that people judge her unfairly because of her appearance. She felt misunderstood, and fantasized that she was a blonde girl with blue eyes trapped in a “black ugly dream” and she’ll up and reveal her real self at any moment. Maya described her social and familial displacement as “unnecessary insults” along
She learns to confront racism and eventually she secures a position as the first black conductor on a San Francisco streetcar, which is one of her biggest achievements. She also learns to confront her own mistakes with dignity and honor; she never forgot her guilt about lying in court and, in the Los Angeles junkyard, she realized she needed to think not just in terms of black and white, but to also think in terms of humanity. She showed the power of forgiveness when she tried to find positive qualities in Big Bailey and to show compassion toward Dolores. She remains insecure, especially about her sexuality and appearance, but eventually she learns to trust her own abilities when she realizes that she will be able to care for her newborn