Maya Angelou wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings to present how negroes were treated and the hardships they were put through during the time this book was written. Angelou uses rhetorical devices throughout the book to display her thoughts and give us a better understanding of what she was going through. One of the rhetorical devices that she uses is imagery. She uses detailed descriptions of what she was put through as an African American female to give us a more intimate view of how she was oppressed. Another one of Angelou’s rhetorical strategies is symbolism.
This reminded me of how I always long for that which I don’t have, whether I know what it is that I am longing for or not, and regardless of if I know whether it is actually better for me. I felt like sometimes I’m not even wishing for something else, I’m just desperate for ‘not this’. I felt hopeful when I read the statement “for the caged bird/sings of freedom,” because singing carries implications of joy and energy, indicating an optimism for the future and for perhaps achieving ‘not this’. The next line reminded me of my greed, and how even when I have what I want, I only want more: “the free bird thinks of another breeze.” The second to last stanza brought feelings of regret.
Lack of Creativity in Education Creativity and abstract thinking are seen as the basis of education, but more and more, these skills are being lost, and even discouraged, in the classroom. Fourteen-year-old Line Dalile, in her essay, “How Schools are Killing Creativity,” uses rhetorical strategies such as metaphors, ethos, and rhetorical questions to strengthen her claim on how schools are discouraging creativity in the classroom. Dalile uses a bold metaphor at the beginning of the article that strongly introduces her ideas on creativity in education. The metaphor is as follows,“.. it is destroying our fascinating, curious minds.”
Throughout the story, the narrator feels powerless about his situation, and he envies birds for their ability to fly and be free. The protagonist says, "I told Mom my theory of why we like birds –– of how birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” The protagonist of the story uses birds as a metaphor for freedom, escape, and finding nobility in what he views as a harsh world. The protagonist is saying that birds are a symbol of hope and freedom and that they represent a simpler way of life that we should strive to achieve. The narrator expresses his desire to become a bird, as he says, “just make me a bird - that’s all I ever wanted - a white graceful bird free of shame and taint and fear of loneliness.”
In the text it states, “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom” (Angelou stanza 6). In other words, the poem symbolizes the relationship between Sarny and John. Sarny had been a slave her whole life and always dreamed of an education. John answered her song by teaching her the importance of literature.
The author uses this line to make an exaggeration about the extreme change of the pretty bird’s current self and its past. It shows how, unlike the current pretty pink bird, her past self was smart and capable of doing many great things. Overall, the poetic devices integrated allow for us to share the bird's view and feelings. Meaning/Theme-
William Blake, famously known for his outcry on societal influence, expresses his position on the topic through multiple works of his arts and collections such as the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience. To best explain the relationship between both collections is to describe Songs of Innocence as the stage in which one is not aware of societal pressure and life experiences, and Songs of Experience as the stage in which one has realized what pressures has fallen upon them as an aftermath of the societal impact. In Blake's work he constantly uses metaphysical and supernatural phenomena as the focus of his work to explain flaws he sees within society and a path an individual must face as a product of humanity. Using beings beyond human conceivable thought, Blake is able to reveal a point of view that discloses the impact of culture. Blake serves as a fine example of the romantic as he displays the effects of societal culture using the concept of sublime to unmask it.
The poems use the caged bird to represent the lack of freedom that both of the authors have. In each poem the caged bird uses singing as his only hope, because when there is nothing left for him to do he sings. Each
To illustrate, in one of Emerson’s writings, he states, “To speak truly few adult persons can see nature…” (3) This expert reinforces the concept that although society has corrupted the adult population, children still have the gift of innocence. Thus, they can see “nature” because they have not been blinded by materialistic values. Similar to Emerson’s ideals, in his poem, “Song of Myself”, Whitman states, “A child said what is grass? Fetching it to me with full hands; How can I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he” (38-39).
Envision contemplating into a recreation of reality through the visual sense. Without tasting, smelling, touching or hearing, it might be grueling to see oneself in a substitute universe through a bit of art, which was the artist expected reasoning. The eyes fill a significantly higher need than to see an item, the ingestions of electromagnetic waves permit one to attempt an expedition and enter a universe of no constraint. During the nineteenth century (1805-1810) Blake was dispatched to make over a hundred compositions showing books from the Bible. Among these was a four-painting cycle of the Great Red Dragon (Satan) from the book of Revelations.
However, from a more critical standpoint it’s clear that the poet delved into something more profound than just a mere killing of an “innocent fly”. To achieve this, Blake excellently employs the use of juxtaposition. This literary technique is used to develop comparison and contrast after two things are seen or placed close
The bird is interpreted as the symbol of the African-American people, beating their metaphorical wings against their past cages of slavery, and the current cage of segregation and discrimination. Dunbar highlights this notion, declaring, “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, / When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, - / When he beats his bars and he would be free; / It is not a carol of joy or glee” (Dunbar, “Sympathy” 555). Dunbar addresses the fact that he is able to relate to this bird, and mentions the fact that the bird wishes it could be free; much like the African-Americans wished they could be free from discrimination at the time, while the bruises on the bird’s wings and body symbolize the mental abuse being enforced. Dunbar uses his poem to lay the groundwork for future forms of African-American literature by perpetrating the desire for freedom and equality.
The oppression is binding the bird to its cage while the bird hopes and prays that someone will hear him so that he can leave this maiming tyranny. In addition in “Caged Bird” the bird is singing with mighty voice that was conceived by the rage that the bird felt toward the oppression that was trapping it. The tune that the bird sings is described as, “The caged bird sings,/ with a fearful trill,/ of things unknown”(Angelou, 30-32). The bird is illustrating the anger that it felt, by fighting the tyranny that he is facing. The tyranny is holding him down and the rage that the bird feels from this pain is what the bird symbolizes.
The last line of the poem is “for the caged bird sings for freedom” (Angelou) this tells us that the caged bird yearns to be like the free bird. Angelou uses several descriptive images for the reader to be able to envision her words: bird, winds, floats and sky for freedom because the free bird has power, as “he soars in the sky” (Angelou) and clipped wings, tied feet and cage for confinement because the caged bird is oppressed as “caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown. ”(Angelou)
The entire poem consists of various metaphors of racial segregation present in the society Angelou was born into. The caged bird symbolizes the oppression and suffering of people of color, whilst the free bird symbolizes the ideal society of freedom, a society lacking prejudice and discrimination. A society that, during the time in which Angelou struggled to thrive, was only available to those who were white. The caged bird 's song represents the sustaining hope of achieving this idealistic society in which all are treated with equal worth.
