Themes in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

1. The memoir opens with a provocative refrain: What you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay…” What do you think this passage says about Ritie’s sense of herself? How does she feel about her place in the world? How does she keep her identity intact? In the novel, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou it basically explains her life growing up. The main character was Maya herself whom wrote the book and she talks about the struggle and pain she had to go through as a child. She explains to us that she is really insecure about her looks and wishes that she was white. The story opens with a provocative refrain: “What you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay …”. This passage right off the top told me that Maya’s sense of herself was that was wasn’t welcome anywhere because she automatically assumed that they looked at her in disgust and that they didn’t want her there which is why she plainly said she wasn’t there to stay. The way that she feels about her place in the world is extremely sad because she believes she should be a blonde white girl with blue eyes. I feel as though that if she can’t accept herself for who she is then no one else will either. The story gives us background information that her grandmother was very loving to her but she constantly sees how bad people she knows are being treated. I think that Maya expects everyone to dislike her for being African-American, so she does too. Maya keeps her identity intact by reminding herself who she is, and never to forget that. She may fantasize about being someone else, but she looks up to her Momma and she sees that she’s a great woman and is a great role model for Maya. 2. Upon seeing her mother for the first time after years of separation, Ritie describes her as “a hurricane in its perfect power”. What do you think about Ritie’s relationship with her mother? How does it compare to her relationship with her grandmother, “Momma”. Maya lived a very long time without her mother in