Names In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Names have always been revered as very powerful things. Popes change their names as a sign of renewal, and a chance to show the Catholic Church and the world how they will lead the church. Names are given to newborns to give them a sense of individuality and to define who they are. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou illustrates the effect that names can have on one’s status in society, the innocence (or lackthereof) of someone, and the closeness with one’s family through use of nicknames.

In the time period the book takes place in (the majority taking place from the 1930s to the 1950s), black people were not referred to by white people as “Mrs.” or “Mr.” They were mostly called by their first names, which is a common sign, even

Her famous nickname, Maya, was given to her by her brother when was was teaching her to walk. “...he refused to call me Marguerite, but rather addressed me as ‘Mya Sister,’ and in later more articulate years, after the need for brevity had shortened the appellation to “My,” it was elaborated into ‘Maya.” (68) Bailey, from one affectionately given butchering of her name (“Mya Sister” instead of “Marguerite”) had earned her a nickname that was used by her family and eventually the public. It was not used to demean her or embarrass her, but it was simply a loving shortening of her name cherished by not only family, but complete strangers that she had most likely never expected to get a following from. Not only did Bailey give his sister a nickname, but he also ended up giving one to his mother. His name for her shortened from “Mother Dear” to “M’Deah” (68) and again was not meant in an ugly way. Their family, just as many other families, utilized nicknames as terms of endearment.

What’s in a name? Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings demonstrates that a name is much more than what an individual is called. It shows one’s status, intensifies or diminishes the threat of an individual or group, and endears and lifts up one’s family member or friend. Names have always been and will forever be very powerful things. They should be used careful as they, just as other words can be both used to build