Journal+Entry+1

__** "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" **__
 * By Maya Angelou **
 * Journal Entry 1- 3rd December 2010 (Pages 1-52) **
 * S. Ana Sutherland **

The novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou is story about a young black girl living in the United States in the 1930's. It is an autobiography. At the beginning of the book, Maya (born Marguerite) is just three years old. Abandoned by her parents, she and her brother were sent to live with her grandmother (Momma) and deformed uncle (Uncle Willie). It tells the tale of her life in Stamps, Arkansas, as she deals with racism. For example, near the beginning of the novel, Momma has to hide Uncle Willie in a vegetable bin in their store from the Ku Klux Klan, who have accused him of assaulting a young white woman. Maya is often saying how she wishes that she had blond hair and blue eyes, and that a fairy godmother turned her into a 'too big negro girl'. It goes from year to year, telling about moments of happiness with her beloved brother, Bailey, and moments of pain when she is being whipped for laughing in church.

Who is telling the story? The novel is in first person, as it is an autobiography. Because Maya is telling the story, and she is such a good writer, this really helps your perspective. You often feel what she herself is feeling, the hurt and anger and joy. It is much more effective that the book is written in first person, that way it draws people in, makes them understand and sympathize what it was like to live in a world with such strict segregation and racism.

Why is the title of the novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"? At first I had trouble thinking of this- then, online, I came across the third stanza of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "Sympathy".

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, When he beats his bars and would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings – I know why the caged bird sings.

This really helps you understand- it is actually where the title of the novel came from. The caged bird is a metaphor for a chained slave- both desperate to become free. The singing is not with joy, but with sorrow and anguish at being imprisoned. I think it is a very fitting title for the book- even though slavery has been abolished, black people were so horribly segregated it was still a form of imprisonment.

Is the novel difficult or easy to read? I would say easy- although the book has some mature themes, it is written in a lyrical, poetic fashion that beautifully depicts Maya's life; it is therefor an enjoyable book to read, even at the darker moments. This book has made me laugh at parts, but it has also made me very sad. That's what so good about it- it's ability to make you feel so may things. Because of some of the more harsh things that happen, I would most likely recommend the book for people 11-12 and up.

Excellent! 10/10