Maya Angelou Caged Bird

Imagine a life where each day brings the torture of being trapped in a cold, hard cage of steel, bars surrounding one and creating little to no room to move. Imagine the feeling of being held back and being forced to sit and watch what life has to offer to others! A life where opportunities are not given and hope is just a slight feeling that fades more and more with each passing day. This is the life of a caged bird described in Maya Angelou’s poem Caged Bird, but just because there are these bars restraining one’s physical self does not mean that they will restrain one’s ability to dream or stand up for themselves. Angelou's poem Caged Bird portrays the struggles that African Americans faced in the past through symbolism on two birds from

Maya Angelou was born in St.Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928 and with the name Marguerite Ann Johnson. After her parents divorced, Angelou moved in with her grandmother in Arkansas. (‘Maya Angelou is Born”). When Angelou was only around eight years old, she was visiting her mother back in St.Louis and her mother’s boyfriend raped her (“Maya Angelou:How the Caged Bird Sang”). After her family found out about this traumatic event in Angelou’s life, her uncles are the ones believed to have murdered the mother’s boyfriend( “Maya Angelou: How the Caged Bird Sang”). This made Angelou mute for the next five years because she believed that she is at fault for the man’s death (‘Maya Angelou is Born”). Angelou would later begin talking because of the help of a family friend and move to San Francisco with her mother and brother (“ Maya Angelou: How the Caged Bird Sang”). Once Angelou was there, she began to have her own experiences with discrimination. At age seventeen she was not allowed to apply for a streetcar conducting position because she was an African American woman but she would later stand up for herself and be the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco (“Maya Angelou’s Long, Brave Journey.”). Angelou then gave birth to her son in 1944 and soon afterward in the 50s her writing career took off (“Maya Angelou”) Once Angelou was a famous poet, she kept writing for the rest of her life and up until her death in 2014 (“Maya Angelou”). Angelou’s experiences with discrimination, prejudice, and assault all lead to what made her such an amazing