In the story, I Know Why the Caged Bird sings, the character Marguerite is Maya when she was a little girl, whose childhood made her strong. She is a very smart girl who deals with new problems that she learns from and others she would try to understand what had happened. Maya lived with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas because her parents sent her along with her older brother Bailey and at age 6 and seven they both questioned why their parents sent them. She was sexually assaulted and later was muted by guilt. She finally met both of her parents, but they weren't what she had expected. Maya's life opened her eyes and made her realize what is really in front of her the whole time, although that is true, what still stays the same is that…
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.…
Maya Angelou, the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was a young influential black girl in Stamps, Arkansas. The three most remarkable people in Maya’s life were Bailey, Vivian Baxter, and Grandmother Henderson. Bailey, her brother, was there for her when she needed someone, and Vivian Baxter taught her how to express herself. Grandmother Henderson was the person who always supported Maya Angelou and taught her almost everything she knows.…
In “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings” Maya Angelou writes about her life from the ages 3 to 16 years old. Angelou writes about her experiences with her mom in part of her autobiography. Vivian Baxter, Angelou’s mother, despite not being there for most of her childhood, she is a major influence to Angelou. Vivian is a young woman who works hard and learns from her life experiences. Vivian Baxter is a strong resilient individual because she has insight, that prevents her from making brash decisions, independence, which allows her to do what is best for her, initiative, that makes her strong and confident, and morality, that lets her know right from wrong.…
Two works of African American women’s literature are Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and, Maya Angelou’s, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Both stories give example to an oppressed character and the difficulties of their lives. Through description of character, language and their surroundings they tell that adventure. As well as these two works, “What to a Slave is the fourth of July,” also shares a special connection to the literary works. These connections include the story and poem similarity, Authors input, and how the speech ties all these points together into the single topic of racism.…
Everyone’s lives are shaped by their childhood lessons and experiences. Most people are directly influenced by their parents and other important adult figures in their lives. Children are prone to have certain characteristics and beliefs because of what is told to them or a specific event which they encounter. In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou’s life evolves and is enriched because of the people who take care of her. She receives advice from many human beings, and must choose what guidance to follow. Maya is influenced the most by Momma, Daddy Clidell, and Mrs. Flowers. To begin, Momma, as her name indicates, is like a mother figure. Even though she was Maya’s grandmother, she takes on full responsibilities as if Maya were her own child. Since Maya is abandoned by her parents, Momma takes her in and teaches her many important life lessons. She always makes sure Maya puts God first and has respect for all religion. “I would have wriggled just a bit, but each time I looked over at Momma, she seemed to threaten, ‘Move and I’ll tear you up,’ so, obedient to the unvoiced command, I sat still.” (Angelou, 31) Momma always makes sure to bring her grandchildren to church and makes sure they behaved properly. Ever since Maya was a small child, it was forced upon her that church and God were number one priorities. In the future, Maya recalls all the punishments she had for her “blasphemous” actions so she remembers to keep the Lord close to her heart. Religion intertwines with another aspect of Momma’s influence on Maya. She makes sure her grandchildren are clean of body as well as clean of soul. “‘Thou shall not be dirty’ and ‘Thou shall not be impudent’ were the two commandments of Grandmother Henderson upon which hung our total salvation.” (Angelou, 21) Momma is very religious, and always brings God into her arguments whenever possible. She states that it was a sin to…
One of her famous books was “I know why the caged bird sings”. Maya Angelou wrote “I know why the caged bird sings” because she wanted plenty of people to know what she had went through. She wrote this for man of reasons; one was as a reminder to not to give up during the trials of growing up. This book was one of the first of her five volumes of her life. I know why the caged bird sing was recreating a child's voice and what some children go through because growing up with young parents. Many say that young black woman…
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the autobiography of Maya Angelou’s life. She tells the story of her life in Stamps, Arkansas as well as her life moving from place to place. She deals with many problems including prejudice in many forms. Because of this prejudice, Maya must deal with the extremely influential actions of segregation, racism, and sexism.…
In Chapter 5, three “powhitetrash” girls come to the Store and mock Annie Henderson. They call her by her fist name, showing a great lack of respect for their elder, crudely imitate the way she hums Church songs, and pouch out their mouths like hers. Marguerite, watching the way in which these three girls demean her grandmother, becomes infuriated. But what makes her even more upset is the fact that while these three powhitetrash girls are tormenting her grandmother, she merely does as they ask and continues to hum. And as the girls walk out of the store, they all say, “ ‘Bye, Annie’” (p. 32). But Mrs. Henderson responds, “ ‘Bye, Miz Helen, ‘bye Miz Ruth, ‘bye Miz Eloise.’” (p. 32).…
Maya Angelou's turbulent experiences through late childhood and adolescence transformed into an almost positive force in her adult life as they helped enlighten, inspire, motivate and shape her very being. They provided her with the vehement fuel that drives her achingly powerful words and allowed her the knowledge and wisdom that led to self-discovery (finding one's inner self) and eventually knowledge of self (understanding one's inner self), two endeavors that most of humanity is never able or perhaps willing to acquire. In Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite Johnson experiences a particularly difficult childhood where she is often displaced geographically, socially and racially, and is even raped at a young age,…
The purpose of authors writing literary works is to teach specific values and themes that they deem essential to put across to their readers. Francine Prose, the author of the excerpt I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read, is just by being skeptical of using literary works to teach values because of the way many English classes target the values of the author rather than the literary work itself. By using the two examples of the novels Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Prose expands her argument by proving to the reader that many English teachers focus on the background of the author and his or her values while losing some of the ability to show the true meaning of the works.…
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” – Dr. Maya Angelou. This inspiring poet, novelist, historian, educator, actress, filmmaker, producer, memoirist, dramatist, and civil rights activist has had a superior impact on today’s American society. (A&M TV) Maya Angelou is an African American woman who went from poverty to international success. Born Marguerite Ann Johnson in Saint Louis, Arkansas to Vivian and Bailey Johnson. Her parents divorced when she was three years of age. Her and her brother, Bailey Jr., were sent to live with their grandmother in a small town called Stamps, Arkansas. Like many of the African American children that grew up in Maya’s time, she faced racial discrimination. She was always positive about it, because of the tradition old-fashion African American household she was raised in. She gives her grandmother and extended family in Stamps credit for all of the lessons and values she was taught that helped her significantly later in her adult life and while pursuing her career. Bailey and Maya were extremely close. He suffered from a bad stutter, so he could never correctly pronounce her name. He decided to call her “My” for my sister. After watching a video on the Mayan Indians, he then began to call her Maya. The name stuck. When Maya was seven years old, her and Bailey were sent to visit their mother in Chicago. Her mother’s boyfriend sexually molested her. She was too ashamed and embarrassed to inform any adults on what had happened to her, so she confided in her brother. (America Academy of Achievement) Maya’s uncle found out about what his sister’s boyfriend had done to his niece and killed her attacker. She felt that her words had killed the man, so she fell into a long phase of silence that lasted for five years. She often expressed her feelings through poetry,…
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Specifically it will discuss the themes of racism and segregation, and how these strong themes are woven throughout this moving autobiography. Maya Angelou recounts the story of her early life, including the racism and segregation she experiences throughout her formative years. With wit, sincerity, and remarkable talent, Angelou portrays racism as a product of ignorance and prejudice. However, she finds the strength to rise above this crippling condition.…
Her autobiography starts in the small town of Stamps Arkansas. Maya recalls her youthful escapades with her brother Bailey in their Grandmother’s store. Their Grandmother was a harsh woman, who scrubbed them clean every Sunday (much to the children’s dismay). She recounts her first fearful encounters with racism and sex. Later, Maya moves to California with her beautiful mother. Her mother is a graceful dancer who likes to say that she, “Hopes for the best, prepares for the worst, and is unsurprised by anything in between.” It is by her Mother’s boyfriend that Maya is sexually abused and raped. Although she tells the story in an unattached fashion, it is clear that the incident affected her entire life. She returns to her Grandmother’s home for a few years and begins to develop into an avid reader. For a summer, Maya lives with her father and his spiteful girlfriend. She moves out into a junkyard and becomes a free-dancing, confident girl. From the Junkyard on, Maya is sure of herself in a way that she never was before. The book ends in Maya’s pregnancy. She gives birth at just sixteen years of age. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is primarily a coming of age story. Through the book, Maya finds herself and develops into the poetic thinker and writer we know of…
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is the first in a series of autobiographical works by Maya Angelou, an African American author and poet. Published in 1969 the novel captures and amplifies the socio-political zeitgeist in Black America. It is a bildungsroman that follows a young African American girl with an inferiority complex on her psychological and characteristic development to become a more socially aware and proactive individual. An individual beginning to adopt or preparing to adopt the attitudes that Bo Bennett discusses in the above quotation. This essay will explore the extent to which Angelou achieves self-actualisation in the novel.…