IndexIntroductionI Know Why the Caged Bird SingsConclusionIntroductionMaya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is incredibly unapologetic. From early childhood to late adolescence, Maya has already faced many challenges in her life. These early challenges included estrangement from her parents, self-hatred, dealing with racism in the South, surviving rape as a young girl, and ultimately developing her love of literature. Throughout the novel, Maya is seen transforming into one newly developed human after another. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings In the prologue, Maya recites a poem to herself for the church and immediately forgets it. For church, imagine wearing a “lavender and taffeta dress.” With this image, she sees herself as a "movie star" and how this contributes to her dream of being a white girl. She states, “They wouldn't be surprised when one day I woke up from my bad black dream and my real hair, which was long and blonde.” She refers to herself as a nuisance to her race, wishing she were white and saying she was cursed by a fairy godmother as if it were a fairy tale gone wrong. Later, he trips on the way to the bathroom and pees on himself. This embarrasses her greatly, adding yet another event to her unfortunate stories of being a Southern black girl. Maya was only three years old when she and her brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother Annie also known as "Mama" and Uncle Willie in Stamps, Arkansas. Their parents were newly divorced, and this decision made it much easier for the children to live in a not-so-disrupted environment. Furthermore, their parents sent them there to live in a rural community that might be better suited to them. However, life in Stamps is not at all easy for them. They witness many rather disgusting incidents that were considered reasonable at that time and place: 1930s South America. For example, Maya and Bailey witness a sheriff talking to their mom. The sheriff warns Mother that it is better to hide Uncle Willie, since there is suspicion throughout the city that a black man is having an intimate relationship with a white woman. The Ku Klux Klan might be coming tonight, so he has to hide it very well: “Annie, tell Willie he better stay low-key tonight. A crazy black man is making fun of a white woman today. Some kids will come later.” Now, this must be traumatizing for Maya and Bailey to watch; just because of the color of his uncle's skin and the "threat" he represents, he might have a good chance of being killed. This moment definitely made Maya think about Stamps in a whole new way. Maya's time growing up in the South eventually caused a lot of self-hatred. The South is widely known for being conservative and racist, and Maya faced this reality significantly as a child. For example, in chapter five, he describes how some white girls would come into the store to torment their mother and would be rowdy and rude. Maya didn't like the treatment of black people she saw in Stamps. Stamps were not the right place for her at all. On the bright side, Maya and her brother received a good education from their uncle and Maya fell in love with reading when she read William Shakespeare for the first time. The brothers' father, Bailey Johnson, reenters their lives with a bang. He decides to take them to California. Maya and Bailey are so happy to leave Stamps and amazed that Bailey istheir father as he is tall, sturdy and lives his life together. Instead of taking them to California, he leaves them with their mother in St. Louis. Despite her mother's good looks, Maya still can't believe how attractive she was compared to herself. “I was left speechless. I immediately understood why he had sent me away. She was too beautiful to have children. I had never seen a woman as beautiful as the one who was called 'Mom'." Maya's time in St. Louis is definitely better than life in Stamps. St. Louis is more diverse and welcoming than it is. Maya and Bailey live with their grandparents before moving in with their mother. Maya has a small boost in self-confidence and definitely matures because she is one of the smartest students in her class. More importantly, Maya's relationship with books deepens; reads a lot and acquires knowledge. For a while, Maya and Bailey go to live with their mother, Vivian, and her boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. St. Louis is starting to look more and more like a deserted place. Everything starts to change when she lives in their house. Maya's relationship with Mr. Freeman worsens. One day, when her mother is gone, she wakes up to find Mr. Freeman holding her inappropriately. Maya absolutely doesn't know how to react, having never felt this kind of sensation before. She feels pleasure, but at the same time is confused about whether it was right. Not realizing she had been raped, she felt it was all her fault because Mr Freeman would not come into contact with her after that. Not long after, it will happen again: “For months he didn't speak to me again. I was hurt and for a while I felt more alone than ever. But then I forget about him, and even the memory of how precious he considered me has melted into the general darkness just beyond the big blinders of childhood.” This is when the uprising action officially begins. This time with Mr. Freeman's actions, Maya realizes that she was being raped inappropriately: "I hesitated for two reasons: he was holding me too tight to move, and I was sure that at any moment my mother or Bailey or the Green Hornet would burst through the door and save me.” He continues: “Then there was the pain. A break in which even the senses are torn apart. The act of applying tape to the body of an eight year old it is a matter of needle prick because the camel cannot. The child gives, because the body can, and the mind of the rapist does not.” incident in the early stages of her life is the moment when Maya begins to understand herself and how she fits into this world. Maya wants to tell someone about the incident between her and Mr. Freeman, but she can't because he threatens her that if she tells anyone he will kill her brother Maya, having great admiration for her brother,. she doesn't want to endanger him, but he encourages her to tell the truth anyway. After this incident, Mr. Freeman is arrested. Maya spoke out against him, having a platform to focus on, she voices her opinion. He is convicted, but is sentenced to only one year in prison. Surprisingly, he gets an early release, but is killed by someone who kicks him to death. Shortly after his death, Maya falls into a deep depression because she believes her interactions with him will lead to his death. He stops talking, sinking into a depressive state. She even stops thinking clearly, thinking there is something wrong with her: “Just my breath, carrying out my words, could poison people and they would curl up and die like the fat black snails who only pretend . I had to stop talking." Unfortunately, he returns to Stamps to start his life over, and his brother is also not in a good place emotionally. Facing theher depression, Maya wanders around for a long time, until she meets her true partner, Ms. Bertha Fiori. Bertha Flowers is an older woman who looks nothing like anyone else in town. She's quite unique, like an educated Renaissance woman, and she reads English novels. Bertha helps Maya a lot with her self-esteem and helps fuel her interest in reading and literature. Bertha really believes in Maya and wants the best for her, encouraging her a lot: “She said she would give me books and that not only did I have to read them, but I had to read them aloud. He suggested that I try to make a phrase resonate with as many people as possible in different ways." Maya adds: "All I cared about was that he made me some biscuits for tea and read me his favorite book." Rather strange events happen to Maya when she is in her early teens. She becomes a housemaid, just to help her finish her studies. He works for Mrs. Viola Cullinan, a rich white woman who doesn't have the best personality. He keeps calling Maya "Mary", which makes the gig not work out so well. Additionally, she and the family missed Bailey for a few weeks. Eventually, things start to improve for Maya during her time in Stamps: she finally makes friends. Her name is Louise. Maya and Louise share secrets together and maintain a truly supportive friendship. Maya, she's getting close to graduating now, only an eighth grade diploma, but it's a big deal. The ceremony had its ups and downs, but in the end. Maya concluded with a personal note of her own, you could shape her as a person once she is older. He praises Black poets and Black people as a whole, how we have changed the spectrum of ourselves by learning from each other through literature. This shows that Maya is completely more proud of her blackness, especially recognizing it at a young age. Maya returns to Los Angeles. He is extremely happy to be in sunny California and back with his mother. She doesn't want an accident like last time to stop her from being united with her mother. While I lived with Vivian, it was quite chaotic like last time. She was heavily involved in partying and violence and even got married. His name is Daddy Clidell and he is the first father figure Maya has ever admired. He treated her like not even her biological father cared to do. “Unexpectedly, I looked like him and when he, my mother and I walked down the street, his friends often said: “Clidell, is it your daughter for sure. You absolutely cannot deny it to him. He moves to San Francisco and accepts a scholarship to a wealthy, predominantly white school called the California Labor School. She once again experienced racism, being one of only three black students at school. During her time there she was fully supported by Miss Kirwin, who taught her that she should not be ashamed of the color of her skin in whatever environment she finds herself in. Shortly thereafter, Maya is invited by her father, Daddy Bailey, to spend some time with her. he in Southern California. She is introduced to her girlfriend, Dolores, who doesn't like her at all. He takes a trip with them to Mexico and it ends in a complete fiasco. Once they return, relations between all three worsen. Dolores and dad Bailey start arguing and Dolores ends up insulting Vivian, Maya's mother. Maya reacted by slapping her and Dolores attacked her. Maya is hurt, she feels like she might die. After that traumatic night, she decides to run away and become homeless. This is where the climax happens. He now lives independently, unfortunately homeless for a long time. With this an excellent result is achieved, Maya begins to feel more confident and to be exposed to the great diversity that surrounds her. “There was so much curiosity evident in them.