I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

With the many things that people read everyday, authors are bound to find inspiration in literature from other writers. An author’s work often influences other authors. The writing of one author might inspire another author to write about a similar topic with their own experiences and insights. An example of this is the relationship between the poem “Sympathy,” the memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and the novel Speak. The title of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings comes from the repeating line in the poem “Sympathy.” In the novel Speak, the author made references to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the author of the memoir. Among the three works, there is a common theme. All three works have the theme of fighting for freedom. The three
Similar the the author of the poem “Sympathy,” Maya Angelou also experienced racism. When a white lady was messed with, Maya’s uncle had to hide in the vegetable bins in case the “boys” came by the store. If they found him, he would have most likely been lynched. “It was fortunate that the “boys” didn’t ride into our yard that evening and insisted that Momma open the Store. They would have surely found Uncle Willie and just as surely lynched him” (Angelou 18). When Maya was ten years old, two white girls came by the Store and taunted her grandmother. Maya described the experience as “the most painful and confusing experience I had ever had with my grandmother” (Angelou 29). One of the most important parts of the memoir is the story of her experience being raped. When she was about eight years old, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. He threatened to kill her brother, Bailey, if she told anyone so she kept quiet. No one found out until her brother accidentally found the evidence. When Maya Angelou had to testify in court about Mr. Freeman’s death, she believed that her words were somehow to blame and decided to stop talking. “I could feel the evilness flowing through my body and waiting, pent up, to rush off my tongue if I tried to open my mouth. I clamped my teeth shut, I’d hold it in. If it escaped, wouldn’t it flood the world and all
It tells the story of Melinda Sordino, a freshman in high school who is trying to overcome being raped over the summer by her classmate, Andy Evans. At the end of eighth grade, Melinda was raped at a party and no one saw it happen. In a panic, Melinda called the cops and they tracked her location and they busted the party. Her old friends turn against her and people she doesn’t know also hate her. Since she doesn’t have friends anymore, Melinda developed the mindset that no one cares about what she has to say. “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say” (Anderson 9). All of her thoughts are trapped inside of her because she has no one to talk to and she refuses to tell anyone what happened to her. Throughout the novel, she has an internal battle with herself. She wanted to tell someone because the truth was eating her up, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “I should probably tell someone, just tell someone. Get it over with. Let it out, blurt it out” (Anderson 99). When Andy Evans attacked her again on the last day of ninth grade, she fought back. She pushed him back, screamed, and threatened him with a piece of sharp glass. In Melinda’s closet, she hung a Maya Angelou poster over the mirror. When Andy attacked her, Melinda saw Maya and it encouraged her