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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The American Dream is true equality and freedom of the citizens of The United States. In Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite struggles with the thought of feeling unwanted as a child and the discrimination against blacks. As Marguerite grows up, she experiences first-hand the cruelty of racism. Her struggles reflect on all the hardships the citizens of America went through when they were fighting for equality as well. It first started in 1607 when English settlers travelled to America for religious freedom. The freedom they sought out for eventually grew to be something more important than just religious freedom. Marguerite defies authority and segregation and eventually gains the equality she deserves.
Even though the era of slavery has ended, segregation between blacks and whites were still present. The town that Marguerite lives in is separated from where the white population is and she barely knows what they are like and she wonders if they are even human. Early on in the story, Marguerite first experiences the cruelty of the local "powhitetrash" when her family is warned of the white men searching her town for a scapegoat. This causes her Uncle Willie to hide in a potato bin even though he is innocent. In chapter blank, Marguerite watches three white girls mock Momma and she feels anger towards their cruelty and unfairness. As Momma finds her crying in anger, this is the first time she felt the need to defy the white people and fight against them. This encounter foreshadows Marguerite's future acts of defiance against white people, as the English settlers defied their kind and moves to America. Marguerite's first true act of defiance was when she was working for a white woman named Viola Cullinan. Mrs. Viola Cullinan is rude and her friends mistreat Marguerite. In order for Marguerite to stop working for her, she broke her prized china. This was a sign of Marguerite finally taking a stand against being mistreated. Her resistance gains

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