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Sympathy And The Caged Bird Poem Analysis

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In the two poems Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, gave a comparison between the life of a caged bird and the life of a slave. There are similarities and differences in the two poems. The difference between the two poem is that Sympathy is more aggressive than the poem Caged Bird, and the similarities of the two poems is the theme and imagery. The poem Sympathy the poem 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. In the same way, the two poems share the same imagery; birds being treated like slaves. Both birds are being tortured by their owners. In Sympathy, it says, …show more content…

The differences in the two poems is that Sympathy has a more aggressive tone to it than Caged Bird. According to Sympathy, “…Bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars.” This shows an aggressive side by describing how bad the bird want to be free. On the other hand, the poem Caged Bird is less aggressive because it relieves the pin by singing. The poem states that the bird shouts a nightmare scream and that the bird feels tired of being trapped and wants to get out all the emotions the bird was holding. In conclusion, the two poems have similarities and differences. Sympathy and Caged Bird revealed the struggles the birds and the slaves faced; going through tortures. The caged birds are just like slaves being whipped and being locked up. Many times, others would be hurting on the inside, but many don’t express it on the outside, so that’s why the caged bird

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The bird also symbolizes how people go too far with the amount of power they have. The bird has clipped wings, is trapped in a cage, and its feet are tied up, which means that the bird has no escape. The bird has no freedom and has no way to escape, because it cannot walk or run. Since the bird is being abused and has no power, it is traumatized and explains how its life is like a nightmare. In the text, it states, “His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” (Angelou paragraph 5).

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The Bird feels intense manhandling the detainees and conceives that on the off chance that he can break the soul of the

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Angelou and Dunbar show similarities when they describe feeling trapped like caged birds, but their portrayal of the birds contrast in their actions

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If we compare the bird’s wings to Tom Robinson’s hope, the feet to his heart, and his action of  running to the action of opening his throat to sing, we can visualize the song that Tom Robinson would sing, one about him losing hope and not wanting anyone to control his life anymore, and so in this manner he is very much like the caged bird in this poem. Similarly, Tom Robinson’s physical struggles can be compared to the caged bird in the poem “Sympathy”. In the novel it’s written “Tom

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The Tropical Bird Cage Hanging in a Condominium’s Window In the poem, “Sympathy” written by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the caged bird is a metaphor that portrays the notion of injustice through many unique literary devices such as detail, diction, and imagery. Dunbar evinces a tempestuous attitude of injustice, including freedom and exploitation, as a story of a bird’s life is used as a metaphor for these two characteristics. Dunbar writes, “When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;/when the wind stirs soft through the spring grass.”

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Although the situation about racism in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is the same as the first novel, the dynamic of it all is entirely flipped. The main character, Maya, lives with her brother, Bailey, grandmother,

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Both stories have the same author’s style, setting and animals as characters, and a human and animal connection. But, the stories are different because of the poetic structure, tame or wild animals, and simple of sophisticated diction. First, the author’s style is similar in “Predators” and “A Blessing”. Both of the poems have sound devices. For example, in “A Blessing” the author repeats the word “they” several times at the beginning of each line, “they ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness” and “they bow shyly as wet swans.

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The two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou are so similar, yet so different. Both of the poems are very similar because they both share a single underlying theme which is Freedom. Both Dunbar and Angelou wrote their poems about a universal concept that individuals will find at some point in their lifetime. These poems show that when one fights for their rights they will face difficulties, but them having hope will help for them to overcome their pain. The birds in “Sympathy” and “Caged Bird” demonstrate that if they get caught up in a trap the birds are still able to fight for what they want.

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When analyzing the poem “Sympathy” it talks about a bird being trapped in a cage and how it’s relentless in its actions. This represents someone’s struggle to get outside of their bubble. This was mainly talking about having perseverance and knowing that there's a way out of that door. Having a fixed mindset and thinking that you’re into a certain category since your family would follow the stereotypical path could be good or bad. You can be a difference and change the way people see you as a person in a positive way.

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“Sympathy” what i think about it and how it is relevant to the world today is about slavery and the people are hurt from it and the person sees the slave suffering but does not doing anything to help the slave the person just watches it get hurt and is tired and the slave has scars on its body and that's how it is relevant to the world because that's what happens now in the world and what i think about it is that it's sad and it isn't right for a person should be treated like that and that the slaves should not live like that Thoughts on “i know why the caged bird sings” and how it relates to the world right now is that the bird is scared and is asking for help by singing and the bird is scared because someone is watching it and the bird

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Hope, Rage, and Sacrifice Oppression is an illness that has plagued the world for centuries. This is shown in “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou as the birds are trapped by oppression and the birds must break free from it. Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar use the central symbols of the free bird and the caged bird to reveal the theme of oppression. The symbols of rage and hope accompany the theme oppression.

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The poems although similar, have a slight difference from one another. One of the poems is about wasting time laying down instead of exploring the real world. The other poem is about wasting time, but different because you’re actually exploring and you fall asleep and miss out what is happening. Another difference is that the first poem is very relatable to humans because when we choose to just spend time in a bed which is similar to a hammock we miss out on the real world. In the other poem, it’s relatable to when we explore the real world and get bored.

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Both poems are saying that even birds and wolves wish things were easier in life. To sum it up, each poem had a different meaning. Both of the poems apply to Stanley. The first poem applies to Stanley because Stanley is like the woodpecker and wolf.

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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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