The patriarchal society has long been the biggest obstacle to the advancement of women and the status of society. For a long time, in most of the countries in the world, men always play a significant role in the society until the 20th century. In America, women and especially African American women were treated unfairly by the white men. Among all the women’s movements, Maya Angelou was one of the most famous female poet in the 20th century. “Maya Angelou is perhaps best known for her wide acclaim and the international popular six autobiographies” (Fembio). Angelou’s compelling conversational convincing narrative, shows her as an African American women's survival, growth and self-defined personal journey, and blacks in the United States in …show more content…
“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill / Of things unknown but longed for still” (7-8, Angelou). It's a symbol of how an African American speaks and wants to be free and equal, but to white Americans who thought it to be crazy, thinking about it never happens. Rhyme and repetition are key parts of the poem. In the third and the sixth stanza, this is where the meaning of the poem comes from the place of life. Angelou through rhyme at the end of each line to create the pattern “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage / Can seldom see through his bars of rage” (7-8, Angelou). Using rhyme, it will be easier for the audience to remember and feel it. Overall,“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” expressed Angelou’s desire of freedom as a part of her people, and as a woman. In her another popular poem, “Phenomenal Woman”, she talked about how she felt being a woman and she was proud of …show more content…
/ Then they swarm around me, / A hive of honey bees” (17-20, Angelou), the man who landed on the knee then swarmed through the hive with honey. Angelou used metaphor here, so the woman is thought to be a queen bee, or she is the honey that the bee needs, and the men are busy seeking her attention. The central idea that Angelou wants to express in her poem is, women do not need perfect shapes and pretty faces to be phenomenal women. The thoughts in their minds are what importance, a woman's heart and mind are far more important than her appearance. Like Angelou, she is enigmatic, charming, and capable of defining her own beauty.
“Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote” (Our Document), this action does not only change the face of the American electorate forever, but also changed the status of women in society, and women came to a new era, a society they had been expecting. Modern civilization is the result of joint action between men and women. Women are now seen as having power, such as the queen and the prime minister, with constitutional control or virtual power, and in general, women benefit from larger or smaller
Angelou well known as an entertainer was urged by James Baldwin and by the cartoonist Jules fifer and his wife Judy to try her hand at writing an autobiography. After several refuels she agreed the results was a unique series of autobiographical narratives. I know why the caged bird sings is the first of Maya Angelous's five autobiographies. It covers her life form the age of three when her parents send her and her brother bailey to live with their paternal grandmother Annie Henderson in stamps Arkansas until the age of sixteen when she becomes a mother. Annie is the main influence on her childhood.(Lupton 24).during her stay at her grandmothers Maya is raped by her mothers boyfriend Mr. freeman who warns her to be silent or he will kill her brother bailey . after the trial freeman dies after being violent beaten ,presumably by Mayas unless. Maya indeed silent mute she cannot will speak. The silent Maya is returned to momma Henderson though reaming speech less for five years until she recovers her voice through patient help of her grandmother's friend Mrs. bertha flowers.(Lupton 52).
Dunbar finishes off the poem with powerful lines: “But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea that upward heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings!” The caged bird is depicted as battered, bruised, and beaten from his violent rebellion— praying as his last chance of freedom. The bird’s belief in its virtuous rebellion justifies the revolt, as we see the bird’s constant persistency, even as the mutiny is demoted to
In the text "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" a young black girl is growing up with racism surrounding her. It is very interesting how the author Maya Angelou was there and the way she described every detail with great passion. In the book Maya and Bailey move to a lot of places, which are, Stamps, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; and San Francisco, California. Maya comes threw these places with many thing happening to her and people she knows. She tries to hold onto all the good memories and get rid of the bad but new ones just keep coming. That is why this book is very interesting. It keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
Walker, Pierre A. Racial protest, identity, words, and form in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Vol. 22. West Chester: Collage Literature, n.d. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
In Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman”, audiences are drawn to the bold confidence and power of the female speaker. In this poem, Maya Angelou creates the image of a woman whose confidence is not hindered or threatened by imperfections and flaws. In many analyses of this work, audiences connect this poem to the expression of Maya Angelou’s individualism and self-love after having faced many personal struggles throughout her life. In a review found in the Virginia Quarterly Review, a critic states “Its theme [“Phenomenal Woman”]- the power and depth of women- echos her own personal history […]”. This theme of power is one that transcends this poem and is seen throughout many of Angelou’s works. Additionally, Angelou’s reflection on her own life through this poem is evident in the way in which she defines this power. Rather than emphasizing perfection and ideali...
Given these points, Angelou’s widely use of devices, sentence length, and tenses allows the reader to capture the theme of her poem Men. Angelou shows how women are somewhat treated then and now. She lets the reader know that even after a man may have hurt a woman, a woman still would have a desire to go back to them because we are curious to know of them. She presents the idea that women are oppressed to men – women like Angelou who have had bad experiences with them. Overall, Angelou’s poem is like a story that presents men as head honcho over women and the affect that they bring upon
Throughout history, women have always fought to gain equal political rights, but conventional roles kept women from getting enough political representation. Many suffrage groups founded by women challenged the conventional roles of women during 1840 to 1968 with the dream of obtaining equal political representation. In 1919, the nineteenth amendment, drafted by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was passed. The 19th amendment has been desired by many women for years. Although the 19th amendment passed and women thought that they were able to be equal in politics, many women did not get equal political representation due to their conventional roles at the time period. Women were not able to achieve high roles in politics, shown through the fact that there has never been a woman president in the history of the United States. The presidency of women did not occur due to the perceptions that generally, women should be protected and hidden, not out in the open and leadin...
Before the 1920s men and women were thought to have two separate roles in life. People believed women should be concerned with their children, home, and religion, while men took care of business and politics. In 1920 there were significant changes for women in politics, the home, and the workplace. When the 19th amendment passed it gave women the right to vote. “Though slowly to use their newly won voting rights, by the end of the decade women were represented local, state, and national political committees and were influencing the political agenda of the federal government.” Now a days it’s normal for women to be involved in politics and it’s normal for women to vote. Another drastic change
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
In the poem there are two birds, one is caged and is forced to watch the other free bird. “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” The caged bird in Maya Angelou’s poem is forced to watch the free bird from his cage. This caged bird can’t beat his wings, fly, or move, he can only sing a song that is a cry for help. The caged bird can’t do much about his situation, he is trapped and disabled. “ But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” the caged bird cannot fly anymore because his wings are clipped. Even though he can’t fly the bird still opens his throat to sing. The caged bird in “ Caged Bird” is not as free as the bird in “Sympathy” because if this bid is free he can fly and do whatever he wants. But the bird in Maya’s poem cannot, he isn’t truly free, there is more hope for the other
The book thus explores a lot of important issues, such as: sexuality and race relations, and shows us how society violated her as a young African American female. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou clearly expresses the physical pain of sexual assault, the mental anguish of not daring to tell, and her guilt and shame for having been raped. Her timidity and fear of telling magnify the brutality of the rape. For more than a year after the rape she lives in self-imposed silence, speaking only very rarely. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism.
The novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings goes through the childhood of Maya Angelou as she faces the difficult realities of the early South. This novel does not do a very good job at portraying the hardships of the blacks because she
She is comparing a free white person, the free bird, to a black slave; the caged bird. Angelou uses rhymes and repetition to show the meaning of her poem and to prove the point that she is making to her readers. This poem is all about the inequality and the violation of civil rights that black slaves had to go through (“Angelou, Maya. Caged”;“Skinner”;“Hagen”). Angelou often writes about inequality, but not just the inequality for African American people, but for women as well and the stereotypes that they face. This is potraied in Angelou 's “Phenominal
In the “Caged Bird” Angelou’s comparison to the caged bird was African-Americans in the society they were living in. She symbolized the bird with African-Americans experiences. In the second stanza the poem states “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing”. This is comparison to African-Americans in their society. When African- Americans were enslaved they use to sing songs to uplift their spirits because that’s all they could do. They were physically bound and mentally brain-washed. The songs was there way of showing they still had fight left in them. In the fourth stanza it states “The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the sky his own”. This is saying the while African-Americans were enslaved and oppressed they watched Caucasians be free and do as they pleased. Although at the time African-Americans never experienced freedom they yearned for it. They knew it had to be better then what they were enduring. Racism is considered the cage around the caged bird, and it means not getting treated fairly with jobs, medical treatment, and even get
Throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, racism is a frequent obstacle that non-whites had to overcome. When Maya is young, she doesn’t recognize the racism and discrimination as well as her grandmother does. As Maya gets older, she begins to recognize and take notice to the racism and discrimination towards her and African Americans everywhere. Maya may not recognize the racism and discrimination very well at her young age, but it still affects her outlook on life the same way it would if she had recognized it. The racism and discrimination Maya faced throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life in a positive way.