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Introduction
‘Why the caged bird sings’ is a heart-rending and poetic record of Maya Angelo’s life. The autobiography is the first volume of seven autobiographies that were published by Maya Angelo. The title of the autobiography comes from the caged-bird pictorial used by Lawrence Dunbar in his poem the ‘Sympathy.’ Angelo’s book captures the inhumane, degrading and unjust treatment the African Americans faced in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Therefore, Maya used these challenges to depict how her life was hard being raised and grew up as a black girl from the south. ‘The cage’ is one of the metaphoric expressions of things that confine people or rather things that violate the existence of individuals and as a result hindering success and the use of an individual’s potential to the fullest. Being black in the 1930s and 1940s was a challenge, therefore ‘colorism’ was a barrier to Maya during those parallel times and also Maya addressed some of her notions from her mother who was high-handed. In the book, Maya showed mostly how she was discriminated against for being black at a very young age in the southern town. The autobiography, therefore, shows the challenges that many of the young adult generations faced during those times by using metaphors (Nero 117).
The highest form of discrimination Maya faced was when she was working for a white woman, whom despite knowing her real name refused to call her by it and instead called her Mary. The white woman’s decision to give Maya another name without her consent was an insult in itself to the dignity of Maya and a forceful show of superiority over Maya, therefore, discriminating her in the process. Being that Maya was black, the woman was aware that she had power over her and therefore easily ignored her real name and gave her a name of her liking but what is if Maya was not black? The white woman would have had no reason to call her by nothing else but her real name since she would have considered her an equal due to the shared skin color. Through this experience, Maya transformed the negative experience into a lesson that served to encourage, drive, mold and inspire her future life. Essential knowledge and wisdom were among the motivating ideas which were embedded in her self-reflection.
Literature and Contest
On a day to day basis, there are artistic expressions of the challenges that people face. This can be done through poetry which is an artistic way of expressing individual opinions and feelings. Therefore ‘the cages’ expressions are more relative than absolute. Most of the significant themes used by Maya are fiction; this is through her use of techniques like thematic development, dialogue, and characterization, which are associated with fiction writing. Maya also uses non-fiction in her auto-biography this is because the book was written by on sole writer (Maya), the chronology of events conforms with the structure of a non-fictional theme and also the book contains themes, techniques, and characters. Therefore it is safe to say that the Maya Angelo’s book was based on both fiction and non-fiction themes. The autobiography’s main content was based on the daily experiences of people and the general element of life. Maya Angelo tries to use her life experiences and existence to mirror what is happening in society this is through her opinions, inspirations, feelings, ideas and social realities.
In trying to address the motivation behind ‘why caged birds sing,’ due to the oppression present in the 1930s and 1940s experienced by the black African Americans one could align this with the ‘why’ and understand as a yearning for freedom, freedom of oppression and equality. ‘Caged’ could be the constraints that come as a result of being black which included racism and rape, using Maya’s autobiography this because at a very young age of eight Maya was raped. ‘Birds,’ the use of birds is due to their small nature and considered vulnerability. This could be used to describe the African Americans who were considered inferior to the white people. ‘Sing’ this could be used to describe the opinions that Maya had not only on the cages of racism and rape but also the whole society. Even though Maya with time learned to control her words that were always inside her developed during the time she went mute. It also a fact a song whether it is good or bad cannot be ignored.
The color of an individual’s skin was a parameter used to judge or conclude on someone’s character, therefore, forcing Maya to grow up with a stereotype that was created by her skin color and gender as a woman. Being black was not a problem for Maya since she interacted mostly with people of the same color growing up, as a young adult who was once a sex worker. a cab conductor, activist and also a nightclub dancer just to name a few, she met all sorts of people that were a vital factor in the molding of her opinions of society, this formed a basis for her autobiography.
Maya’s experiences and opinions of people were shaped by the various people she interacted with and also how the society was at the time she was growing up. But Maya’s work was criticized by Linnet, who states that Maya’s opinions and ideologies were an allegory of a feminist, claiming that some of the themes that formed the basis of Maya’s ideas cut across social lines, racial and history of life and not only a specific race. (Xavier 44)
Literature Themes
Themes discussed in the autobiography give a glimpse into Maya Angelo’s life experience from a tender age all the way to maturity. Maya’s character and her view of people and the society were defined by the themes.
In Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she says, “The black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of male prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.” The book has been described as a symbolic description of every African American girl in America. This through a sequence of events that see an African American woman being a victim of an inferiority complex that is accompanied by racism to being able to respond to all this with dignity and a sense of individuality. The identity theme is portrayed through Maya’s understanding of her cultural identity and therefore making her an African American role model. For instance, in the autobiography, Maya realizes that she lives in a society where her beauty is judged by the color of her skin. Rejection by her skin makes her understand that ‘ugly is absolute.’
Racism was also another theme that was covered by the autobiography. The metaphor of the caged bird in the book shows the entrapment of the black people in America. This is evident when Maya’s ‘momma’ had to hide her brother in the gutter to prevent him from being attacked by Ku Klux raiders. The book shows the vile hate for the African American community that was expressed by the white people in south town. The fact that ‘momma’ was fairly wealthy and being able to own a store at the heart of stamps, the white children would not stop hassling Maya’s family. For instance when the ‘powhitetrash’ humiliated ‘momma’ by revealing her pubic hair. ‘momma’s’ existence shows the resilience of the strong black American community in fighting the subversive opinions on racism by the white people at the south town.
As an eight-year-old, Maya was raped which is quite overwhelming at for a child at that age. Maya uses this event to describe the problems that African American people face. Mr. Freeman threatens to kill Bailey who was Maya’s brother, and during Mr. Freeman’s trial Maya lies, and Mr. Freeman is convicted, and when he escapes he is killed, and Maya decides to go mute since she saw her words to be the ‘bringer of death.’ Maya goes on a five-year silence and relates the violation of her body as a burden that she should carry though silence since she feared any word she would utter would result in death. (Cudjoe 84)
Facts Related To Maya Life
Bailey was Maya’s brother whom she truly treasured. This is evident when she runs away from the stamps and cuts all contact with her family except her brother. Both Maya and her brother spend a considerable amount of time together, and she keeps on mentioning her brother in the autobiography. Maya considered her brother a haven that would always protect her since he always stood up for her and tried to protect her always. ‘Momma’ was also very crucial to Maya’s life since she formed some of the notions based on her high-handed opinions and resilience despite the racism that she faced from the ‘powhitetrash.’ Mr. Freeman additionally, was the first man to touch her sexually that might have affected her in the future making her think she is a lesbian which makes her initiate sex with a boy since she thought that being a lesbian meant her hermaphrodite (Emmanuel65). Her strained relationship with her parents also played a very crucial role in her life and autobiography.
Maya’s literacy was essential. This was depicted through her ability to portray the power of both spoken and unspoken words in her autobiography. Her quest for knowledge and literacy is seen as different from the African American stereotype that blacks don’t read. This is also related to effective writing skills. (Hagen 97)
Conclusion
Issues that Maya Angelou addressed in her autobiography were based on the parallel times that oppression and racism was the order of the day. She also goes ahead to address sexuality which is a very crucial subject to the young adults in society to date. This was when she did not know the difference between hermaphrodites and lesbians. Gender inequality which cuts across race and history was covered in the book. This is because year’s later standards of beauty are still being determined by the society, along with the lines of race, size and body shape. Even though Maya’s autobiography was based majorly on her life experience and her interaction with various people, the book remains relevant to date since it addresses issues that people continue to face daily. Truly there is power in spoken and written literacy especially autobiographies like Maya Angelou’s; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Works cited
Braxton, Joanne M., ed. Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged bird sings: A casebook. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1999: Pp.25-67.
Emmanuel, Ima Usen. “Family and the Bildungsroman Tradition in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.” Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research 14.1 (2017): 59-79.
Engel, Steven. “Stamp of Authenticity: Using The Maya Angelou Forever Stamp to Explore Quotation and Authorship.” The CCCC-IP Annual: Top Intellectual Property Developments of 2015 (2016): 12.
Nero, Clarence. “A Discursive Trifecta: Community, Education, and Language in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook (2014): 117.
Walker, Pierre A. “Racial Protest, Identity, Words, and Form in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” College Literature 22.3 (2005): 91-108.
Xavier, Kavitha Karen. “The Defining Impact of Books in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The Journal 15 (2017): 35-46.