Analysis Of Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

The world of literature has been dominated by males throughout most of history; this is due to the fact that women we’re thought of as inferior to men. Over the last 100 years women have been proving themselves in this sexist society, especially in the world of literature—poetry, to be more specific. Two names come to mind when thinking of great female poets: Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson. Even thought both of these women we’re outstanding poets, they had quite different styles of writing due to the difference in time periods, experiences, and culture. As time goes by, society is influenced in different ways due to human evolution. This was true for both Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson. Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. This means she was born right in the middle of segregation. This influenced Angelou because she was an African American woman who wrote about freedom for her people. The best example would be her famous novel and poem â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.† The book is about her life struggles and the poem is a metaphor about a bird that seeks freedom. The final stanza of the poem reads â€Å"The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.† This excerpt of the poem demonstrates how she yearned for her people to get the freedom they deserved. The comparison of the caged bird and the bird that’s free can be seen in many different ways. The first oneShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1219 Words   |  5 PagesLike many African American writers in American history, migration is a defining part of Maya Angelou’s life and character. In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya thoroughly discusses each of the moves that shape the person she becomes. From St. Louis at seven to a Southern California junkyard at fifteen, Maya’s life is filled with both voluntary and involuntary migrations. Some of these moves are intensely emotionally taxing, while others allow her to grow and flourish. Although herRead MoreAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1575 Words   |  7 Pagescommunity and how it feels to be the outcast. Angelou continuously speaks about being someone different her ideal self, something she is completely different from. She feels this way due to the racist society she lives in. In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou demonstrates in her autobiography in 1969 that even with love and affection in a household, it is difficult to view themselves in a positive way, living in a racist society. Maya Angelou was an intelligent young lady growing upRead MoreAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay1484 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.† By Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This is the quote my mom has been telling me every day since I was 13 and able to understand it. Maya Angelou wrote this poem in 1969 and it still speaks to millions of people today. Millions of people who have everything to say but never speak. This is just one example, my example on how relatable poems are even if they are hundreds of years old. Being able to relate to a poemRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Maya Angelou s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 1036 Words   |  5 PagesFily Thiam English 002 Mrs. Vilato 9 April 2015 Rhetorical Analysis on â€Å"Graduation† by Maya Angelou In Graduation, a chapter in her autobiography â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings†, Maya Angelou talks vividly about her middle school graduation in the segregated South. Graduation is an important milestone in most people’s life, as they get a degree and move on to their next level, something better and more important, with the hope that they can use their new knowledge to achieve their life goals andRead MoreI 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 Southe rn black communityRead MoreMaya Angelou : An Influential Voices Of Modern Society Essay1386 Words   |  6 PagesMaya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson on the 4th of April 1928, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya Angelou is regarded as one of the most noteworthy, influential voices of modern society with over 50 doctorate degrees. She became a distinguished poet, educator, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, memoirist, and civil rights activist throughout her life. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Stamps, Arkansas was the embodiment of brutality and racial discriminationRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings And Still I Rise By Maya Angelou1517 Words   |  7 PagesPoems of Color The poems â€Å" I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† and â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou are both poems that speak on the issues of the mistreatment of African Americans, and how these challenges were created simply by the color of one’s skin and overcome. While the poems â€Å"Mother To Son† and â€Å" Dreams† by Langston Hughes refer to the hopes of African Americans for a better standard of living, and the consequences of departing from these dreams of bettering themselves. This comparison ofRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1004 Words   |  5 PagesI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Plot Overview - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a book that speaks solely on the upbringing of Maya Angelou, and on the accomplishments, yet struggles that make Maya the woman she is. It begins in California in the 1930’s. Maya and her brother Bailey lived with her parents at a very young age, but after their divorced they were shipped to Arkansas to live their grandmother. They called their grandmother Momma, because she was a parental figure to both of them.Read 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 MoreAnalysis Of The Poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 1267 Words   |  6 PagesM. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings â€Å"Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blonde, would take the place of the kinky mass that Momma wouldn’t let me straighten?† (4) A theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Angelou’s identity struggle as a black female. During this time in the country, colorism and a European standard taught that having black features was not only bad, but made a person ugly. In this quote, Angelou believes