Black peoples’ resistance to racism takes many forms in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The Theme of Racism in Maya Angelou’s Novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings In this essay I will be talking about how the theme of Racism is developed throughout Maya Angelou’s I … Maya was born and bred in a highly racist society that was largely divided between whites and blacks. The racism and discrimination Maya faced throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life in a positive way. This warning, and the language used in it, shows the violent racism that hangs over the town of Stamps. What is the main theme of the poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings? Segregated and treated as second-class citizens, African Americans struggled to fit in America. The free bird never thinks about freedom because it is free, and continues to see more of the world. The caged bird can “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. One of the most outstanding themes is racism. With such a powerful story that works to fight against racism and oppression comes other forces that work to oppress the story and prevent it from being heard. The second theme is Freedom and Captivity. It reflects many of the feelings she expressed in her first autobiographical book. A stark contrast from the free bird in the first stanza. The Background The African-American author and poet; Maya Angelou came up with this poem titled "Caged Bird" in 1969.Actually, the title of the poem is also part of an autobiography written by the Maya in the same year. The caged bird, never having experienced freedom and wanting freedom, thinks and sings only of freedom. It is a beautifully written poem containing a horrible and sad truth about racism and oppression in the US. Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou. "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing" is a famous book by Maya Angelou about facing racism and achieving redemption. This reflects the African Americans’ desire to be treated fairly. The white man’s society had a poor view of African Americans, who constituted recently freed slaves. Repetition is used throughout, most noticeably with “free bird” and “caged bird” and again in the sixth stanza, where the poet repeats the third stanza. The free bird is happy and able to live in nature as it pleases while the caged bird suffers. and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees, and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn, But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, his wings are clipped and his feet are tied. In stanza four, we look back at the different life of the free bird. In her first job, her white boss insisted on calling her Mary since Maya was not a popular name among hite Americans. The poem describes the opposing experiences between two birds: one bird is able to live in nature as it pleases, while a different caged bird suffers in captivity. The free bird owns the world, “he names the sky his own”. It went from bright open skies to a dark narrow cage. “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.” ― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The bird, a common symbol of freedom in literature, are used to highlight the difference between the free and the oppressed, or more specifically, the Black and the white. Angelou says this is why the bird “opens his throat to sing”. Caged Bird is also represented in the form of a film and is processually changed from words to a visual representation. These birds act as a metaphor for oppression, highlighting the privilege of those free and the suffering and resilience of the oppressed. She uses imagery here, painting a picture of a free bird flying in the wind with a sunny, orange sky. ‘I know why the caged bird sings,’ presents a vivid autobiography of her experiences. A free bird leaps. Maya, just like other African Americans, encountered various racist incidences. The Church also serves as a platform for resistance. In ‘ I know why the caged bird sings,' Maya Angelou explores various themes that reflect her real life situation. The singing can be tied directly to African American history in the United States. With the caged bird, Angelou uses the song as an expression of emotional pain. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou describes the racism and segregation she encounters as a young, black girl in the South. The Analysis of Caged Bird is provided below by first giving a brief description on the background followed by the poem structure and its meaning.. A poem of racism, privilege, and freedom. The caged bird sings of freedom, of fear, and things unknown. Angelou uses several literary devices throughout “Caged Bird”. These harsh realities confined Maya’s world, and she had to strive so as to surmount them. In her childhood, she never came across a white person and did not believe that white people existed. 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Further use of these literary devices, along with imagery, metaphor, symbol, and enjambment, can be seen with an analysis of each stanza. One of the best-known writers in America, Angelou read her poem “On the Pulse of the Morning” at … The third stanza is repeated in the sixth stanza. Maya and Bailey shuttled between the North and the South in pursuit of the American Dream. Here in the third stanza, Angelou describes the caged bird’s song. … Born Marguerite Johnson in 1928, she gained fame with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her 1970 autobiography which speaks courageously of her encounters with racism. One of the most outstanding themes is racism. On the other hand, Daddy Clidell’s white friends used elaborate cons and cliches which depicted prejudice and racism. This shaped her early life and young adulthood. We have a whole Crayola diversity pack of colors in the world. When Maya is young, she doesn’t recognize the racism and discrimination as well as her grandmother does. In the course of Caged Bird, Maya, who has been described as "a symbolic character for every black girl growing up in America", goes from being a victim of racism with an inferiority complex to a self-aware individual who responds to racism with dignity and a strong sense of her own identity. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass once said, “Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy”. Angelou wrote Caged Bird in the late 1960s, at the height of the New Criticism, and therefore in order for it to be the literary autobiography Loomis referred to, Angelou's book had to display features considered at the time typical of literature, such as organic unity. The African American athletes’ triumph in the Joe Louis World Championship boxing match revealed the black community’s desperate hope for vindication. The free bird sees the world as their own and “dares to claim the sky” where the caged bird “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. In fact, the title is a metaphor describing her desire to escape from her confines, just like a bird struggles to escape from its cage. The caged bird is a metaphor for the Black community’s race-based oppression. Get access to this section to get all the help you need with your essay and educational goals. The dreams of Black people were never given a chance, unlike the free, white people. The African American’s displacement signified the fact that they were not yet acceepted in the society. Due to its profound suffering, the caged bird sings, both to cope with its circumstances and to express its own longing for freedom. Racism and Oppression Keeps a “Caged Bird” posted on November 5, 2020 Many of Maya Angelou’s works reveal the perspective of an oppressed, Black woman in America. Gabriel Prosser leader of a slave revolt in 1800 in Richmond, Virginia. The reader can visualize a bird enjoying the sun and breeze in its natural habitat. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1928–2014) is a 1969 autobiography by the beloved writer and poet covering her upbringing and youth. Her race, and the violence, discrimination, and degradation she faced as a result of her race, played an integral role in shaping her as a person and as an artist. It was and still is a reflection of the oppression of the Black people in America. The author goes on to describe a bird that “stalks down his narrow cage” and you can immediately feel the tone has changed. Having never had a real home, she felt unsettled and rootless. In the second line, “shouts on a nightmare scream” we see the pain and suffering of captivity being a real-life nightmare. Therefore, ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ is not only a recount of her life, but also a call to action against racism. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is in part an account of Maya Angelou’s experience growing up black in the American South. In recounting her childhood experiences, she is able to connect with her readers, who sympathize with her situation. It was written in free verse; however, there are a few examples of iambic meter. ‘Caged Bird’ is filled with powerful themes. Throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, racism is a frequent obstacle that non-whites had to overcome. Racism is the cage around the caged bird, and it means not getting jobs, not getting medical treatment, and even the risk of lynching. The incidents of racism in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are illogical and seem at first like insurmountable obstacles. In conclusion, Angelou’s ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ is an avid description of the racist society in which she grew up in. While Maya is young, she notices white impudence but doesn’t always recognize it as racism, and it affected her attitude towards her life. The caged or restricted life of the caged bird is a symbol of injustice, discrimination, and the inequality that African-Americans faced during the civil rights period. The cage is racism, oppression, and discrimination, all of which have killed the dreams of Black men, women, and children. She does this so eloquently in “Caged Bird”, using the two birds as a metaphor and symbol. In ‘I know why the caged bird sings,’ Angelou approaches racism from various angles: segregation, displacement and resistance. Poem And Racism In Maya Angelou's Caged Bird 1160 Words 5 Pages “Caged Bird” is a poem written by Maya Angelou where she juxtaposes between the free bird and the caged bird, portraying the immenseness of their differences; however, the poem is so … However, the most outrageous event occurred when a dentist refused to treat her merely because she was black. The two contrasting experiences highlight the injustice against the caged bird, as well as the difference in how the free bird acts and thinks. The caged bird, which lacks freedom, only thinks and sings about freedom. The caged bird represents the speaker's sense of being trapped as the result of racism and oppression. Following is a selection of quotes from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the brutally honest and inspiring autobiography covering Angelou’s early life.. The poem draws the comparison between the free bird and the caged bird to show what the kind of life the caged bird is meant to live. Maya was born and bred in a highly racist society that was largely divided between whites and blacks. An acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. The free bird doesn’t have to think about freedom because it is free. These themes are all wrapped together in ‘Caged Bird’ through Angelou’s depiction of the two birds, one free and one caged. The caged bird sings in its suffering. The book shows race and racism to show how much of a problem it was, and how it impacted Margaret. The poem was written in 1983 and was featured in “Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?”. At a very young age, Maya has to confront various situations that perpetuated racism and segregation. In the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Margaret was surrounded by a lot of racism throughout her life. The free bird thinks of another breezeand the trade winds soft through the sighing treesand the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawnand he names the sky his own. The caged bird, although never experiencing it, knows it should be free “for the caged bird sings of freedom”. The author says the bird’s cries are heard but are muted as if heard from a distance. Numerous terrified black children shared a similar ordeal, for they had to travel to the North to join their parents, who had recently acquired wealth, or back to the South, once their parents’ dream of economic prosperity failed to materialize. The free bird has the right to “claim the sky”. The book is the first in a seven-volume series. Maya Angelou wrote “Caged Bird” over three decades ago, and these words still ring just as true. Angelou captures the agony and cruelty by relating it to the suffering of the caged bird. This is a political gesture, The first word, “But”, emphasizes this contrast. Maya, in an act of defiance, chose to work as a street car conductor. But by the end of the book, our main squeeze learns how to fight back in her own way. How beautifully she managed to spread her message! But a bird that stalksdown his narrow cagecan seldom see throughhis bars of ragehis wings are clipped and his feet are tiedso he opens his throat to sing. Angelou begins the poem by describing the experience of the free bird. Alliteration is also used with “cage” and “can” as well as “sun” and “sky”. In ‘I know why the caged bird sings,’ Maya Angelou explores various themes that reflect her real life situation. A free bird leapson the back of the windand floats downstream till the current endsand dips his wingin the orange sun raysand dares to claim the sky. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” dealt with the racism and trauma so many families and individuals faced throughout time. Maya Angelou revealed in her autobiography that this is often how she felt, unable to enjoy the innate freedom she should have been given as a human. The caged bird is trapped in a cage, wings clipped, and feet tied, representing the layers of oppression the Black community faces. Maya was born and bred in a highly racist society that was largely divided between whites and blacks. Clearly, there were very few celebrated African American heroes. 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