I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the autobiography of Maya Angelou. I find it to be a rather interesting novel, since it is based on a true story. It also helps the reader understand how black people lived and felt during that period. In the novel, there is a wide range of themes, from family ties, to rape, and even literacy. In Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the three main themes are racism, prejudice and the roll of black women.
The first and most visible theme in the novel is racism. During 1969, it is common to see a black person as inferior to a white person. In the novel, Angelou shows the crudeness of white Southern attitudes toward African Americans. For example, in chapter 24, Marguerite goes to the dentist and Dr. Lincoln, a white man, refuses to treat her because she is black. He says: “I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s.” (Angelou 189). Not even because of necessary medical attention does a white person leave aside the race and treat a black patient.
Putting aside her strong feelings against racism, Angelou demonstrates how she develops the understanding of the rules for surviving in a racist society. For example, in chapter 5, when the “powhitetrash”
Since most white folks in Stamps mistreat blacks, black people assume all whites are the same, which means they are also prejudice against white people. For example, in chapter 2, Marguerite mentions her passion for literature, especially for Shakespeare, a white writer. She says how Bailey and she can’t mention Shakespeare to Momma: “she’d question us about the author and we’d have to tell her that Shakespeare was white, and it wouldn’t matter to her whether he was dead or not.” (Angelou 14). Shakespeare is a great writer, but Momma doesn’t know this since she is prejudice against white writers and doesn’t give herself the chance to find out about this writers