I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: The Struggle Of Black Women In Marginalized Community
Table of Contents
This is the beginning
I know why the caged bird sings
In conclusion,
This is an opening statement
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the caged bird Sings is unapologetic. Maya Angelou has faced many challenges throughout her life, from her childhood to late teens. Early challenges for Maya included leaving her parents behind, facing racism in the South, surviving rape and developing a love of literature. Maya changes into different human beings throughout the book.
I Know What the Cagedbird SingsIn The Prologue, Maya recite a verse to herself and then forgets it. She visualizes herself wearing “lavender, silk taffeta dresses” at church. In this way, she sees herself a star, and that helps her to dream about being a White girl. She asks, “Wouldn’t it surprise them if I woke one morning from my black ugly nightmare and discovered my real, long, blond hair?” She describes herself to be a nuisance and wishes to be white. After that, she pees all over herself when she trips in the bathroom. It is a great embarrassment for her and adds to the list of her unfortunate stories about being a black southern girl. Maya, her brother Bailey and their grandmother Annie (also known as “Momma”) and uncle Willie moved to Stamps in Arkansas when they were three years old. The children were living in a less chaotic environment because their parents had just divorced. Their parents also sent them to a rural area that they thought would be better suited for them. Stamps, however, is a very difficult place to live. The girls witness many horrifying incidents, which were considered normal in 1930s America. Maya & Bailey are witness to a conversation between a mother and a deputy sheriff. Sheriff warns Momma to hide Uncle Willie because there are suspicions in town about a black man being intimate with a woman of color. She must be very careful to hide Uncle Willie, as the Ku Klux Klan could arrive tonight. “Annie, please tell Willie that he should keep his distance tonight.” Today, a crazy niger messes up with a lady of color. Later, some of the boys will be over”. Maya, Bailey, and their Uncle must have been traumatized by this. Just because of the color of his skin and “threat”, he has a high chance of getting killed. Maya was definitely changed by this moment. She began to see Stamps from a completely different perspective.
Maya’s experience growing up in South Carolina led her to hate herself. Maya’s childhood was marked by the South being conservative and racially biased. In Chapter Five for instance, she describes a few girls who would be rude and rowdy in the store. They were tormenting Momma. Maya was not happy with the way black people were treated at Stamps. Stamps wasn’t for her. Maya got a good schooling from her uncle. Maya loved reading for the first. Bailey Johnson’s father, who was absent for a long time, comes back into their lives. He decides they should go to California. Maya & Bailey are happy to move away from Stamps. They also find it hard to believe that Bailey could be their father because he’s tall, solid, and has a great life. Bailey leaves the girls with their mother, in St. Louis. Maya is still shocked at how beautiful she looks compared to her mother. “I felt dumbfounded. “I was dumbstruck. She was just too beautiful for children. I had never before seen a female as beautiful as Mother. Maya is much happier in St. Louis than she was in Stamps. St. Louis welcomes her more and is a diverse place. Maya, Bailey and their grandmothers lived together before they moved in with their mom. Maya’s self-confidence has grown and she is more mature as a result. Maya’s love for books deepens as she reads more and gains knowledge. Maya & Bailey moved in with Vivian & Mr. Freeman. St. Louis feels more and more deserted. When she moves into their home, everything starts to change. Maya and Mr. Freeman’s relationship worsens. She wakes one morning to find her father holding her in an inappropriate way. Maya has never felt anything like this before and doesn’t even know what to do. She is happy, but also confused about whether this was the right thing to do. Unaware that she was raped in the first place, she believed that it was her own fault when Mr. Freeman refused to speak with her anymore. Soon after, the same thing happened: “He stopped talking to me for months.” For a period of time, I felt more alone than ever. But I soon forget about him. Even the memory that he held me dear melted just beyond those great blinkers. The rising action begins at this moment.
Maya now realizes she is being abused by Mr. Freeman. “I hesitated out of two reasons: He was holding me so tight that I couldn’t move, and I thought that at any moment my mother or Bailey would break in and rescue me”. She continued, “Then came the pain.” Even the senses can be ripped apart by a break-in. The tape is applied to an 8-year-old’s body because the camel couldn’t. The child is giving because his body can do it, and his mind cannot. Maya learns about herself through this early incident. Maya has a story about her meeting with Mr. Freeman. She wants to tell it to someone, but is afraid that if he finds out she will tell him and kill her own brother. Maya admires her brother and doesn’t wish to endanger him. He encourages Maya not to lie. M. Freeman has been arrested after this incident. Maya used her platform as a way to speak out against him. He is found guilty, but sentenced to only a year of jail. Unexpectedly he was released from jail early. However, someone kicked him to his death. Maya sinks into depression soon after his passing, believing that she was responsible for his death. She stops talking, sinking into a depressed state. She can’t even think clearly. She believes there’s something wrong. I had stop talking”. She has moved back to Stamps for a fresh start, but her brother, who is emotionally strained, also moves there.
Maya, who is suffering from depression, mopes about for quite a time before she meets Bertha. Bertha Flowers, an elderly woman from the town who is unlike anyone else is a very unique character. She’s a unique character, a kind of educated Renaissance woman. She also reads English literature. Bertha gives Maya much self-confidence and encourages her to read and enjoy literature. Bertha has a lot of faith in Maya. Bertha cares about her and encourages her: “She promised me she’d give me a few books to read and said I should read them loudly. She told me to try making a sentence as different as possible. Maya explains, “I was only concerned that she had made me tea biscuits and read her favorite book to me.”
Maya is a young teenager when some bizarre things happen to her. She only becomes a maid to finish her education. She works under Mrs. Viola Cullinan – a wealthy, white woman of questionable character. She calls Maya Mary all the time, and it makes things difficult. In addition, Maya and her family were without Bailey for about a week. Maya’s time at Stamps starts to improve when she finally makes a new friend. Louise is her name. Maya shared secrets with Louise and they had a great friendship.
Maya is now approaching graduation. It’s only the eighth grade, but it still means a lot. It was a ceremony with its ups-and-downs but it ended well. Maya concluded the ceremony with a note to herself, saying that you could mold her into a better person as she grows older. Shee praises African-American poets in general and blacks as an entire group. Maya’s blackness is shown in this video, as she embraces it fully and proudly.
Maya moves back to Los Angeles. She is so happy to have her mother back and be in sunny California. She is determined to be reunited with mom and doesn’t let anything like last time get in the way. Vivian was a bit chaotic as she had been the previous time. She became heavily involved in partying, violence and marriage. Maya looks up to Daddy Clidell. He treated Maya like her biological dad would not have bothered. “I was surprised to find that I looked like him. When he and Mother and I walked on the street, his friends always said, “Clidell’s daughter.” Ain’t no way you can deny her.”
She accepts a full scholarship at the California Labor School, a wealthy school with a majority of white students. One of only three students who were black, she again experienced racism. During Maya’s time at the school, she received full support from Miss Kirwin. She told her to not be ashamed by her skin’s color no matter what environment she was in. Maya Bailey’s father invites her to visit him in Southern California. She is introduced by her father to Dolores his girlfriend who dislikes her. They take her to Mexico, but it turns into a disaster. As soon as they returned home, their relationship deteriorated. Dolores, Daddy Bailey, and Maya’s mom Vivian began arguing. Dolores insulted Vivian. Dolores and Maya got into an argument after Maya hit her.
Maya has been injured and feels as if she may die. She decides to leave the house and become homeless after that night. The climax occurs here. She has lived independently for a while, but was homeless. Maya feels more confident as she is exposed to diversity. “I knew that they would not leave before knowing who I was. I opened the front door and was prepared to tell them anything (even the truth), that might buy me peace.
Maya returns to live with Vivian her mother and does not ask any questions. In order to get back to her basic life, she starts looking for a position. She was determined to be a conductorette of trains and nothing could stop her. She finally achieves her dream and becomes the first black conductorette to work in San Francisco. “I could have it. I would work as a conductorette. I would.’ She goes to school again, but is still faced with the same prejudices from her classmates.
Maya is in late adolescence when she begins to discover her sexuality. Due to her late puberty, she feels like a lesbian. She couldn’t picture herself as lesbian. So, she sets out to find a partner. She decides to engage in sexual activity with a neighboring guy and the plan works. Unluckily, she discovers that she’s pregnant. Maya hides pregnancy for many months, up until the graduation of her high school. She only left her parents with a note, who were fine with it. Maya, who has now become an adult, gives birth to her baby boy. She snuggles her baby and gently falls asleep in the same manner.
Identity is the central theme of I Know Why a Caged bird Sings. Maya’s life is a series of ups and downs, starting with good and ending in bad. Maya has to deal with her black identity (and how that affects how she lives in Modern America), and with the rape she suffered as a young child. Maya was once like every other person, she had to go through traumatizing events within a short time period. What is Maya Angelou’s meaning? What’s the purpose of Maya Angelou?
ConclusionI am aware of the impact that the Caged-bird-Sings book has had on African-American Literature, and the way it shows the struggle black women face in a marginalized society. Like any other person, women of colour also experience similar struggles. Caged Bird had a great influence on Maya’s co-workers, including Oprah and James Baldwin. Alicia Keys also influenced popular culture with her song “Caged Bird”, which was released in 2001 from Songs in A Minor. Keys stuck to Angelou’s original theme. This book is a great resource for anyone of my age who wants to know more about race, trauma, and identity.
