Know Why the Caged Bird Term Paper

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This attempt at banning this book cannot be seen as anything but another example of prejudice and racism, this time against a woman who is attempting to share her life and warn other young girls at the same time.

Probably one of the most eye-opening parts of the book is when Angelou acknowledges that for decades, blacks in the South acquiesced to whites simply to survive, and they taught these tactics to each succeeding generation in an attempt to simply get along. She writes, "Momma intended to teach Bailey and me to use the paths in life that she and her generation and all the Negroes gone before had found, and found to be safe ones. She didn't cotton to the idea that whitefolks could be talked to at all without risking one's life" (Angelou 46). She graphically illustrates life in the South in the 1930s and 40s for blacks and whites, and how it really grew into two very different and non-equal worlds. Blacks existed in their world, and whites existed in theirs, and the whites allowed very little mixing in between. We do not think of life that way today, and yet, it is clear there is still very much prejudice and racism in our country. Many of the barriers have been broken down, but many more still exist, even if they are unspoken or unacknowledged. The whites have still the advantage in this country, even though blacks have made great strides. Books like this continue to illustrate how difficult life has been for blacks in America, and how strong they have been to face adversity and demand their equal rights and freedoms. A reviewer puts it even more eloquently.

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He writes, "The question of race was everywhere. While I knew or suspected that Whites in the rural South may have had a difficult time viewing Blacks as human beings, it had never occurred to me that Black people might fear that White people were not really the same species as themselves" (Anonymous). That is an interesting point, and one that indicates the immense divide between whites and blacks in the South, and how it colored all aspects of Angelou's early life.

In conclusion, Angelou's autobiography is moving, emotional, funny, and tragic all at the same time. Throughout this look back at her early life, she shows how racism and prejudice colored the world of her youth, and how she managed to rise above them and become one of the world's premiere authors. This book also shows that even though she has managed to become famous and well-known, racism and prejudice still exist today, and they have the ability to color a person's life, take away their dignity and self-respect, and make them question their value and place in society. Ultimately, this book shows that racism and prejudice are truly evil, and must be eradicated for society to become truly equal, fair, and just. Angelou's uncle Willy sums up the vast difference between the races late in the book. He says, "They don't really hate us. They don't know us. How can they hate us? They mostly scared" (Angelou 192). Even understanding this, it is difficult not to cringe when reading this book, at all the inequities blacks have had to face in their struggle to be free and equal......

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American Literature Identity What It Means to Be

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. From a strictly literary perspective, Emerson’s “Self Reliance” functions as an essay or polemic in which the author expounds on his philosophical standpoint, whereas Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographical novel. As such, the latter contains much more symbolism and metaphor than the former, which offers a more straightforward insight into what it means to be American. Like other seminal works of African-American literature from slave narratives onwards, Angelou’s text focuses on the theme of liberation: of knowing that… Continue Reading...

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