I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay - 786 Words

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings In the beginning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite, later known as Maya begins to tell the story of her childhood. When her parents divorced, they sent her her brother, Bailey to live in Stamps, Arkansas with their Grandmother (Momma) and their Uncle Willie. The kids go to school in Stamps and work in the store that Momma and Uncle Willie own. One year, while they were in Stamps, their father came to visit. When he was getting ready to return to California, he asked the kids if they wanted to come back with him to live. They agreed. Momma was also glad to have them off her hands even though she enjoyed having them around. While they were in the car, their father†¦show more content†¦Maya finally tells Bailey what happened to her and who did it, he tells the information to the authorities. Mr. Freeman is arrested and a trial is scheduled. While Maya is on the witness stand, she lies and tells the court that Mr. Freeman never touched her until he raped her. He is sentenced to one year and one day in prison, but he was released that afternoon. Maya and Bailey move back to Stamps and Maya begins working for a white woman named, Mrs. Cullinan. Mrs. Cullinan had other black employees as well as Maya but she always called Maya Mary instead of her given name, Marguerite. This upset Maya and she throws Mrs. Culli ¬ nan’s valuable family plates on the floor. She is fired immediately and is happy to be rid of her job. Later in the novel, Maya moves to San Francisco to live with her mother. She sees her father more now because he lives in southern California. Bailey is away now, but still visits. Maya and her father drive to Mexico one day to buy food. While they are there, her father becomes intoxicated. Maya has to drive home while he sleeps in the back seat. At the border, the hits another car. There were minor damages and her father woke up to take care of the problem. When they get home, Maya and her father’s girlfriend, Dolores, get into an argument. Dolores called Maya’s mother names and Maya hit her. Dolores jumped up, grabbed her, and cut her. Then, she chased her outShow MoreRelatedI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1482 Words   |  6 Pages Maya Angelou tells of her life experiences and struggles in her book â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† that gives us insight about Maya’s life as a young black girl growing up in a time of racism. The novel discusses various forms of oppression that she had to face as well cope with them. Robert A. Gross wrote an analysis for Newsweek about the book and claimed that Angelou’s book is not only an interesting story of her own experience, but also a portrayal of a Southern black communityRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1555 Words   |  7 Pages28th of May 2014, she was an Activist, acclaimed American poet, storyteller and autobiographer. However, all her accomplishments were born out of abuse, violence, neglect and pain, that she wrote about in her autobiographical novel, I know why the caged bird si ngs which was published in 1969. In the book, she wrote not only about the conflicts that plagued her for much of her life but also how the role they played in her life. Particular problem areas discussed include, the difficulties she experiencedRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1445 Words   |  6 PagesPresentation I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a self-portraying record of Maya Angelou that shows how cherish for writing and having a solid character can assume a huge part in conquering bigotry and misery. Throughout the story, it is clear that Maya changes from being a setback of bigotry to end up distinctly a young lady with self-nobility and character that helps her to conquer partiality. The setting of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings concentrates on the issues connected with bigotry thatRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings948 Words   |  4 PagesAngelou is a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her many poetry and essay collections. So many things happen to Maya Angelou but she was amazing and a brave woman too not everyone would be same after what happen to her. Maya Angelou has become the most amazing singer, dancer, actress, poet and writer she is even an author of autobiography â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Singsâ₠¬  a book that tells the things that setback and helped Maya to be who sheRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1126 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou was a gifted woman with one of the greatest voices of African American literature. Previously known as Marguerite Johnson, she was one of the most important women of our time. She was best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Not only was Maya Angelou able to overcome all the racial discriminations and interferences that she endured growing up, she was also able to prove to many people what a successful African American author and activist she was. She was a womanRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings2695 Words   |  11 Pages I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings According to Willard Scott, â€Å"Positive Feelings come from being honest about yourself and accepting your personality, and physical characteristics, warts and all; and, from belonging to a family that accepts you without question.† Maya Angelou illustrates this in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography on herself. It illustrates Maya Angelou’s struggles of accepting herself because of some cruel experiences in her life. Maya was an African American girlRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pagesministry. She wrought a best-selling auto biography â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings†. Trough-out her legacy she continuously created poems promoting civil rights from her personal and social views. â€Å"still I rise â€Å"is one of her earlier working but is still consider one of the greatest poems on discussing the social views at the time of tis publishing and still hold value to todays current events. This text wil l be Analysing the poem â€Å"still I rise† But first discussing the experiences that Maya AngelouRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings2495 Words   |  10 PagesIn the memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou presents the theme: coming of age. This theme is shown throughout the book many times, especially when something big happens to her, changing the way that she reacts to things and the way that she sees things. Another way that this theme is shown throughout the book is the way that she words things in the beginning, vs the way that she words things in the end. The change in her writing style and her language shows this. Not only was sheRead MoreEssay on I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings1319 Words   |  6 Pagesstreet cars 5) Key Statements About the Character amp;nbsp;a) â€Å"Ritie, don’t worry ‘cause you ain’t pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.† (p.56) amp;nbsp;b) â€Å"In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldn’t help. †¦ I knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him† (p. 73) 6) Key Actions amp;nbsp;a) Father comes to Stamps and takes them to their mother amp;nbsp;b) MovesRead MoreEssay on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings1048 Words   |  5 Pagescontribute to the way she grows up and the person she becomes. Despite some of her tragic circumstances, she learns a lot growing up, mainly because of the African-American women in her life who teach her all different life lessons. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite gets to absorb teachings from her mother (Vivian), Mrs. Bertha Flowers, and her grandmother (Momma). These women allow Marguerite to learn and grow as an African-American female, all while paving her own way. Marguerite