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I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Essay

506 Words3 Pages

There are many wonders to why was this piece was titled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” There are also many examples to answer this powerful question. This title has really been eye opening to show what differences people had in an era years ago. Racism was a big answer to the questions of why this book was titled the way that it is. Racism was a very big thing happening in this era. It was where African Americans were not as equal to the white. The black could not go to any of the same schools as the white. They could not even drink out of the same water fountain as the white. The white had it all compared to the black. This short story was about a girl named Maya who struggled with her early life as a child trying to fit in. In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” the author states Mrs. Flowers had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather” (Angelou 517). The quote shows that a friend like Mrs. Flowers cared for a struggling Maya. Mrs. Flowers had a warm heart and was willing to help Maya through tough …show more content…

The short story symbolizes a bird in a cage that wants to get out of it and be a free bird. The African Americans could not get out of that cage for a while so they had to spread some joy which brings in the birds singing part. A part of the joy for Maya growing through this tough era was spending great time with Mrs. Flowers. In the poem the writer states “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage” (Angelou). This quote from the poem gives another reasoning to why the title is what it is. The bird rages and so does Maya at points. Mrs. Flowers is their for the help that Maya needs. Soon enough the equality would be leveled out and African Americans can join the white in the same schools. The African Americans could use the same water fountain, and go to the same stores. At the end of this astonishing era it was finally normal. Everyone was equal now and

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Caged Bird both share a very common theme; segregation, slavery, and imprisonment. According to the poem Sympathy, “Till its blood is red on the cruel bar… I know why he beats his wings.” And from the poem Caged Bird, “…His bars of rage…so he opens his throat to sing.” These quotes show that both birds are treated like slaves. The bird from Sympathy was shipped until the back is full of blood and the bird from Caged Bird was held in a dungeon where it will die.

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“Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou in 1968 announces to the world her frustration of racial inequality and the longing for freedom. She seeks to create sentiment in the reader toward the caged bird plight, and draw compassion for the imprisoned creature. (Davis) Angelou was born as “Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St Louis, Missouri”. “Caged Bird” was first published in the collection Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing? 1983.

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In the poems “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both portray captive birds that sing. However in “Sympathy”, the bird pleads with god for freedom, whereas in “Caged Bird” the captive bird calls for help from a free bird. In “Sympathy” the bird knows what freedom feels like since there was a time where the bird was once free, but now is trapped. In the first stanza the use of imagery revealed how freedom felt before the bird was caged.

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