In 1969, an autobiography hit bookshelves across the nation, ushering topics such as racism, identity, sexual assault and literacy to the forefront of American culture. Forty-eight years later, the words of Maya Angelou are as relevant today as they were the day they were published. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Angelou’s first autobiography. It would be the work that would raise her image from Ms. Calypso the dancer to the novelist, philosopher and civil rights activists that...
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Born on April 4 1928 in St. Louis Missouri. An author, poet ,civil rights activist, actress and dancer. Maya Angelou was simply impossible to define. She is best known for her critically acclaimed 1969 memoir, āI Know Why the Caged Bird Singsā, which made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman. She fell victim to sexual abuse at the hands of her mothersā boyfriend when she was 9 years old. Which left her completely mute...
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Maya Angelou is a prolific writer who is regarded as women’s poet laureate and her poems are considered as the anthems of African ā Americans. She is not only a poet but also a memorist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, film maker and civil right activist. Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of the twentieth century. She was a very pivotal voice, when it came to issues such as gender and racial equality. According to...
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Do you know why the caged bird sings? Maya Angelou published the book āI Know Why the Caged Bird Singsā in 1970 at the age of 42 after growing up during Segregation in the United States. The essay aims to inform and explain to the audience the importance of graduating. Angelou uses descriptive imagery, foreshadowing, tones, ethos, and pathos to express her feelings about maturing and the emotions about graduating at the time. Angelouās essay is directed towards African Americans...
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In recent history, United States has formed distressed communities which can be traced back to the beginning of the civil rights movement. African American are usually excluded from economic progress and are given less opportunities due to āpervasive segregation, discrimination and the resulting problem of perceptionā (Ajilore, 2019). In larger measure, any response to a situation or event where a āBlackā American is involved, results are determined without justice or evidence. It is the perception that determines the verdict. Netflix...
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Professor Joseph Campbell states āa hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.ā The āmonomythā created by Campbell is a common pattern that is found in great mythical heroes. Maya Angelou is an example how everyday people can follow Professor Campbellās monomyth . Throughout Angelouās autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she follows the steps of the Separation, the Abyss, and the Return. In further details, Professor Joseph Campbell monomyth begins...
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The history of African-Americans begins with slavery. African people were first brought to British North America as indentured servants in 1619, where they were not recognized as citizens, rather, as a commodity. The laws enacted at the time ensured the continuation of the restrictive social order, which was based on a racial hierarchy which dictated that black people were born into servitude. Hence, those born into slavery were not given the same legal, economic or social status as their white...
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Maya Angelou was a writer who writes about and records all her enjoyable experiences. Sheās a writer who went through a traumatic event that led her to becoming almost completely mute. Maya is best-known as a writer and for her numerous books. Although born in St. Louis, Angelou spent much of her childhood in the care of her paternal grandmother in rural Stamps, Arkansas. When she was not yet eight years old, she was raped by her motherās boyfriend and...
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Explore the representation of race in at least two texts from the course. āThe caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.ā (Angelou:33) How does a populous minority become so segregated from the other that they cannot even interact with one another? Under systematic racism, discrimination menaces minorities every day, the Jim Crow Laws were set in 1877...
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āWouldnāt they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blonde, would take the place of the kinky mass that Momma wouldnāt let me straighten?ā (4) A theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Angelouās identity struggle as a black female. During this time in the country, colorism and a European standard taught that having black features was not only bad, but made a...
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