I Know Why The Caged Birg Sings One Pager

I know WHY

THE CAGed

Bird Sings

“To me, a thirteen-year-old Black girl, stalled by the South and Southern Black life style, the city was a state of beauty and a state of freedom."

"If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult."

Anaylisis

Analysis

Damage of Racism on perception of AMERica

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”

Maya Angelou

1936

1944

1928

1941

“It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense.”

OUtside Connection

Many of the racist incidents in this book relate to the racial discrimination that is found in many stories within Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. For example, Marguerite is dehumanized by someone she works for when the woman, who Maya deplores, says that her name is too long and calls her Mary. The same lady calls Maya a racial slur when Maya broke a vase. Although this example is more extreme, it is still similar to when Mrs. Sen brought fish on the bus and the driver called her out in front of everyone. The driver is essentially surpressing Mrs. Sen just as Maya's employer surpresses her by not calling her the correct name.

Anaylisis

The dominant myth that the US is a land of opportunity is something that can damage the perception of America by someone who is unable to access the opportunities that are supposed to be present within the society.

Thesis

This paragraph is most likely representing Maya's perspective as a 5 or 6 year old as she feels not only different from the majority in society, but her own minority too. This is due to the fact that she was seperated from her parents at a young age

On April 4th,1928 Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis , Missouri. Her birthname is not actually Maya Angelou. It is Marguerite Annie Johnson.

Maya is abused by her mom's boyfriend -- someone that she was supposed to be able to trust. She is solaced by her mother and family.

Maya, all her life had lived in the South or with people that oppressed her autonomy as a child. When she makes it to San Francisco and realizes the oppurtunity that may be available to her, she is refreshed and has a renewed sense of hope.

Maya gives birth to her son that was a result of an unplanned pregnancy. She is hesitant at first but soon realizes this is the best thing that could've happened to her.

After a fight with he dad's girlfriend, MAya runs away to a junkyard where she lives with other teens for a month.

During her 8th grade graduation speech at her all black school, the white speaker talks about the success that black kids have made in the entertainment and sports industry. This is not what the children want to hear as the move up in the pursuit of a good job. The speaker is claiming they can only be successful though miracles.