American author and poet Maya Angelou has certainly lived a full life - from struggling with the pain of being abandoned by her own parents and other tragedies, to realizing who she was and who she wanted to become and finally, to writing autobiographies and poems that proclaim women’s significance in this conforming society. Because she has lived through such horrors, the concepts of racism and sexism are no strangers to her. Both her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Singin' And Swingin' And Gettin' Merry Like Christmas revolve around the tragedies Angelou herself has experienced, as well as the lessons that she has learned through them. Angelou uses her own story to make meaning for others in their lives, while tackling the …show more content…
The marriage first starts off as very strong as Angelou very much enjoys being a housewife. However, Angelou gradually realizes that Tosh has taken control over her life by demanding her to do certain things, and taking his anger out on her and her beloved child, Clyde. This once again portrays Angelou's lost of identity. Angelou attempts to gain her identity and independence back by initiating a divorce. After Angelou leaves the marriage, she reflects back on this predicament and says, "I thought women who accepted their husbands' inattention and sacrificed all their sovereignty for a humiliating marriage more unsavory than the prostitutes who were drinking themselves awake in the noisy bar" (52). Angelou uses this opportunity in the story to present to the reader that she has become a determined and independent woman, who no longer allows others to take control over her life. Through this male-dominated marriage, Angelou conveys that despite all the suffering and restrictions endured, there's always a way out which is by taking out the courage to initiate …show more content…
In a scene in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, when Joe Louis, a black wrestler, competes and attempts to defend his great renowned heavyweight boxing title, Angelou says, "Champion of the world. A Black boy. Some Black mother's son. He was the strongest man in the world. …It wouldn't do for a Black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road on a night when Joe Louis had proved that we were the strongest people in the world" (133-134). Louis' victory is a metaphor Angelou creates that proves to the society that there is strength in African Americans. Even though it is simply the win of a boxing match, his public recognition helps to set the fact that the blacks are equal to the
Randy Roberts, author of the article “Jack Johnson wins The Heavyweight Championship” sheds light on the fight of Jack Johnson with Tommy Burns; he highlights the racial attitude in the twentieth century. Roberts opens his article by mentioning about the concerned whites, as the author proceeds, according to the whites it was a tragic and saddest day of their lives as the race won. Dixie was agitated, firstly, because Booker T. Washington dined at the White House and, secondly, the victory of Jack Johnson. However, blacks rejoiced all over the United States with this news. Roberts mentions about a journalist report, it stated that the genuine satisfaction the blacks experienced with the single victory of Johnson was not being observed in forty years.
In “My Brother Bailey and Kay Francis,” a snippet from autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, author Maya Angelou and her brother Bailey face the challenges of segregation and the abandonment of their parents while growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. Their sense of identity is tarnished through incidents of racial discrimination and the historical conditions of this time period and location further depict the tone of this story. Throughout their lives, racism towards blacks during this time period is evermore present and is the main cause of Angelou and Bailey’s struggle to find security in their identity.
1- I used the book When the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. It has 36 chapters. The movie I used was the Troy.
Similarly, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which I first read the summer after I graduated high school, is a tale of oppression that translates into a deeply moving novel chronicling the ups and downs of a black family in the 1930’s and 1940’s. A myriad of historical and social issues are addressed, including race relations in the pre-civil rights south, segregated schools, sexual abuse, patriotism and religion. Autobiographical in nature, this tumultuous story centers around Marguerite Johnson, affectionately called "Maya", and her coast-to-coast life experiences. From the simple, backwards town of Stamps, Arkansas to the high-energy city life of San Francisco and St. Louis, Maya is assaulted by prejudice in almost every nook and cranny of society, until she finally learns to overcome her insecurities and be proud of who she is.
In her narrative, titled “Champion of the World”, the nineteenth chapter of the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou recalls an incident of a heavyweight boxing match between an African American, Joe Louis, and a white contender. Angelou emphasizes the import of the match to the African American community to display the racism in this time period, the oppression people of color face, and the defeat they have to come to terms with whether they lose in one aspect of life or not. To achieve her purpose, Angelou uses dialogue, diction, and the the imbedding of a secondary narrative throughout the primary narrative. She creates parallelism through the use of repetition and utilizes short, staccato sentences to further emphasises her
While reading, I felt a sense of sadness for the caged bird, as its undeniable determination was persistent and valiant. Along with the message of the poem, I also appreciated Angelou’s unique sense of “unstructured verse” and her non-traditional poetic approach. It is clear that the caged bird represents African Americans and the free bird represents the white population, however, the poem is well written which sends this implied message of African-American suppression in a poetic, yet clear,
... running off, yet after her newly found awakening, she is unable to revert back to being a subservient mother at the cost of her independence. Edna's decision to commit suicide preserves not only her children, but also her reputation and her independence in a society devoid of options for women desiring both.
The receptionist sold short Angelou’s capabilities, but she wasn’t going to let that dissuade her, “Why did I insist on that particular job? Openings were going begging that paid nearly twice the money. The minor officials with whom I was able to win an audience thought me mad. Possibly I was”(268). Angelou’s emphasis focuses on the word “mad”, which the minor officials used to describe her. Angelou’s decision to go for a job, that no other black man, let alone women would ever dare to do justifies this as mad. The streetcar job not only paid less, but gave uneven hours to discourage her from getting the job. Not any benefits or salary increases would ever constitute this as a rational act. But it was Angelou’s will that allowed her to accept this, her awareness to all the consequences proves that she is willing to fight back against racism. Her discontent with not being a conductorette forces her to wake up every morning, tirelessly to trudge into the office; by which at the end, Angelou got the job. By getting that job, it proves that fighting with persistence makes a huge impact on combating racism. Angelou uses different methods to strive against racism, sometimes, all you need is a bit of help. Angelou’s recital, along with the other black children, gave back hope to the black race: “We were on top again. As always, again. We survived. The depths had been icy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls. I
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. .
The United States has a history of strife between minorities and majorities. African Americans were enslaved, segregated, and harassed for more than a century while living in America. As a result, when Joe Louis fought to defend his championship belt from a white boxer in the 1930s; he captured the attention of the whole world. Segregation dominated Southern society, and African Americans faced constant reminders of their “inferiority”. In the story, Champion of the World, Maya Angelou portrays a large group of African Americans standing around in a local drugstore listening together to the match between Joe Louis and the white contender. The group shares more than a common skin color, they share a common experience. They have faced oppression for years, but now they are united with a sense of hope. Louis fights for the entire African American race, and his pain is the pain of all those listening and watching the match. The narrator of the story displays the relationship wh...
One reason blacks should rise above their oppression is so they can better themselves and in turn make a better life for their next generation, just as their ancestors tried to do. ? Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave? says Angelou is taking the lessons learned from their ancestors and dreaming and hoping to rise above slavery. They felt that if they rose above slavery, their children and grandchildren would not have to partake in torture and pain.
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
“Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture”(www.mayaangelou.com, 2014).
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.
Angelou also argues through repetition and alliteration that, even though the battle for racial equality has been fought for centuries, injustice is still commonplace in the modern world in “Million Man March Poem”. By repeating phrases at the end of the poem, she creates a list of actions to be done before racism can end. The wording turns the poem into a rhythmic chant: