Perseverance In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

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. Maya Angleou’s novel both teaches readers the importance of perseverance and the unpredictability of life, along with presenting the reader with critical thinking opportunities through the use of strong literary devices such as metaphors to further strengthen her message. One of the most valuable

These lessons focus on perseverance and the unpredictability of life. The idea of perseverance is introduced early in the novel, in chapter 2. At the beginning of this chapter, Maya recounts a fear of being burnt on her childhood stovetop, saying, “ … although once I might have been when I was so terrified I tried to jump on to the stove to remove the possibility of it remaining a threat. Like most children, I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph, I would forever have power over it” (page 10). Here, rather than being afraid of the threat of abuse in her home, Maya demonstrates her abilities to voluntarily face danger and persevere. Such perseverance is then seen throughout the novel as she is faced with the unpredictability of life. As readers are taken through Maya’s life, they second handly experience the unpredictability of it through the negligence her and her brother face by their guardians, along with molestation, and racism within schools. Throughout the novel however, regardless of the