I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Summer Assignment
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is a moving account of the hardships of a young, black, intellectual woman in the early 1900s. Maya Angelou, or Marguerite Johnson, is a southwestern African-American who grew up in Stamps, Arizona and San Francisco, California in the thirties and forties. Her passage from childhood to adulthood can be regarded as little less than the life of a remarkable normal girl. In this biographical novel, Maya Angelou shares her feelings and beliefs, shows how she has changed over time, gives us vivid images of her world, and presents us with important issues.
One of the strongest influences in Marguerite Johnson’s life was the church. Marguerite attended the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church every Sunday with her Grandmother, Sister Annie Henderson, during her entire stay in Stamps, Arizona. Often the root of all her childhood worries was the guilt of having committed a sin and not being admitted into Heaven. Society, however, was the factor that determined her morality. Though she knew, for example, that it was wrong to lie, she believed it was right for Blacks to take from Whites since they denied Blacks so many things. She always felt that “the needs of a society determine its ethics. (pg. 224)”
The White half of Stamps also had a strong influence on Marguerites beliefs:
"In Stamps, the segregation was so complete that most of the black children didn’t really know what whites looked like. Other than that they were different, to be dreaded, and in that dread was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for, and the ragged against the well dressed. (pg. 25)"
Marguerite’s grandmother owned the only store in the black part of Stamps and Marguerite hated the “powhitetrash” who came in and treated her grandmother as a nobody. Marguerite’s will to defy the unearned superiority of white people was born here and facilitated her advance in her life and career.
This complete confidence to confront white people was not innate, however, and came to her after a series of revelations. Her first revelation was that she was not white and beautiful. She believed she was so until the age of five when the realization struck that she was actually black and plain. Her second revelation came when she had to drive her father’s car (without knowing how), when he was drunk. She had to drive fifty miles back across the Mexican border and back into California. Success in this feat made Marguerite realize that she had the power to accomplish what she set out to do. Her third revelation came when she left her father and went to live with a gang of orphans in a car junkyard. This month spent supporting herself (at fifteen) showed her that she was able to look after herself and that she was responsible. This series of revelations changed her into a capable individual who could really push to get to her goal. This stubbornness helped her push the Market Railway Company into letting her work for them, making her the first black person to work for a tram company.
As she grew into adolescence, Marguerite changed in many other ways. For example, she changed from semi-friendly and talkative to entirely silent and subdued. This dramatic change was a result of being raped by Mr. Freeman at the age of eight. This change wore off after a few years, however, and Marguerite eventually returned to normal.
The biggest change that Marguerite went through happened when she was sixteen. Just before she had her baby, Marguerite could see herself as the caged bird, but had no reason to sing. She believed life for blacks was useless and hopeless. When her son was born, though, she finally saw hope and she remembered that there was a future. This was reason enough to sing. This was her biggest change, going from hopeless to hopeful.
Angelou describes her childhood world vividly, leaving poignant images. Of these images is the description of her grandmother’s personality. Annie was a good, strict mother to Marguerite:
"'Thou shall not be dirty' and 'Thou shall not be impudent' were the two commandments of my Grandmother Henderson upon which hung our total salvation.
Each night in the bitterest winter we were forced to wash faces, arms, necks, legs and feet before going to bed. She used to add… 'wash as far as possible, then wash possible.' (pg. 27)"
Annie had control over her world and the people in it, white or not. This left an impression on Marguerite and set an example.
Another of these images can be seen in the description of Annie’s store:
"Alone and empty in the mornings, it looked like an unopened present from a stranger. Opening the front doors was pulling the ribbon off the unexpected gift…. Whenever I walked into the store in the afternoon, I sensed that it was tired. I alone could hear the slow pulse of its job half done. But just before bedtime, after numerous people had walked in and out, had argued over their bills… or just dropped in “to give Sister Henderson a ‘Hi y’all’” the promise of magic mornings returned to the store and spread itself over the family in washed life waves. (pg. 16)"
One day at The Store seems to mirror the first sixteen years of Marguerite’s life. Her life starts out peaceful and unaffected. Then she goes through many experiences, some good, most not. Finally, just before bedtime, she settles with the knowledge that tomorrow may be a better day.
Another of these strong descriptions is seen in the day that Marguerite goes to her mother because she believes that because she has vulva, she is becoming a lesbian. This particular conversation with her mother, however, reminds the reader that behind her shield of greatness, Marguerite is a normal girl with normal worries. Most of the other events in this novel put Marguerite above the rest and show that she is abler than the average person. This pushes her away and makes her less real. The reader even disconnects, not being able to relate to her challenge.
There are many social issues presented in this novel, most of which are still big issues today. Since Maya Angelou represents many minority groups, this memoir gives us “the other side” of these issues. The biggest issue presented here is discrimination. Marguerite sees discrimination against blacks from whites, against children from adults, against the handicapped from the healthy, and against women from men. Discrimination is wrong. Just because a certain group has strength in numbers, it doesn’t mean that they should keep down those who are different or those who show power to oppose.
The life of a young, black, intellectual woman may not be the easiest, as Marguerite finds out, but there is something that convinces her that, though caged, she should still sing of Freedom. That something is Hope. With her strength and determination, Marguerite was able to survive, succeed, and thrive. Despite the imperfection of her childhood, she pulled through with flying colors. Maya Angelou is a beacon of hope for all future generations.

*cracks up* Aw... How touching. *tear* On, the real though, that was really corny, but a lot of work went into it. It seems to jump disconnectidely from one topic to the other, but it's actually stictly following the blueprint statement (last statement of first paragraph).