In comparison, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind have three similar tones that resonate throughout the book: sincerity, resilience, and nostalgia.
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou is very genuine in the way she describes events, people, and objects in her life. She adds a genuine feel for events that happened to her and people she knew, such as when Bailey didn’t come home one night, “It was darker in the road than I’d thought it would be. Momma swung the flashlight’s arc over the path, weeds, and scary tree trunks. The night suddenly became enemy territory, and I knew if my brother was lost in this land he was forever lost….The Bluebeards and tigers and the Rippers could eat him up before he could scream for help.
Momma told me to take the light and she reached for my hand. I loved her with a rush. She said nothing…the gentle pressure of her rough hand conveyed her own concern and assurance to me. We passed houses I knew well by daylight but couldn’t recollect in the swarthy gloom.
“Evening, Miz Jenkins.” Walking and pulling me along.
“Sister Henderson? Anything wrong?” That was from an outline blacker than the night.
“No, ma’am. Not a thing. Bless the Lord.” By the time she finished speaking we had left the worried neighbors far behind.
Mr. Willie Williams’ Do Drop Inn was bright with funny red lights in the distance and the pond’s fishy smell enveloped us. Momma’s hand tightened and let go, and I saw the small figure plodding along, tired and old-mannish. Hands in his pockets and head bent, he walked like a man trudging up a hill behind a coffin” (115). There aren’t any fabrications or direct lies that I can point out here; she didn’t add anything unnecessary to the story. She gave us, as readers, enough to imagine the scene and the emotions, and that in itself is a sincerity that can only be replicated by hearing Angelou in person.
In House of Sky: Landscapes of a... [continues]
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou is very genuine in the way she describes events, people, and objects in her life. She adds a genuine feel for events that happened to her and people she knew, such as when Bailey didn’t come home one night, “It was darker in the road than I’d thought it would be. Momma swung the flashlight’s arc over the path, weeds, and scary tree trunks. The night suddenly became enemy territory, and I knew if my brother was lost in this land he was forever lost….The Bluebeards and tigers and the Rippers could eat him up before he could scream for help.
Momma told me to take the light and she reached for my hand. I loved her with a rush. She said nothing…the gentle pressure of her rough hand conveyed her own concern and assurance to me. We passed houses I knew well by daylight but couldn’t recollect in the swarthy gloom.
“Evening, Miz Jenkins.” Walking and pulling me along.
“Sister Henderson? Anything wrong?” That was from an outline blacker than the night.
“No, ma’am. Not a thing. Bless the Lord.” By the time she finished speaking we had left the worried neighbors far behind.
Mr. Willie Williams’ Do Drop Inn was bright with funny red lights in the distance and the pond’s fishy smell enveloped us. Momma’s hand tightened and let go, and I saw the small figure plodding along, tired and old-mannish. Hands in his pockets and head bent, he walked like a man trudging up a hill behind a coffin” (115). There aren’t any fabrications or direct lies that I can point out here; she didn’t add anything unnecessary to the story. She gave us, as readers, enough to imagine the scene and the emotions, and that in itself is a sincerity that can only be replicated by hearing Angelou in person.
In House of Sky: Landscapes of a... [continues]
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"Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Ivan Doig’s This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind." StudyMode.com. 11, 2011. Accessed 11, 2011. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Maya-Angelou-s-I-Know-Why-The-837415.html.
