Caged Bird By Maya Angelou - 1341 Words

In the earlier days of the United States, African American slavery was prominent throughout the south for an extensive period of time. This tyranny led to mass oppression of millions of black people for many generations.Years later African Americans were finally given their well earned freedom. One thing they did not earn were their promised civil rights until much, much later. However, even under such subjugations African Americans found many ways to express themselves over the years. One fitting example would be Maya Angelou, a poet, who wrote a lot about social and racial issues. In one of Angelou’s famous poems â€Å"Caged Bird† , she uses contrasting birds to express her emotions towards oppression and freedom. Angelou uses diction,†¦show more content†¦The African American community had lack of power for many, many years. In â€Å" Social Issues in Literature: Racism in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird sings† Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, a professor of Humanities and director of women’s studies at Emory University, links the silence and basically lack of power in â€Å"Caged Bird†. In page 37, she writes about how the virtues of freedom are directly tied back to racism if the virtues of freedom are taken from one s reach. Without this freedom African Americans lost their voice and power, they were silenced for hundreds of years. Angelou demonstrated this using diction in â€Å"Caged Bird†. The use of the antagonism between the caged bird and the free bird is not only shown through diction but is also relayed through other means, such as very vivid and important imagery in the poem. In Caged Bird, Angelou uses both caged and free birds to symbolize the dream of attaining freedom. The poem shows the contrasts between imprisonment and freedom through using different types of imagery. Although the poem talks about a carefree bird, the caged bird reaching out for freedom seems to take over the main idea of the poem. Angelou starts off the poem with â€Å"A free bird leaps†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , the reader pictures a bird in nature leaping, jumping or flying freely. It seems to be somewhat ironic that the poem starts off so positively, yet it all ties into a negative concept which is slavery. She says, â€Å"But a bird that stalks down hisShow MoreRelated Maya Angelou as a Caged Bird Essay1153 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou as a Caged Bird    The graduation scene from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings illustrates how, living in the midst of racism and unequal access to opportunity, Maya Angelou was able to surmount the obstacles that stood in her way of intellectual develop and find higher ground.   One of the largest factors responsible for Angelous academic success was her dedication to and capacity for hard work, My work alone has awarded me a top place...No absences, no tardinesses, and my academicRead MoreThe Themes Of The Caged Bird By Maya Angelou1651 Words   |  7 PagesA poem about two birds: one caged and one free, Caged Bird by Maya Angelou is a poem loaded with personal anecdotes. Angelou contrasts the two birds throughout the poem and discusses the ideas of freedom and oppression using the birds as metaphors. The free bird is able to fly as he wishes, â€Å"daring to claim the sky†. On the other hand, the caged bird is limited to his cage, with clipped wings and tied feet, dreaming of the open sky. B ecause he is confined, he does what he can and begins to sing,Read MoreAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s Caged Bird 1835 Words   |  8 Pagesthe loving Dr. Maya Angelou. She was a tremendous figure in their lives and a phenomenal woman. One day my family was sitting outside, and my mom was reading a book with a lot of famous poems. The one she read aloud was Maya Angelou’s poem â€Å"Caged Bird.† She was so emotional reading this poem. During that time, I did not understand her emotions. At my high school, we would always celebrate black history month, so one day my favorite teacher brought the movie â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.† My classmatesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Caged Bird By Maya Angelou882 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"Caged Bird† by Maya Angelou tells the story of two birds: one bird has the luxury of freedom and the second bird lives its life caged and maltreated by an unknown tyrant. Maya Angelou wrote this poem during the Ci vil Rights Era, the period when black activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s fought for desegregation of African Americans. This poem parallels the oppression that African Americans were fighting during this time period. In â€Å"Caged Bird†, Angelou builds a strong contrast that showsRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou1391 Words   |  6 PagesMaya Angelou’s debut autobiography is an article of literature that depicts the life of a young black girl growing up in a world pitted against her, and the resilience she found in herself in order to survive. Angelou is a voice that is not often heard. In a world dominated by a white male narrative, the plights of the minority are often overshadowed. Thus, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an imperative novel as it articulates the life of not only Angelou, but also of the unique experiences thatRead MoreMaya Angelou s I Know The Caged Bird Sings1836 Words   |  8 Pages In Maya Angelou†™s I Know the Caged Bird Sings (1969), the reader is absorbed into a personal account of her life starting from her childhood to young adulthood during the 1930s and 1940s. From a young age, Maya witnessed the first-hand effects of racism in the South for blacks growing up alongside her brother, Bailey. In the novel, Angelou faces racial discrimination and displacement inside and outside her own community that act as metaphorical cages barring her from the freedom to be her true selfRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou Essay2303 Words   |  10 PagesOne of the quotes that Maya Angelou spoke about goes â€Å"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.† In two of the poems written by Maya Angelou ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,’ which inspired millions of readers helped tackle difficulties related to themes such as racism, sexual abuse, equality. â€Å"Still I Rise† explores the idea of racial discrimination along with Abel Meeropol â€Å"Strange Fruit† and ‘Caged Bird’ which was sang by AliciaRead MoreI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou6502 Words   |  27 PagesAnalysis: Chapters 1–5 The lines from the poem Maya cannot finish, â€Å"What are you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay . . .† capture two of the most significant issues she struggles with in her childhood and young adulthood: feeling ugly and awkward and never feeling attached to one place. First, Maya imagines that though people judge her unfairly by her awkward looks, they will be surprised one day when her true self emerges. At the time, she hopes that she will emerge as if in a fairy-taleRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou886 Words   |  4 PagesChampion of the World is a chapter in Maya Angelou s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings where the focal point describes a very significant event to the African American people during her adolescence. It shows a 1930’s black community fired up about a fight over racial resentment build up over the past years. The famous African American boxer, Joe Louis, it fighting for his title against a white contender. The story explains in detail the overwhelming amount of excitement and eagerness comingRead MoreEssay on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou2409 Words   |  10 Pagesskin. Since they were evidently treated differently, many despised the fact that they were black. As a result of their helpless circumstances, it was understandable that many blacks during that time lacked confidence and self-acceptance. Maya Angelou was an African American girl who grew up during this challenging time. During her childhood, she witnessed and experienced racial prejudice first hand. She had difficultly understanding and accepting the consequences that accompanied belonging