I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay PDF

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay...

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Running Head: I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Kimberly Martin 000392128 Mohawk College

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is a novel based on her childhood growing up in the south during the period of segregation of African Americans. Within this novel, we are shown the harsh conditions she grew up in during the 20’s to 50’s within the southern part of America. The segregation and blatant racism were put right in front of us while reading to show just how she was treated as a young black girl. The degree that racism and segregation affects Marguerite as she grows up and influences her perception of herself, throughout the novel, we are shown the horrors she goes through and how exactly they affect her sense of self through many examples of these tortures are, such as; when Maya’s Easter wish is to wake up from her ‘black ugly dream’, her brother is complimented on his skin while she is taunted by their playmates, and the mistreatment Maya receives on her visit to the dentist.

In the first few pages of this book, we already see how the social views of black people have affected Maya as a child. It was always surrounding her that black people were the less valued race because of how they looked. The social stigma against black people, while she was growing up, had poisoned her image of herself and further caused her to have horrible self-esteem throughout the entire book. She has consistently shown the lack of self-confidence due to the ideals that being black was a bad thing. “Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blond, would take the place of the kinky mass that mama wouldn’t let me straighten? My light blue eyes were going to hypnotize them, after all the things they said about “my daddy must have been a Chinaman” …because my eyes were so small and squinty.” (Angelou,1970) Here we see that people have already commented on her biological features, which then forces her to dream that she is just in a terrible

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nightmare and that when she awakens, she will be ‘beautiful’ because she is the stereotypical image of a young white girl with blue eyes and long, straight blond hair She is unable to cope with accepting that she is beautiful as a young black girl due to the social stigma of the time when she grew up. Within the first chapter, we are already shown how racism and segregation influenced Maya’s sense of self.

As we move further into the novel, we learn more about Marguerite and her life, and we also learn more about her older brother, Bailey. We see that they have an inseparable attachment to each other due to their circumstances growing up. We also see that Marguerite (Maya Angelou), envies and idolizes her brother. “Bailey was the greatest person in my world. And the fact that he was my brother, my only brother, and I had no sister to share him with, was such a good fortune that it made me want to live a Christian life just to show God that I was grateful. Where I was big, elbow and grating, he was small, graceful and smooth. When I was described by our playmates as being shit color, he was lauded for his velvet black skin. His hair fell down in black curls, and my head was covered with black steel wool. And yet he loved me.” (Angelou,1970) A second example of how the social stigma, racism, and segregation of black people in this time affected Maya (Johnson) Angelou as she grew up in these harsh times. The comments of adults and young children affected her image of herself. Although she believed she was ugly, for being black, she envies how beautiful her brother is, and this is validated by the comments by the children for saying that he had ‘velvet black skin’. She doesn't react to these comments, however, Bailey does because he loves his sister, and he ends up harming the children for making such rude comments to her.

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Nearing the end of the novel we continue to see this behavior with the community and society’s views and social stigma against the black community/race and the perceptions of them as a whole. As we read on, we learn that Marguerite has developed a toothache, which ends up being two rotted teeth that need to be extracted right away. Usually, as stated by Maya, Momma (her grandmother) and her Uncle Willie, would remove teeth for her and her brother because the dentist that operated on colored people was 25 miles away from where they resided. However, during the great depression of the 20’s-30’s, Maya’s grandmother hand lent money to the closest dentist, who was white, and that he owed her a favor for helping him save him from losing his practice to the failed economy. ““Now, it wasn’t my policy, I ain’t no moneylender, but you stood to lose this building and I tried to help you out.” “it’s been paid, and raising your voice won’t make me change my mind. My policy…” he let go of the door and stepped nearer Momma. The three of us were crowded on the small landing. “Annie, my policy is I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s.”” We are shown the complete disrespect black people face during these times, that they are viewed as disgusting and dirty, and are refused basic human rights of being able to see a doctor, regardless of their race. The dentist, Dr. Lincoln, was assisted by Momma (Maya’s grandmother) but still refuses to operate on Marguerite because she is black. This shows how white people will take from black people and then continue to disrespect them consistently. Maya doesn’t react; however, she is angry because no one would ever use her grandmothers' first name due to the fact that it was a sign of disrespect. However, when this is said, Maya is sent away so that Dentist Lincoln and her grandmother can talk in private, where Maya insinuates how the conversation went as her grandmother being a hero and it is revealed that she forces him to pay her back the interest he owes her and this thus pays for the trip to the dentist that will operate on Maya. Within this chapter, we are still shown the ignorance and the

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blatant racism white people have and how Maya's basic human rights are taken away/ignored due to the fact that she is black, and viewed in a negative light, only making life harsher and unfair and her sense of self is completely damaged as she is continuously belittled.

Throughout this novel, we are exposed as readers to the horrendous experiences Maya Angelou (Marguerite Johnson) dealt with as a child growing up in the south during the times of peak racism and segregation of the black community/race as a whole. These experiences of segregation and racism that Maya experiences as a young girl shape and mold her sense of self and perception of herself through the many examples such as; her Easter wish of waking from her 'black ugly dream', her perception of her brother and their friends’ comments and her mistreatment during the visit to the local dentist.

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Reference:

Angelou, M. (1970). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York, NY: Random House. Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Theme of Identity. Retrieved April 03, 2018, from https://www.shmoop.com/i-know-why-the-caged-birdsings/identity-theme.html Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Theme of Race. Retrieved April 03, 2018, from https://www.shmoop.com/i-know-why-the-caged-birdsings/race-theme.html (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/race-identity-in-i-knowwhy-the-caged-bird-sings.html (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/race-identity-in-i-knowwhy-the-caged-bird-sings.html

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