An Analysis of Maya Angelou’s "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Julie Gibson Maya Angelou’s I Know Why Caged Bird Sings illustrates how an innocent and naive girl growing up in the midst of the Great Depression overcomes life’s many obstacles and becomes the powerful and influential woman she is today. Maya is a world renowned author‚ teacher‚ speaker‚ actress‚ and mother. Through this autobiographical piece‚ Maya’s use of figurative language and allusion compounds her thoughts‚ as she depicts
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Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings chronicles the early years of the author’s life - up to age seventeen. In the book‚ Angelou poetically describes the phenomenon that is growing up black‚ in the south‚ in the time before and during World War II. I believe that you are expected to interpret this as a memoir of overcoming the odds. I believe that you are expected to regard the happenings of this book with feelings of empathy and/or sympathy. You are also supposed to marvel at the way Angelou
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nice‚ intelligent‚ and elegant lady who shows a special interest on a young girl that had never been appreciated by anyone before. Marguerite is a young girl who feels lonely and sad; one example is where she states at the beginning “for nearly a year I sopped around the house‚ the store‚ the school‚ and the church like an old biscuit‚ dirty and inedible”. (Maya Angelou‚ pg. 390 of grassroots). Then she met Mrs. Flowers‚ the women that would change her life completely. Mrs. Flower’s personality and
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June‚ 2011 The Presence of Exemplar Male Figures as an Approach to the Representation of Marguerite Johnson’s Weakness in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings “My head was up and my eyes were open‚ but I didn’t see anything.” Using this line in the prologue of her autobiographical novel‚ Maya Angelou introduces the lack of power of the main character of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ Marguerite Johnson. This phrase introduces to the reader a vulnerable girl who attempts to recite a poem in front of her Church in the Black section of the
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"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou‚ in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ tells her story of how and when she grew up. In Arkansas at the time of Maya Angelou’s childhood‚ many things were looked upon as bad or unfavored. Maya’s problem was that she was black and a woman. Her novel depicts her life in rural Stamps‚ Arkansas with her grandmother and in St. Louis‚ Missouri‚ where her mother resided. At the age of three Maya and her four-year old brother‚ Bailey‚ were turned over
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I Know Why the Caged Bird sings is the autobiography of Maya Angelou. She tells of the hardships she experienced in her youth‚ beginning with her parents’ divorce when Angelou was only three years old. As a result of the divorce‚ Maya and her older brother are sent to live with their grandmother in a small‚ Arkansas town. Here‚ she experiences the horrors of racism and learns to hate herself for not being white. When she is eight‚ Maya goes to live with her mother in St. Louis. There‚ she is sexually
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I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings‚ by Maya Angelou‚ is an autobiography that opens in 1931‚ Stamps‚ Arkansas‚ and follows Marguerite Johnson (Maya Angelou) throughout her years of growing up. Starting when she first arrived to live her grandma‚ to when she moved to San Fransisco to be reunited with her mother‚ She encounters many experiences‚ good and bad‚ that mold her into who she is in adulthood. This book is more than just the outward journey of her life‚ it involves what she instinctively knew
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Maya Angelou was a black child living with her grandmother in the American south in the 1930’s. In her autobiography “I know why the caged bird sings” she takes the reader on a journey throughout her childhood‚ growing up where racism towards the black people was rife. The opening lines introduce a crucial theme heavily laced with rhythm‚ dialect‚ alliteration and imagery. It shows Maya’s natural gift on her use of language and her use of upbeat‚ gentle self-deprecation that she uses when she writes
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“I saw only her power and strength...Her voice was soft only because she chose to keep it so¨ (Angelou 46). This person who Maya Angelou is referring to in her autobiography‚ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ is Annie Henderson‚ Angelou’s southern grandmother. She is also known as Momma. As we follow Angelou’s coming-of-age story living back and forth between her divorced parents and Momma in Stamps‚ Arkansas‚ Momma unfolds to us as being strong on the inside without having to use words to convey
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Character Analysis of Annie Henderson (Momma) In Maya Angelou’s autobiography‚ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‚ the reader is introduced to a vast ensemble of complex characters. Each character has a tremendous impact on Maya Angelou’s life. One character who not only has great weight in Maya’s life‚ but is also one of the most beloved and admired characters is Annie Henderson‚ Maya’s paternal grandmother. She is defined by an unshakable faith in God‚ her loyalty to her community‚ and a deep
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