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Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

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In the autobiography written by Maya (Marguerite) Angelou titled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya tells the story of her and her little brother Bailey who was sent to live with their paternal grandmother who is referred to as Momma Henderson in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya and her brother both lived a pretty normal country life with their grandmother in a southern state that at the time still had segregation. During one Christmas season, gifts arrived for Maya and her brother. Up to that point, Maya and her brother believed that their parents were dead. (Angelou, 52) Shortly after that Maya and her brother was brought back to reside with their mother, Vivian in St. Louis. Maya’s mother was supposedly a nurse although there is no mention of her actually going to work. Maya states that Vivian made extra money gambling. (Angelou, 70) Vivian was a strong and vocal woman, she supported Maya, during her troubling time. While living with her mother …show more content…

People often assume that because someone is from a southern state that they should speak with a certain dialect or accent, however, the characters from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings proves that theory incorrect. There are many factors that contribute to social variation such as where an individual resides, the job they do, their age, sex, race, education and or social status. For the purpose of this paper, we will look into some of the characters of this book and how they are associated with certain social categories and variation. We will explore some of their similarities and their differences. The characters that we will look into are Maya (Marguerite) Angelou, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, Vivian Baxter and Anne Henderson. These women shaped Maya and molded her into the woman that she would later become. Their role in society, speech, knowledge, and strength enable Maya to become a strong outspoken, valuable member of

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On April 4th of 1928 Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. She was given the name “Maya” by her brother, Bailey. Both Maya and Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas after her parents divorced. When Maya went to visit her mother at the age of eight she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend.

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"No Gumption" is a chapter in the memoir Growing Up by Russell Baker. He writes about how he was considered to not have "gumption" by his mother and others; he preferred to read comic books and such instead of working or doing chores. He does start selling the Saturday Evening Post as a newsboy, but at the end of the chapter, his life has changed: he decides he will be a writer when he grows up. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiography about the early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou.

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Maya Angelou published her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in the late 1960s to shed light on her personal experiences as a girl growing up in the segregated South. She writes unfiltered depictions of rape and sexual abuse, along with topics such as racism and teenage pregnancy. Her novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings became censored in America in 2002 due to these topics. Regardless of this novel being censored, it holds significant value in the lessons it teaches.

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It is predicted that within three years, 75% of books will be sold online and only 25% in brick and mortar bookstores(mediaworks).Bobbie Pyron the author of “Finding Boo” put the fountain of youth in his story which is make believe but the author of “The Ghost Bird” Roland Smith put the endangered Ivory Billed woodpecker in his story. “The Ghost Bird” and “Finding Boo” have similarities and differences like conflict and the setting. One similarity between “The Ghost Bird” and “Following Boo” is the conflict. Both stories have the same point of view. In “The Ghost Bird” Mr. Tanner says that he had seen the ivory-billed woodpecker and everyone in town thinks he 's crazy,but hannah the one telling the story is trying to help Mr. Tanner find the bird.

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The Song of the Hummingbird written by Graciela Limon, is a novel that tells the story of the fall of Tenochtitlan witch is told by Hummingbird and also, the change of Father Benito’s attitude towards Mexica people. As the book begins, Father Bento is portrayed as rude and arrogant yet, rearranges his arrogant attitude and becomes more and more sympathetic towards the Mexica people as the story progresses. Represented in Limon’s words “He tried to imagine how much had changed in this city since her youth” (pg.81). By the same token, as Benito’s attitude changes, so does the history of the events that had lead to the end of the Mexica’s way of life. The history of what Benito was taught and what Hummingbird witnessed varies in many ways.

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April 4, 1929, St. Louis, Missouri was the birth of the multitalented, Marguerite Annie Johnson. Family of Marguerite is mother, Vivian Baxter Johnson, father, Bailey Johnson, and brother, Bailey Johnson, Jr. Later in the early twenties of Marguerite Johnsons’ life, she changed her name to Maya Angelou. Since the divorce of Maya’s parents, her life has been nothing but an uncontrollable rollercoaster. As a youth, Maya Angelou had to eventually overcome her strugglers and regain what she once lost years ago when troubled occurred.

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Maya Angelou philosophy and teachings are timeless. There is a lesson to be learned in her more than 30 published works and her lessons taught as a professor and lecturer. More important she lived what she preached. She had a strong belief in humanity as a whole, in the human spirit and in the African American community. She fought tirelessly to change extinguish racism, prejudice and discrimination during a time when she herself as a black woman experienced its effects.

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"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style" (Angelou 12). These quoted words came from a strong, wise minded, African American woman whose legacy still lives on. In this essay you will understand a lot about Maya Angelou's early life on how she became famous, her careers, how many awards she has received, and also how her legacy continues to have an impact on people. Maya was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928 (Angelou 8). During Maya's growth she spent most of her days at the library attending Toussaint L'ouverture Grammar school (Angelou 8).

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Flowers established the basis for Maya’s appreciation of the poetic word, it was her mother Vivian Baxter who drove Angelou into womanhood and maturity. Angelou not only loved her mother's beauty but also loved the way her mother carried herself in society. Vivian Baxter taught Angelou values that were both feminine and strong. She guided her daughter through motherhood: a time that was crucial for Angelou when she was pregnant as an unwed mother. “My mother’s beauty literally assailed me.

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When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.

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Maya Angelou was a strong African-American women who made an influential impact on the Civil Rights Movement, in bother her actions, and her literature. Her life experiences and courage helped others, and made her work influential. During Maya’s early life, she experienced many hardships that shaped her into the person many remember her as. Born on April 4, 1928, she only lived in St. Louis, MO for three years before her parents got divorced, and Maya, along with her mother and brother, moved in with her grandparents in Arkansas. At the age of eight, raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Maya learned the power that words possess.

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In her autobiographies, Maya Angelou talks about having two mothers, her grandmother who she called Momma and Vivian, her biological mother. She also talks about how her son also has “two mothers”, herself and her mother Vivian (Siphokazi 37-38). This is important because it shows how different African American family dynamics are. They rely on extended family and their own community instead of being a nuclear household that strictly relies on one father and mother to raise and provide for children’s needs (Siphokazi 37-38). Furthermore, the idea of family and diaspora come into play heavily in Maya’s life.

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Maya Angelou worked as a professor at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1991 to 2014. As an African American women, one whose life was full of racial discrimination and gender inequality, she had plenty of experience and wisdom to share with her students. During her time working at the university, she taught a variety of humanities courses such as “World Poetry in Dramatic Performance,” “Race, Politics and Literature,” “African Culture and Impact on U.S.,” and “Race in the Southern Experience” (Wake Forest University,

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Being of African American origin and having a very difficult background full of discrimination and racial prejudice, Maya Angelou was then acting to protect and defend rights of other. All the set of activities she carried out just proves how important she was in terms of development of the America society. Where was

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The world is no stranger to oppression. Madness driven from an inferiority complex based on racial stigma. Prohibition of freedom being yet another way to inflate this expanding social divide between the oppressors and the oppressed, between white and black. Within the poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, this concept of social division due to the desire of freedom and the desire to restrict the freedom of others is explored through the implementation of a variety of literary devices: symbolism, metaphors, sudden tone shifts, and a constant underlying allegory. Driven by her own experiences being raised during a time period where segregation and racism were acceptable behavior amongst the masses, Angelou illustrates this problematic normalization of discrimination through the juxtaposition of a free bird to a caged bird to convey the theme of oppression and the hope of freedom brought on by such.

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