The reasons listed by the censors for banning I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings do not explain the widespread controversy around the novel. There is reason to believe that the question of the novel is in its poignant portrayal of race relations. This explains why the novel has been most controversial in the South, where racial tension is historically worst, and where the novel is partially set. Therefore, understanding the blatant and subtle effects of racism on the young Marguerite help explain the censorship controversy, and the person she became.
One of the earliest examples of race relations in the book symbolizes the strict dichotomy of opportunity for black and white children. On the second page, Marguerite explains how she wished that she would wake up in a white world, with blond hair, blue eyes, and she would shudder from the nightmare of being black. Thus, from the beginning of the book, race relations were one of the major themes.
Maya Angelou also shows the effect of oppression on the black people, and that impact on her as a child. One early example occurred when the po’ white trash children confronted Mama in front of the store. They were represented as clownish, dirty, and rather silly. On the other hand, Mama simply stood like a rock and sang the Gospel. Her beauty of soul versus their disgusting antics creates a powerful scene about the nature of the oppressed and the oppressor. Marguerite, meanwhile, lies crouched behind the screen in agony at the inability of her class to command respect simply because of their color. Then, as the scene progresses, she understands that in spite of the disparity of power between the po’white trash and M…
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It is interesting to note the poetical nature of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Her perspective of a young girl is flawless. One truly sees the events through the eyes of a young girl. For example, the molestation scenes are depicted simply and innocently, which bothers one’s consciousness.
Another aspect of the book is the way in which the chapters are laid out. At the beginning of each chapter, Maya introduces a topic, discusses it, and then provides resolution. Each chapter is a short story by itself, but they also relate together. The chapters build on each other, and the end provides resolution to the common threads of the book. The end, however, also is a new beginning for Marguerite. It is the perfect ending to a profound and moving novel.
Works Cited:
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: Cages
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: Cages
Maya Angelou wrote an amazing and entertaining autobiography titled I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, about her hard life growing up as a black girl from the South. Among the hardships are things known as “cages” as stated as a metaphor from Paul Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy.” “Cages” are things that keep people from succeeding in life and being everything they want to be. Some of Maya Angelou’s cages include being black in the 1940’s and her overbearing grandmother. In my life, a “cage” is my young age, this causes problems with adults.
A major “cage” from Maya Angelou’s youth was that she was black in a prejudice southern town. Maya has recounted in her book the times when she was discriminated against. When she was working for a white woman named Mrs. Viola Cullinan, Mrs. Cullinan started calling her Mary, “That’s [Margaret] too
long. She’s Mary from now on.”(pp.91) One of the most important aspects of a person is their name. It is a great insult for someone to change your name, without your consent. If Maya was white Mrs. Cullinan would not have changed her name and she did it only because of her racist friends and attitudes. Even some of the white adults who supposedly supported her had hidden their racist messages in seemingly nice speeches. Maya conveys the words of Mr. Edward Donleavy, one of the people in the masquerade, “The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguins, and our boys (the girls weren’t even in on it) would try to be Jesse Owenses and Joe Lousises.”(pp.151) Maya was forced to listen to Mr. Donleavy’s stereotypes of how white children could be thinkers and black children can only be athletes.
What was supposed to be an encouraging speech, which Mr. Donleavy probably thought was sincere, turned out to be just another racist and stereotypical speech. Perhaps it was not so much Mr. Donleavy’s fault, because he was trying to be nice, but more of his upbringing. Racism was the most prominent of Maya’s “cages” and it is probably due to the society and ignorant ideas.
The second major cage of Maya Angelou was that she has a very strict, religious, and overbearing grandmother. It is important that a child’s guardian be caring and strict but that guardian should not be too strict.