Literary Analysis of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay

Thomas Lim December 9, 2010 English 2 Professor Padilla Themes of Racism and Segregation in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou 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.†¦show more content†¦She is then threatened and told not to tell an adult if she wants to save her brother’s life. This leads to a long period of time where she refuses to speak to anyone. She writes of this time, There was an army of adults, whose motives and movements I just couldnt understand and who made no effort to understand mine (Angelou 72). This may be one of the lon eliest periods in Angelous life, but in some ways, it made her stronger and more able to survive in the whites world, even though it was a terrible ordeal. After she stops speaking, Angelou and her brother are sent back to Stamps. Here, she begins to see the solace that many blacks feel in their resignation and acceptance of prejudice and racism. She writes, They showed me a contentment based on the belief that nothing more was coming to them, although a great deal more was due. Their decision to be satisfied with lifes inequities was a lesson for me (Angelou 86). Angelou learned this lesson, but never quite became satisfied with lifes inequities; thankfully, she retained some of her rage regarding inequalities between white and black, which give great depth and emotion to her writing and her life. The importance of education and knowledge is at the root of Angelous flight from the South, and she realizes it. Critic Harold Bloom writes, Marguerite is showered withShow MoreRelat edI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1482 Words   |  6 Pages Maya Angelou tells of her life experiences and struggles in her book â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† that gives us insight about Maya’s life as a young black girl growing up in a time of racism. The novel discusses various forms of oppression that she had to face as well cope with them. Robert A. Gross wrote an analysis for Newsweek about the book and claimed that Angelou’s book is not only an interesting story of her own experience, but also a portrayal of a Southern black communityRead MoreWhy Should Anybody Care?1198 Words   |  5 Pages ELA7_SB_U5_L11 Introduction and Objective â€Å"Why should anybody care?† That’s the question of the day! The answer is also how you create an effective concluding section for your essay. You want to make sure your reader understands why they read through your entire essay, and you want them to be happy they spent the time doing it! Today s lesson objective is: Students will write a concluding section that follows from the information or explanation presented. In addition to a strong introductionRead MoreMaya Angelou: A Model Woman Through Influential Literature Essay1708 Words   |  7 PagesHer literature has influenced the young and old with their contents. Maya Angelous literary significance rests primarily upon her exceptional ability to tell her life story as both a human being and a black American woman. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focuses on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , written in 1969, tells of her first seventeen years. It brought her internationalRead MoreMaya Angelou’s Unique Self Essay2562 Words   |  11 Pages p.20). In Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she recounts her early years as a young girl growing up in Stamps, Arkansas who faces displacement, trauma, and prejudice. It is through her character and artistic expression that she is able to overcome the trauma of her childhood and evolve into the distinguished and unique individual that has captivated millions through literature. In her book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Angelou reflects on the impact that her childhoodRead More Censorship in the Classroom Essay2774 Words   |  12 Pagesconsidered controversial because of its statement about or use of these topics. What makes these and other areas so touchy in the classroom? Why do some parents and concerned community members want controversial materials out of the classroom? In this look at the language of censorship, we must first define censorship, who does the censoring, and why. These will be the first three spotlights for looking at the language of censorship. Then, we will look at how teachers, especially teachersRead MoreThe Mayor Of Casterbridge, Symbolism, Animal Kingdom, Philosophy1768 Words   |  8 Pages Keywords: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Symbolism, Bird Imagerey, Animal Kingdom, Philosophy Introduction The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of the masterpieces and the imperishable novel of Thomas Hardy, although it has never enjoyed the popularity of Tess and Jude. Hardy was at the height of his creative powers when he began work on it at the age of forty four. Initially, the novel appeared serially, in twenty installments, in 1886 in an English periodical, The Graphic, and wasRead MoreHot and Cold: Warmth in Poetry Essay1234 Words   |  5 PagesHot and Cold: Warmth in Poetry Poetry is one of the more mysterious denizens of the literary world. A poem can be anything, from a three-lined poem known as a haiku to a giant epic poem like the â€Å"The Odyssey.† They can be rhyming or non-rhyming, long or short, sensible or nonsensical. Even lyrics in songs can be considered poetry, seeing as how they are rhyming and flow so well. The parameters for a poem are wide, the requirements few; but no matter what style or author you read, from Homer to DoctorRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 3309 Words   |  14 Pagesfeel women are the property of their husbands. Even in speaking to their wives, the men address the women as Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters or Mrs. Wright. It is as if the women are nobodies, without the men. When the sheriff speaks of his wife, he says: â€Å"I suppose anything Mrs. Peters does’ll be all right† (558). The sheriff infers, since Mrs. Peters is married to him, she is an honest woman, therefore insinuating without him she would not be honest. This speaks volumes of Mrs. Wright’s identity. TheRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 Pages Bildungsroman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman (German pronunciation: [ˈbÉ ªldÊŠÅ‹s.Ê oËÅ'maË n]; German: novel of formation, education, culture),[a] novel of formation, novel of education,[2] or coming-of-age story (though it may also be known as a subset of the coming-of-age story) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age),[3]