Maya Angelou narrates the story of her childhood afflicted with traumatic events such as rape and racism among the black community. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the author’s first autobiography and tells a story of survival in a harsh world. Despite the challenges and barriers, she faced as a black woman, Angelou defied the system and proclaimed why the caged bird will still sing.
The Story
Marguerite was three years old when she and her older brother, Bailey, four years old, arrived in a musty town to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, whom they call Momma, was their paternal grandmother who ran the Wm. Johnson General Merchandise Store, the only store in the central black territory of the town.
Their parents just got divorced and their father shipped the children back to his home. A porter was in charge of their welfare – but Marguerite, remembered nothing from their trip, except for the other Negro passengers who pitied them and gave the children chicken and potato salad. She recounts what she saw in the store daily. Marguerite enjoyed literature while she is in Stamps and declared Shakespeare to be her first love.
She was introduced to Uncle Willie, the son of Mrs. Henderson, who had been crippled since he was a child. The author claims he must have been tired of his disability and blamed himself for it. Marguerite shares that Uncle Willie would hear the children testify to the Lafayette County Training Schools and threaten them against the dull red stove if they hesitate or made a mistake.
Marguerite reveals what she loved doing in working in the store like weighing a half pound of flour seemed to kindle a simple adventure for her. She takes pleasure in her job and would punish herself when she did something wrong in the measurements such as no silver-wrapped chocolate kisses and pineapples. Marguerite accounted for the visit of Mr. Steward, the past sheriff of Stamps, to warn Uncle Willie to better lay low tonight because “a crazy nigger messed with a white lady today.” Mr. Steward told them that some of the boys will be coming over due to the incident. The author tells how they hid Uncle Willie by the vegetables and how he moans all through the night as if he had been guilty of a heinous crime.
Marguerite describes their neighbor, Mr. McElroy, who sells patent medicines. He would remain a mystery in the author’s childhood. Bailey, Marguerite tells, was the greatest person in her world and would protect her when adults poke fun at her and said unkind things to her. Marguerite recalls the segregation of blacks and whites from their town – “In Stamps, segregation was so complete that most black children didn’t really know what whites looked like.”
Mrs. Henderson teaches the children hygiene and manners, saying, “Thou shalt not be dirty,” and “Thou shalt not be impudent.” Cleanliness was habits important to the family. But these customary laws are foreign to the powhitetrash children who live on Mrs. Henderson’s farmland land behind the school. They order Uncle Willie and Momma to the author’s despair. On a summer morning, Marguerite has just completed sweeping the yard when the powhitetrash approached the store. They laughed and poked fun at her, but Mrs. Henderson just sang hymns until they got tired taunting Momma. Marguerite was weeping at the sorry sordid state. As the potwhitetrash children left, Momma said goodbye to each girl by name and call even one of them “Miz.”
The visits of the Reverend Howard Thomas, a presiding elder, to the home of Mrs. Henderson, had been a bane to the author’s life. Marguerite detailed the humorous events happening in the church and how they got beaten over the word, “Preach it.” The children never liked the thought of Reverend Thomas visiting because he takes the best parts of the chicken at dinner. During one church service, Reverend Thomas visited Reverend Taylor’s church, and Sister Monroe “gets the spirit.” She screamed, “Preach it!” to Reverend Taylor, and Deacon Jackson and Sister Willson tried to control Sister Monroe.
Sister Monroe attacked Reverend Thomas and sent his teeth flying out. Marguerite and Bailey burst with laughter and Uncle Willie took them outside to give a good whipping. Bailey tried getting Marguerite to laugh again by saying, “Preach it!” But, she would hit him as hard as she could and cried.
Marguerite told the readers that Momma married three times —Mr. Johnson, who left her at the turn of the century; Mr. Henderson, who Marguerite knew nothing about; and, Mr. Murphy, who the author saw fleeing once. People spoke of her grandmother as a good-looking woman and in church, where she‘s called to sing, a huge, rough sound would pour over the listeners. The author questioned the thought that Momma was the only Negro woman referred to as Mrs. Marguerite said there was once an incident that Mrs. Henderson took a refugee to her store. The judge asked for Mrs. Henderson, and when she arrived, the other whites laughed at her presence. The judge made a gaffe of calling a black woman, Mrs.
Marguerite describes the caste system in Stamps, Arkansas, especially during the Depression in the 1930s. The incident hit the white folks at Stamps with cyclonic impact, she thought. She thought of the actions the people of Stamps, Mrs. Henderson, and the welfare agencies who gave food to poor families, whether they’re black or white. She describes Momma transacts business at the store worth dollars in trade.
Residents exchanged unwanted food for sugar, spice, coal, or oil. She and Bailey knew they were the only children in the town proper who ate powdered eggs and drank powdered milk. Marguerite also tells about the Christmas gifts that arrive from their parents. They picture them in California eating oranges without their children. It was anguish that comes after opening their presents when they question why their parents left and had sent them away.
When Maya turned eight, their father arrived in Stamps and took the children to Missouri, instead of California, to live with their mother, Vivian, in St. Louis. Vivian was beautiful and Marguerite and bailey fall in love with her. She works in gambling parlors and introduced the children of their extended family – their other grandmother and three ill-natured brothers. The children got to live with their mother and her live-in boyfriend, Mr. Freeman who sexually molested Marguerite one morning.
She was stunned to muteness. Mr. Freeman threatened to kill her brother if she told them, which further scared Marguerite more into silence. After abusing Marguerite one day, the child hides her underwear beneath the mattress, which was discovered later by her mother and brother.
Mr. Freeman was arrested and is on a trial. However, Marguerite lied and says no one touched her because she felt she had to. One day, she heard the news that Mr. Freeman was beaten to death, and felt guilty about it. She stopped talking to everyone except her brother Bailey. The family accepted this silence as a trauma with the child had faced. However, they got irritated by it and see to Marguerite’s silence as disrespectful. After a few months, the children were sent back to Stamps to their grandmother, because of Marguerite’s silence.
Momma introduced Marguerite to Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a kind who encourages the child to read books and poetry out loud to help her talk again. She invited Marguerite to her house and talked about how verbal language is important, despite Marguerite gaining good grades at school. Mrs. Flowers sent Marguerite some books at home to practice reading.
It was also back at Stamps where Marguerite experiences the abuse of racism and the strength of the back people. At 10 years old, she worked for an anti-black woman named Mrs. Cullinan. She called Marguerite by her name, and resorts to name her, “Mary.” Marguerite found this insulting and dropped some china dish wares to make her point. While Marguerite got fired from her job, Mrs. Cullinan started calling her by her real name.
Other racist incidents happen when Marguerite got cavities and Momma had to take her to the only dental clinic in town, owned by Dr. Lincoln, a white man. He told the child that he’d rather placed his hand in a dog’s mouth than on a Negro’s mouth. Momma took Marguerite outside to talk quietly to Dr. Lincoln, but to no avail. Momma took Marguerite to a black doctor in Texarkana.
When Marguerite graduated from 8th grade, the school’s superintendent, Mr. Edward Donleavy gave a speech that white folks are given better opportunities while black boys managed to be good in sports and became athletes. When Henry Reed got to say his class speech, he sang the Negro National Anthem, which was banned in public.
Marguerite felt the spirit of community and the strength of black people when they sang the anthem. During those years, she attends a church where the priest subtly sermon the white supremacy and hypocrisy. She went on to tell the story of how their store is crammed when a sporting event happened with heavyweight championship boxing match Joe Louis emerged victorious over a white man.
Over the months in Stamps, Marguerite made a friend named Louise and Bailey met a girl named Joyce who left him over a railroad porter. This breakup ended with Bailey become mean towards Marguerite.
The final straw of racism happened when Bailey saw a dead, rotting corpse of a black man, scooped out of a pond. Bailey saw a white man smiling over the body which disturbed Bailey. Momma and Uncle Willie decided to send the children to live with their mother over how things were in Stamps.
Marguerite was anxious about settling and seeing their mother again. But, when they met her, she made Momma and Maya feel welcomed in Los Angeles. The children lived with their mother in safe comfort. They settled in an apartment in Oakland with their extended family. When World War II came, Marguerite and her brother stayed in San Francisco.
Vivian married Daddy Clidell, who became Marguerite’s first known father. The family moved to San Francisco. While Marguerite liked the neighborhood and her time there, racism still exists.
Her transfer to George Washington High School was boggling as there are only three black students in the school. However, her time with Miss Kirwin was a memorable one because she treated Marguerite without bias. Marguerite also shared how she took dance and drama classes.
Marguerite talked about Daddy Clidell, and how he introduced her to different personalities in town. She felt empowered when he told her that blacks can win out over whites.
One day, Marguerite decided to visit her biological father in Southern California over the summer. She met her father’s girlfriend, Dolores who took a disliking towards her. When her father decides to go to Mexico with Marguerite, Dolores became angry and jealous. Marguerite had a good time until her father got drunk. She decided to leave town. Marguerite doesn’t know how to drive and ran into the car in front of her. She jolted her father up to have him drive them home by the mountain.
Dolores was mad and argued with Bailey Sr., that she did not like Marguerite and wanted her out if they do get married. Bailey Sr. stormed out and Marguerite felt the need to talk to Dolores. But, Dolores insulted Marguerite’s mother, so [Marguerite] slapped her. Dolores wounded the child who fled to protect herself. When her father found her, he drove to a friend who was a nurse to take care of Marguerite. But, Marguerite ran away downtown, thinking her father would want her to disappear after the incident.
Marguerite spent an evening in a junkyard car ends up living with the kids there for a month. She went home afterward in San Francisco, without telling her mother what transpired that summer. When she returned home, she’s more confident and self-independent. She decided to get a job on streetcars. At 15 years old, Marguerite became the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco.
It was also these years when Marguerite thought she’s a lesbian after reading the lesbian novel, The Well of Loneliness (1928) by Radclyffe Hall. But in truth, she doesn’t know what a lesbian was and thought she was one. She confided to her mother who reassured her of her sexuality. Marguerite got a boyfriend and asked her neighbor to have intercourse with her. Weeks later, she found out that she’s pregnant and decided to keep this as a secret to her mother and stepfather.
She kept this secret until she graduated from high school. Only then was she able to tell her parents who were fully supportive of her situation. When the baby was born, Marguerite is told that she’ll be a good mother.
My reviews and analisys
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the autobiography and voice of Marguerite Johnson, whom we all know as Maya Angelou. Readers are greeted with Marguerite’s arrival in Stamps, Arkansas, and to her self-assurance as a mother to her son. The story is a reflection of racial segregation and discrimination against the blacks. Maya Angelou captured the pain and rage of Black Americans who dream of liberty and equality.
Even with vivid imagery against a social realism backdrop, Angelou described her early years complemented with historical facts. For instance, the language used in Stamps is directly proportional to Southerners during the Great Depression. Even the class system among the black community at Stamps was weaved with narratives when she mentioned about Black Americans as cotton pickers, or how her Uncle Willie and Momma became the butt of jokes of white children as introduced to us in Chapter 2 and 5. But Angelou wrote the dignity Momma as she refuses to react to powhitetrash children who mocked her.
Angelou mentioned in Chapter 4 that she can’t think of white folks as people. She goes on writing, “People were those who lived on my side of town. I didn’t like them all, or, in fact, any of them very much, but they were people. These others . . . weren’t considered folks. They were white folks.” Stamps is fully segregated and true to its cultural and historical context, even the black children didn’t know what white folks are. These incidents were carefully penned by Angelou.
The theme of maturation, racism, and discrimination has been jotted down in extent. From the summary and analysis, the reader takes into the eyes of someone young who lived in the segregated world of Stamps.
My analysis
Angelou used various literary devices to depict racism, caste system, and the progressiveness of the novel according to the author’s maturation. For instance, scenes, thoughts, feelings, environment, and reactions are evident in how Angelou told the narrative to audiences.
Perhaps the most famous one is the title itself, where the caged bird represents the African Americans in their plight against white folks. But, the caged bird sings, as Angelou accepted the fact that she’s black but can still succeed in a world filled with hatred against African Americans. One example of the author’s persistence is when she dropped a ware when Mrs. Cullinan refused to call her by name. Another was when she looked for a job and ended up becoming the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Through Miss Kirwin and Daddy Cidell, she learned to be more empowered and confident of her color as she takes part in dance and drama classes, and her place at their San Francisco neighborhood.
Some internal criticism over the text was when Angelou uses personification, to give inanimate objects a vibrant personality. For example, Stamp, California, or the junkyard held a special distinctive persona to make the reader feel the vibe it’s giving. The author uses a lot of connotation such as in the case of the town, where the writer penned it as though it was “as a real mother embraces a stranger’s child.”
Imagery is strong when they’re on Stamps, especially around the store and the workers in the area. For instance, “The people dragged, rather than their empty cotton sacks. No matter how much they had picked, it wasn’t enough.” It shows how hopeless were the blacks during those periodic years.
The tone of the novel is progressive as readers take into the author’s maturation throughout the years. For instance, prior to reading the novel, we’re introduced to Marguerite a child who ran from the service and wet herself. The author had a poor self-concept and found it hard to accept herself. She felt so inferior and struggled to accept herself and her body. This concept was evident when she compared herself to white girls and on the story – to how beautiful her mother was. While the years have not been kind, Angelou developed a keen sense of strength and confidence to take matters to her own decisions.
For instance, Marguerite is seen as a rival by Dolores and stood up when the girlfriend lashes out against her mother. According to Angelou, “At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.”
The theme maturation is present unto the final chapter as we see Marguerite becoming more confident when takes care of her baby. “No one had bought him for me. No one had helped me endure the sickly gray months.” It’s clear that even the reader is left with a strong woman ready to tackle the world and its entire shambles.
But Angelou’s use narratives and imagery do wash away the reality of hurt or make up to sound stylish. It creates emotions, drama, and force that propel the reader to take part in her journey. In fact, it’s honest. The ability to relay this info to the reader, was a result of her strength and acceptance as a black American woman.
Contributions
Criticism of racial discrimination was brought by Maya Angelou, who considers herself as a Black American female writer. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” shows readers that the American dream isn’t shared with the blacks. Her insight over racial discrimination impacted the community strong black women who have preceded her and have survived the similar trials of youth that she is going through.
Because of this, the novel also became a feminist statement where black women suffer more prejudiced than their male counterparts. For instance, when Angelou graduated in 8th grade, the school’s superintendent made a notion that at least black boys become athletes, wherein the females were displaced and left in household duties to serve masters. What’s more, it serves as a discussion of abuse in connection to a larger theme of racism, oppression, and discrimination of women in the autobiography.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is full of insights into the black community in the 1930s and over the great depression. Blacks took employment as farmers, servants, and couriers which are portrayed by the author in the first chapter of the story. They are even barred from voting, while that itself is illegal. White folks in political and judiciary systems restrict their voting rights.
In the field of education, the author points out how literature and education serve as a valuable endeavor against oppression. For instance, education made it possible for Marguerite to have finer things in life. Out of literature, it allowed her to voice out her silence after she was sexually abused by her mother’s then live-in-partner. Through education, she formed confidence enough to join drama and dance. Overall, it pushed the author to take an interesting life and careers for her. Meanwhile, the various locations of the book lets the author and reader acquire diversified knowledge on culture which highlights how the author adapts to her surroundings.
The literature itself brings revelations over unprecedented shocks of the black community. The novel is marvelous for pointing these issues of community experiences through a black woman who gave a voice to the black community. Even today, organizations in the US pushed for books created by personas in color to give a channel for those experiencing racial discrimination.
Education then was shaped by schools with personal interest, segregating blacks from whites attending and living within the neighborhood. Desegregation was pushed until it was peacefully done. However, some schools and housing discrimination persist, although subtly.
While today’s world is not much rampant on racism, we can still hear the news over the television of blacks treated unjustly over the law. Likewise, girls experience what Marguerite wishes of waking up having white skin and straight hair. Social media paranoia over white people and their good looks boosts the pervasiveness of racism until today.
The ubiquitous use of social media has created easy access between nations for verbal abuse much to the indignity of the blacks. It’s a derisory manner given that the people’s plight is aired on television and social media, only for the world to ridicule even more so. The advancement of technology did little to address racism, and the black race, are once again in the spotlight of denigrating discrimination. In fact, it spurred another channel and approach for white supremacy and crippled elitists to launch attacks on the black race especially during US President Donald Trump’s regime. The indignity of the black race starts from its own people. Unless they can stand up like how Maya Angelou started, then hope can be attainable. Readers come to share black pride among the characters, especially, Momma, Bailey, Uncle Willie, Vivian, and Daddy Clidell.
