“Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream‚ and my real hair‚ which was long and blond‚ would take the place of the kinky mass Momma wouldn’t let me straighten? My light-blue eyes would hypnotize them ...” - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Colorism is a standard of discrimination by which people with lighter skin are treated more favorably than those with darker skin. Colorism mirrors white supremacy in that those with lighter skin are awarded privileges
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The story of Mrs. Flowers by Maya Angelou is about a nice‚ intelligent‚ and elegant lady who shows a special interest on a young girl that had never been appreciated by anyone before. Marguerite is a young girl who feels lonely and sad; one example is where she states at the beginning “for nearly a year I sopped around the house‚ the store‚ the school‚ and the church like an old biscuit‚ dirty and inedible”. (Maya Angelou‚ pg. 390 of grassroots). Then she met Mrs. Flowers‚ the women that would
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Character Analysis of Annie Henderson (Momma) In Maya Angelou’s autobiography‚ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ the reader is introduced to a vast ensemble of complex characters. Each character has a tremendous impact on Maya Angelou’s life. One character who not only has great weight in Maya’s life‚ but is also one of the most beloved and admired characters is Annie Henderson‚ Maya’s paternal grandmother. She is defined by an unshakable faith in God‚ her loyalty to her community‚ and a deep
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I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Survivors of great trauma often display psychological‚ emotional‚ and physical effects. In children‚ these effects are often heightened due to their fragile psyche. Angelou demonstrates the effects her trauma has on her by not speaking and viewing herself as worthless. In the first of Maya Angelou’s autobiographical pieces‚ I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings‚ she recounts recovering from extreme trauma at a young age. Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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June‚ 2011 The Presence of Exemplar Male Figures as an Approach to the Representation of Marguerite Johnson’s Weakness in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings “My head was up and my eyes were open‚ but I didn’t see anything.” Using this line in the prologue of her autobiographical novel‚ Maya Angelou introduces the lack of power of the main character of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ Marguerite Johnson. This phrase introduces to the reader a vulnerable girl who attempts to recite a poem in front of her Church in the Black section of the
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows Marguerite’s (called "My" or "Maya" by her brother) life from the age of three to seventeen and the struggles she faces – particularly with racism – in the Southern United States. Abandoned by their parents‚ Maya and her older brother Bailey are sent to live with their paternal grandmother (Momma) and crippled uncle (Uncle Willie) in Stamps‚ Arkansas. Maya and Bailey are haunted by their parents’ abandonment throughout the book – they travel alone and are labeled
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Triginhall Mrs. Teacher Honors English 10 18 November 2012 Response to Literature “The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch‚ a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird
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One of many challenged books is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚” by Maya Angelou. This book was published back in 1969. While it has gained popularity over the past few decades‚ when it was originally published‚ a numerous amount of people were not satisfied with it‚ and it made people unhappy. It tells the true story of Ms. Angelou’s life‚ and the reader learns that she did not have an easy life by any means. She faced many challenges‚ and openly shared them in her book. Due to her openness‚
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they have known‚ writers of autobiography often make use of the same methods of characterization as fiction writers do. These methods are listed in the following chart. Directions: In the chart‚ write examples of each method of characterization Angelou used to reveal Mrs. Flowers’s personality traits. Then answer the question that follows. Methods of Characterization Examples Description of a person’s physical appearance “She was thin without the taut look of wiry people.” (line 7)
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“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is the story about Maya angelou’s traumatic experiences that include hardships and changes that she went trough. In Maya Angelou’s‚”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚” she is able to use the theme of racial segregation through the use of literary elements of imagery‚ characterization‚ and setting. Maya Angelou wrote many books‚ but her most famous was‚ “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚”. This story is an autobiography about how when Maya was seven years old she was
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