Themes in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings free essay sample

1. The memoir opens with a provocative refrain: What you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What do you think this passage says about Ritie’s sense of herself? How does she feel about her place in the world? How does she keep her identity intact? In the novel, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou it basically explains her life growing up. The main character was Maya herself whom wrote the book and she talks about the struggle and pain she had to go through as a child. She explains to us that she is really insecure about her looks and wishes that she was white.The story opens with a provocative refrain: â€Å"What you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This passage right off the top told me that Maya’s sense of herself was that was wasn’t welcome anywhere because she automatically assumed that they looked at her in disgust and that they didn’t want her there which is why she plainly said she wasn’t there to stay. The way that she feels about her place in the world is extremely sad because she believes she should be a blonde white girl with blue eyes.I feel as though that if she can’t accept herself for who she is then no one else will either. The story gives us background information that her grandmother was very loving to her but she constantly sees how bad people she knows are being treated. I think that Maya expects everyone to dislike her for being African-American, so she does too. Maya keeps her identity intact by reminding herself who she is, and never to forget that. She describes her mother as â€Å"a hurricane in its perfect power†. She chooses to describe her mother this way due to the fact she hasn‘t been around most of Mayas life, although she looks up to her mother at the same time. Mayas mother treated her children well, although she never gave Maya a lot of her attention because Maya was always a happy girl, who seemed at peace with the world. But when Mayas mother, Vivian, discovers that her boyfriend molested Maya she kicked him out of her house right away.Vivian then cannot deal with all the trauma that came with the molestation and sends Maya and Bailey back to Stamps. I don’t think that was a very great move, since Maya obviously wasn’t in great condition either and needed her mother. Mayas grandmother on the other hand, still being a great care taker, isn’t much like Mayas mother. She shows that she cares a lot more about her grandchildren and their needs then she does her own. Mayas grandmother has a lot of faith in god. She is well known in Stamps and the residents of Stamps put her on a pedestal.Although the people most important in Mayas life are very different, they both show great love for her. 3. The author writes, â€Å"If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. † What do you make of the author’s portrayal of race? How do Ritie and her family cope with the racial tension that permeates their lives? Teenagers throughout the world always claim to feel like they don’t belong. Of course, everyone calls that just a phase ; as even I went through it. But what could that have been like for a southern black girl back in the day? In â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings† the author Maya Angelou quotes â€Å"If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. †. This quote is a sum up of what Maya felt like in her child hood. As an adult she reminisced about how all her life she has been dealing with the thought of how others saw her and her displacement. A Southern Black girl didn’t belong in the society that she lived in.Her displacement was the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. I felt as though Maya was bringing the razor closer to her as she insulted herself a lot and brought herself down. She made herself believe that she truly didn’t belong in the world because of her appearance and giving in to what people would say about her race. Fortunately Maya and her family coped with all the racial tension in their society that permeated their lives by sticking together no matter what. All throughout it that had a faith in god and no matter what happened to them they kept their heads held high. . Throughout the book, Ritie struggles with feelings that she is â€Å"bad† and sinful†, as her thoughts echo the admonitions of her strict religious upbringing. What does she learn at the end of the memoir about right and wrong? The whole world likes to argue about what is right and wrong. No one can ever seem to decipher what the real meaning is to all of it. But we all seem to have a well enough idea of what it is. Throughout â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou, Maya struggles with all these feelings that she is a bad and sinful person.Her thoughts also echo the admonitions of her strict religious upbringing. Maya was raised to have faith in god by her grandmother of whom she called Momma. Momma was a very well behaved woman and was a good role model to all of her grandchildren. Although someone can have all the guidance in the world, it will always be up to you to take it. Maya went through hard times and some of the things that happened to her were sinful. Such as being molested and raped by her mothers boyfriend. Maya learns a great lesson at the end of the book.By the end of it all, she’s an adult with a kid and she learns that you’re doing right when you’re a good person and you make the right decisions all the time without even having to think about it twice. We all know that sometimes it’s hard to choose between doing the right thing, or the easy thing. But in the end if you really want to be a good person and come out with the best solution then you need to do what is right. Everyone must go through feeling as though they aren’t a good person and this wasn’t an exception to Maya. Although you must always remember to keep trying your best and whatever goes around, comes around. Good or bad. 5. What is the significance of the title? â€Å" I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou has a very great significance in its title. The story is about an African-American girl who felt as though she didn’t belong, who felt as though her people weren’t free. She went through a great deal of trouble along her life only to end the book with her new baby and understanding more than she ever thought she would. The title can have a lot of interpretations to it but I found out the significance of the title from a poem. This poem was written by the same uthor and was titled â€Å"Caged Bird†. In the poem the significance of this title can be found in these lines: â€Å"The caged bird sings, with fearful trill, of the things unknown, but longed still, and a tune is heard, on the distant hill, for the caged birds sings of freedom†. Other poems talk about the theme of why a caged bird would sing. The reason that a caged bird sings is so that it can be heard, like a prayer to heaven ; for the bird to be free. Maya spent her life feeling caged in because of her society and that is the significance in the title of â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings†. 6.What are examples of adversity-for her and other- in Maya Angelou’s story and examples of ways they coped with them? We all have to remember to continue along our path when tough times come. Great examples of these adversities can be found in Maya Angelou’s â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings†. The main character Maya and everyone around her go through real tough times throughout the story. Naming some of the problems are how Maya lost her relationship with her brother, Bailey. Maya also almost got killed by her fathers crazy girlfriend. Maya was raped by her mothers boyfriend and had to go through all the trauma that came with that.She and her brother Bailey had to be unexpectedly raised by their grandmother because their mother Vivian left them. Bailey got kicked out of the house when he got older, and bonded a lot with his father which meant he had to deal with the violent relationship with his girlfriend. Momma had to run a store while taking care of her son who was already grown but had a disability and raise her grandchildren. There were many problems throughout this story and all the characters faced a great deal of personal problems along with the problems that society brought upon them for being African-American.They all coped with the problems by keeping their faith, and looking forward. You can’t always just look back at the problems you have but you need to keep going forward with your life and in the end all should go well. 7. What broader lessons can be learned about life, not just African-American life, in the South? In reality, there are so many lessons that need to be taught in life, but hardly anyone can truly learn them all because no one can experience everything. There are a few lessons that can be taught in the south of North America that everyone can take in and learn from.In Maya Angelou’s â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings† I caught a glimpse of Maya and her families lives when she was younger and lived in the south. The themes of this book really explain the overall lessons taught in the story. One of the main lessons that can be taught in the south is how important equality is. The south was the main part of the United States that still had a big problem with the troubles of slavery and African Americans not being viewed as equally as Caucasians. Racism is a big problem in the world and it’s just not all White and Black.This affects all other races as well just in different parts in the world so the lesson that everyone needs to respect each other and treat each other equally isn’t just about African American life but about life in general. I think a big lesson taught in â€Å"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings† was that over everything you can always remember that your family will always be there. In the story Maya had a great role model figure, her grandmother. Also, Mayas mother (although she isn’t perfect) really cared for her daughter deeply. Many lessons can be taught around the world, but these lessons are very vivid in the south.