I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: A Literary Analysis

By definition, freedom is essentially the right to choose ;by action, it is something wanted but not always achieved .Freedom is the oxygen of the soul (Mashe Dayon ) and it seems to be feigned for and more important to those whom freedom is denied. This is shown in both literary works”The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass “and “Why the Caged Bird Sings”. From both of Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou’s writing it(freedom) is important and longed for ,but how the depravity of it affects the enslaved is where Douglass and Angelou deviate from their similarities. In the piece “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” ,Frederick talks about the hardship and toil he’d gone through and spoke mostly upon the effort he put in the search for freedom ,from hiding books for mental freedom and hiding himself `for physical freedom ,HE shows more tenacity than we,who have freedom ourselves who don’t have much limitation and yet do

Throughout this autobiography, Frederick Douglass reaches out to his readers to be compassionate to slaves, and persuades them using rhetorical devices when recounting his life's story. He uses striking imagery describing the pain his body endures in order to show how dehumanized slaves are and make their pain tangible to his northern audience, as well as builds his credibility to the readers by bringing up facts and stories of his first hand experience through life as a slave, while also gaining their sympathy. Exploiting the abuse of slaves, Frederick Douglass uses imagery of the interactions between his owner and his aunt, Hester, to enlighten and horrify readers about how these people were dehumanized by their owners and environment, and Douglass desires readers to sympathize.

Knowing is good, but knowing all is better. Based on an actual incident, Gary Paulsen's book Nightjohn showcases this life lesson. In the story young Sarny, a slave, is taught to read and write by a fellow slave, John. She knows that as a slave that reading is dangerous. But she takes that chance, because she knows wisdom is sharper than any weapon.

John’s passion to pursue his dream was too strong, and it was becoming evident to his parents that he was no longer happy with his mundane life on a farm. Through years of conflict between William and his son, William reluctantly gave way and allowed his son to migrate to the city; he did this in belief that, if he himself could not live his dream, maybe he could live it through his

One of this week’s readings focused on Ch. 5, “Caged Birds,” in Professor Lytle Hernandez’s book City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965, and this chapter was particularly interesting because it further explained the development of immigration control in the United States. As a continuation from the last chapter, there was a huge emphasis in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act of 1892. This essentially prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States, as well as eventually requiring these people to comply with regulations. “Caged Birds” encapsulates the events afterwards, as the book heads well into the early-1900’s. The disenfranchisement of immigrants develops towards further exclusivity because “[by] 1917, Congress had banned all Asian immigration to the Unites States and also categorically prohibited all prostitutes, convicts, anarchists, epileptics, ‘lunatics,’ ‘

Friends and the Future Becoming friends with someone can definitely have its benefits later in life. Real friends will sacrifice anything for someone, even if it happens to be illegal. In NightJohn, by Gary Paulsen, readers learn that the friendships one makes today, can help them in the future. First of all, after Sarny was writing the word “BAG” all over in the dirt and Waller wanted to punish Mammy for it, John sacrificed himself for her. He said, “‘Let her be.

The caged bird is trapped and cant get free from the bars. But with the free bird it is able to go anywhere it wants. The free bird could be considered as her and her brother because they were left as little kids at the train station to find their way to their destination. Sympathy inspired the other poem by talking about the caged bird and comparing it to the free bird. One example

I Think this because in stanza three it says ¨The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown¨. This line means that the person being spoken about (the bird) is afraid of what his/her future may hold. I also believe this poem is about fearing what you don't know because in stanza 5 it says ¨His wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing¨. This line is saying that the person is afraid of the future and won't try new things. I believe Mother to son by langston hughes is about is about being afraid of the unknown.

The Harlem Renaissance For African Americans during the early 1900’s was a scary place. . People were filled with racism and hate towards those who are black. Ever thought of how much power a group of people have if they all unite for a similar purpose? The Harlem Renaissance shows exactly that.

The bird also symbolizes how people go too far with the amount of power they have. The bird has clipped wings, is trapped in a cage, and its feet are tied up, which means that the bird has no escape. The bird has no freedom and has no way to escape, because it cannot walk or run. Since the bird is being abused and has no power, it is traumatized and explains how its life is like a nightmare. In the text, it states, “His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” (Angelou paragraph 5).

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Tom ran for it even though he knew there were high risks of him being killed, which shows how the caged bird in the poem “Caged Bird” is much like him. In the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, the caged bird is compared and contrasted to a free bird and by examining the circumstances of Tom Robinson’s life, I say that he is very much like the caged bird. For instance, in stanza two it’s stated “His wings are clipped and/ His feet are tied/ So he opens his throat to sing.”

His poem Sympathy is just one example of how he felt trapped like a caged bird in his life. Even though the Civil War was over, African Americans still did not have as many privileges and opportunities as most White people had. Most of Dunbar’s writing showed his perspective of life and the struggles that came with it. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 and suffered a hard childhood that later on affected her writing. When she was eight years old, Maya was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend.

Caged Bird both share a very common theme; segregation, slavery, and imprisonment. According to the poem Sympathy, “Till its blood is red on the cruel bar… I know why he beats his wings.” And from the poem Caged Bird, “…His bars of rage…so he opens his throat to sing.” These quotes show that both birds are treated like slaves. The bird from Sympathy was shipped until the back is full of blood and the bird from Caged Bird was held in a dungeon where it will die.

“Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou in 1968 announces to the world her frustration of racial inequality and the longing for freedom. She seeks to create sentiment in the reader toward the caged bird plight, and draw compassion for the imprisoned creature. (Davis) Angelou was born as “Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St Louis, Missouri”. “Caged Bird” was first published in the collection Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing? 1983.

In the poems “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both portray captive birds that sing. However in “Sympathy”, the bird pleads with god for freedom, whereas in “Caged Bird” the captive bird calls for help from a free bird. In “Sympathy” the bird knows what freedom feels like since there was a time where the bird was once free, but now is trapped. In the first stanza the use of imagery revealed how freedom felt before the bird was caged.