Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's poetry was influenced by her own experience and the by time period that she lived in. One of her most famous pieces is a memoir. Her poems are about women empowerment. Some of her other poems are about racial discrimination. Through her poetry she has inspired lots of people. Her memoir Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is about her childhood and teen years. There were many event in her memoir that shocked me. In it she talks about how was molested and raped by her mother's boyfriend, and after he was beat to death she kept quiet for years. While she visited her father they drove to Mexico and back without any problems. She also lived a few months in a dumpster, after visiting her dad. She even thought that she was lesbian
because of how weird her body looked. Because of it she asked her neighbor to have sexual relations with her causing her to get pregnant at sixteen. She also wrote a lot of poems about women empowerment. A poem that I really liked was Phenomenal Woman. This poem is about how all women are beautiful. After every stanza it says “I’m a woman Phenomenally, Phenomenal woman that’s me” this shows that all women are remarkable just because they are women. The poem Woman Work is about how hard women work and how they are very important. In the first stanza it talks about all the things that they manage to do every single day without rest. Some of her other poems are about racial discrimination. The poem Still I Rise talks about racism. At the beginning of every stanza, it asks a question. The questions are for racist people. The people that are being discriminated against are the ones asking the questions. They are trying to find out why people hate them. In stanzas one, three, six, and eight the people that are being discriminated answer by saying that they will rise.
Maya Angelou influenced many people, especially African-Americans. She was a civil rights activist, singer, writer, actress, and dancer. She is an inspiration to all women and men. During her times it was very difficult for an African-American man to be successful, and for an African-American woman to accomplish so much, and to become so esteemed it’s outstanding. Therefore she is not just an inspiration to African-Americans, but to all Americans.
because of how weird her body looked. Because of it she asked her neighbor to have sexual relations with her causing her to get pregnant at sixteen. She also wrote a lot of poems about women empowerment. A poem that I really liked was Phenomenal Woman. This poem is about how all women are beautiful. After every stanza it says “I’m a woman Phenomenally, Phenomenal woman that’s me” this shows that all women are remarkable just because they are women. The poem Woman Work is about how hard women work and how they are very important. In the first stanza it talks about all the things that they manage to do every single day without rest. Some of her other poems are about racial discrimination. The poem Still I Rise talks about racism. At the beginning of every stanza, it asks a question. The questions are for racist people. The people that are being discriminated against are the ones asking the questions. They are trying to find out why people hate them. In stanzas one, three, six, and eight the people that are being discriminated answer by saying that they will rise.
Maya Angelou influenced many people, especially African-Americans. She was a civil rights activist, singer, writer, actress, and dancer. She is an inspiration to all women and men. During her times it was very difficult for an African-American man to be successful, and for an African-American woman to accomplish so much, and to become so esteemed it’s outstanding. Therefore she is not just an inspiration to African-Americans, but to all Americans.