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Maya Angelou was an author, actress, dancer, poet, and civil rights activist. Opal Moore explains her work as “providing insight into American history and culture”(Telgen). This paper is about Maya Angelou, her greatest work “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”.
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson. She was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. When Marguerite was three and her older brother Bailey was four their parents Bailey and Vivian Baxter divorced. The kids were later sent to live with their grandmother Annie Henderson in Stamps, Arkansas (Johnson 17). They grew up helping their grandmother who they called momma in her country store. She raised the kids to be generous, work hard, and stay true to God. When Marguerite was eight years old her and her brother went to live with their mother in San Francisco. There she met her mother’s boyfriend Mr. Freeman who took advantage of Marguerite and raped her. She was later forced to testify against Mr. Freeman in court. While in court she lied about him touching her two previous times. Mr. Freeman was later let go and not sentenced. After his release he was kicked to death by Marguerite’s uncles. She felt responsible for his death and felt so guilty that she stopped talking (Johnson19). She and her brother were later sent back to Stamps to live with their grandmother again. In an interview she said she thought it was because “ the St. Louis family just got fed up with my grim presence”. After five years of not talking she met Mrs. Flowers and started reading with her. Mrs. Flowers taught her how important communicating and self worth were. When she was fourteen she dropped out of school for a few years. She later went back to school when she was sixteen and pregnant with her son. She graduated from Mission High Schools Summer School. She gave birth to a boy in 1945 who she named Guy (Phenomenal).
After high school Marguerite moved to San Francisco to study dance at the California Labor School on a scholarship. She later became a dancer at a nightclub in San Diego. It was then she decided to change her name to Maya Angelou. She worked many jobs including a cocktail waitress, prostitute, madame, cook, and dancer (Angelou). It was only later in life that she discovered that she wanted to start writing (Editors). She started writing and acting during the 1950s. She got her first part in the opera Porgy and Bess. She also met Anastasios Angelopulos, a Greek soldier and married him in 1952. Their marriage didn’t last very long as a few years later they got a divorce before she toured with the opera’s theatrical company in 1554 and 1955 (Phenomenal). She toured twenty two countries with the opera. She became fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Fanti a west African language (Academy). After her tour ended she moved to New York to write and act in off broadway productions. She also joined the Harlem writers guild in 1958. While in New York she met Vusumzi Make, a South African civil rights activist. In 1960 Maya, Vusumzi, and her son all moved to Cairo, Egypt. While in Cairo Maya became the editor of the newspaper The Arab Observer. She also wrote articles for The Ghanaian Times while in Ghana, Egypt. Maya also became the assistant administrator at the University of Ghana for the music and drama programs (Encyclopedia). She moved back to the United States in 1964 after she met Malcom X to help him with his organization “ Revolution Returnees” (Maya). The organization did not last very long as a year later in 1965 Malcom X was assassinated. She later met Martin Luther King Jr., when she was moved by one of his speeches. He asked her to become the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. They became such good friends that when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, Maya’s fortieth birthday she stopped celebrating her birthday (Williamson). While working for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1970 she published her first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Phenomenal).
Maya Angelou won many awards and recognition for her works in her lifetime (Phenomenal). In the 1970s she was appointed Bicentennial Commision by President Gerald Ford. She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize award in 1970 for Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water Fore I Diiie. In 1970 she was nominated for the National Book Award for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was nominated for a Tony in 1973 for her part in Look Away. She Became a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar in Italy in 1975. She earned many honorary degrees from Smith College and Mills College in 1975. She also got honorary degrees from Lawrence University in 1976 and Wake Forest University in 1977. Also in 1977 she was nominated for another Tony for best supporting actress for her role in the production Roots. In 1983 she was named one of the top 100 influential women. In 1987 she was awarded the North Carolina award in literature by Wake Forest University for all of her literary works (Encyclopedia). She won the Audience Choice Award from the Chicago International Film Festival in 1998. She received the NAACP Image Award for nonfiction for her cookbook she published in 2005 and her book Letter to My Daughter. She also wrote the first nonfiction best seller by a black woman.
Her greatest work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings begins with Maya and her brother Bailey on their way to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas after their parents divorce. They spent their days going to church, school, and helping in their grandmothers country store. While living in Stamps Maya experiences quite a lot of racism which causes her to wish she was the “perfect white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes”. When Maya was eight years old her father came to pick her and bailey up to take them to live with their mother and her boyfriend in San Francisco. Her and her brother both adjusted very well to the city until her mother’s boyfriend raped eight year old Maya. Once her mother found out they went to the police. During the trial Maya lied about him touching her two previous times. Because of her lie her mother’s now ex boyfriend was not sentenced and was set free. Although it was never proved it was thought that after he was set free Maya’s uncles murdered the man by kicking him to death. After Maya hears he was murdered she began to think it was her fault and stopped talking. After she stopped talking Maya and her brother are both sent back to Stamps. She spent the next five years not talking until she met Mrs. Flowers who helped her see that it was not her fault and helped her start talking again. She is also partly responsible for Maya’s love of literature. Mrs. Flowers also helped her begin to like who she was and made her proud to be black. As World War II starts their grandmother takes Maya and Bailey back to live with their mother again. Once they get to their mother they find out she has married another man who Maya calls Daddy Clidell. Just as Maya and Bailey were starting to adjust to life in the city again Maya’s biological father shows up and asks her to come on a trip with him. Maya agrees and drops out of school to go with him. During their trip to southern California her father’s girlfriend cuts her during a fight. She then decides to go back home. Once she arrives home she goes back to school. She also finds out that her mother and brother had been fighting and her brother has moved out to join the merchant marines. She begins to look for a job and becomes the first black conductorette on the street cars. During her senior year of high school she seduces one of the neighborhood boys and becomes pregnant. She decides to keep her pregnancy a secret to finish school. After she graduates she has her baby boy. Her mother takes care of him for the first three weeks because Maya is scared. The book ends with her being forced to hold her son and beginning to take care of him (Telgen).
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings takes place in Stamps, Arkansas where she lives with her grandmother. Although a lot of the story takes place in Stamps, part of it also takes place in San Francisco, California where she lives with her mother. It takes place in the 1930s – 1950s (Spark).
There are many characters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The main character is Marguerite Johnson also known as Maya Angelou. She is a black girl who went through many hardships and wished she was a blue eyed, blonde haired white girl. She is an insecure girl who wanted to be white until later when she learned to love herself. Bailey Johnson Sr. was Bailey and Maya’s father. He left their mother when Maya was three years old. He was barely ever around and allowed his mother to take care of his children. Vivian Baxter Bailey was Maya and Bailey’s mother. She left Maya and her brother with their grandmother after her divorce with their father.
She was a smart and loving mother who always listened to her children. Vivian was married to a Daddy Clidell who was a businessman and Maya and Bailey’s first real father figure.
Bailey Johnson Jr. was Maya’s brother who she considered her best friend. He was considered a troublemaker who moved out when he was sixteen. Another main character in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was Annie Henderson. Maya and Bailey called her momma. She was Maya and Bailey’s paternal grandmother. She raised the siblings in Stamps, Arkansas. She was a very generous woman known for lending money to whoever needed it during the great depression. Her main focuses were the kids, her country store, and God. The final character in the book is Mrs. Flowers. She was a black woman who lived in Stamps who helped Maya begin to talk again after she was raped. She teaches Maya literal and formal customs (Telgen).
One of the main themes in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is racism. The book follows Maya’s experiences with racism. While at the dentist for a toothache she was told by a white dentist that he “ would rather stick my hand into a dogs mouth than in a n*gger’s”. Living in Stamps taught her that nothing was going to be handed to her because of her skin color and she had to make her own way by working hard. The book also talks about black women’s reputations as unfeminine and pushy. It talks about the lynchings in Stamps. Another big theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is coming of age. It follows Maya as she grows up and figures out who she is and what she wants to do in her life. It follows her as she comes out of her shell and becomes proud and embraces who she is (Telgen).
Maya Angelou has a very unique style of writing. She makes her writing relatable to her readers. She often uses lyrics from songs and quotes from poems that are important to her (Telgen).
She uses first person point of view to tell her story.
Many people had a lot of great things to say about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Edward E. Eller states that “she celebrates the endurance and triumph of the individual over adversity”. He also talks about how even though the book is about her life she makes it relatable to her readers. The last thing he says about Maya Angelou is that “ she shows us we can do more than endure, we can survive” (Telgen).
Another critic to write about Maya Angelou was Myra K. McMurry. McMurry talks about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and how “ it not an exorcism or escape from the past, but a transmutation of that past. She also states that Angelou “ learned to survive in the cage she was born into”.
Opal Moore was another critic to review I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She says “ it provides a kind of insight into american history and culture”. Moore also stated that it is a “ positive reading for young people” and that “ it is an affirmation; it promises that life, if we have the courage to live it, will be worth struggle”.
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