ipl-logo

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Identity Essay

999 Words4 Pages

People throughout their lives are constantly discovering who they are and who they want to grow into. The same statement accurately describes Maya Johnson, a strong woman who wrote about her life in her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. As a little girl, her mother’s ex-boyfriend raped and she had to rediscover herself whilst navigating through the grim veil of trauma - a process that burdened her for many years. Throughout her life, she encountered many different people, some good, others bad, but they each helped her eventually discover her identity. ‘Identity’ is how people define themselves as a human being, and, therefore, nobody else can dictate it. Maya’s experiences throughout her childhood and “adulthood” convey the idea that nobody can dictate someone else’s identity except the person themselves. Maya’s experiences throughout her childhood show the idea that nobody can dictate someone else’s identity except the person themselves. At only eight years old, her mother’s ex-boyfriend molested and raped her. During his trial, Maya lied about what he had done and denied that he’d ever touched her before he actually raped her. Sometime later, a police officer showed up to her grandmother’s home and announced that Mr. Freeman, her rapist, had perished. This news thoroughly disturbed Maya; she believed that her words had killed a man. On page 87, she explained that “if I [she] talked to anyone else that person might die too. Just my [her] breath, carrying my [her] words out, might poison …show more content…

As a very young girl, her mother’s ex-boyfriend molested and raped her. Her rape took up a big part of her life, as it never really completely left her. Early on in her life, she branded herself as a bad person, but as she grew and matured, she realized she no longer identified as a bad person, but rather a strong, independent, intelligent woman who takes pride in her black

Show More
Related

  • I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Rhetorical Analysis

    223 Words  | 1 Pages

    Maya Angelou’s excerpt from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” will imaginatively take a reader away from their deskbound position to envisioning the stage of a play ornamented with fashioned rabbits, buttercups, and daisies, hearing children as they actively perfect their performance, and stimulate the readers’ appetite with the expressive words she uses to describe sweet whiffs of cinnamon and chocolate from the food samples being prepared. From Angelou’s portrayal of the play an individual will be capable of picturing white rabbits crafted from construction paper and cotton balls modelling puffy tails, together with, yellow and pink card board cut outs resembling buttercups and daisies decking a stage. The person who reads this excerpt

    Read More

  • Examples Of Race In Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1338 Words  | 6 Pages

    She details her experience realizing she was, in fact, a Black woman, which meant she was automatically considered, by society, inferior. This revelation was particularly jarring due to her unracialized upbringing, and she challenges this conviction to its essence. Instead, she bases her identity on the environmental factors that occur around her.

    Read More

  • Perseverance In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

    705 Words  | 3 Pages

    Maya Angleou’s novel both teaches readers the importance of perseverance and the unpredictability of life, along with presenting the reader with critical thinking opportunities through the use of strong literary devices such as metaphors to further strengthen her message. One of the most valuable

    Read More

  • Summary Of Seventh Grade By Gary Soto

    1193 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people, including students, are losing their true selves in society. Instead, human beings are united in their shared experiences, many of which include struggles for survival. Society’s contemporary struggles, however, are for something else, which often include the search for identity. Establishing identity is a universal struggle that all humans experience. For most teenagers, in particular, as they start to search for their adult selves, there is no worse time in their lives than when they don't know who they truly are.

    Read More

  • Maya Pride And Prejudice Quotes

    613 Words  | 3 Pages

    Maya from the novel Love, Hate and Other filters by author Samira Ahmed clearly teaches readers a lesson of self identity. Chapter one, page four Maya states “Maybe I should give my mom what she wants tonight, the dutiful daughter who is thrilled to wear gold jewelry and high heels and wants to be a doctor. But the high heels alone are so uncomfortable I can only imagine how painful the rest of the act would be.” This quote is significant to the story since it sets a mood for the rest of the novel, considering the quote is mentioned earlier within the story. This quote is important as it allows readers to understand first hand how Maya thinks, and can be broken down into two main points.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Adversity In I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

    531 Words  | 3 Pages

    I said No.” This shows us Maya thinks how she thinks other people want her to think, and not how she herself would have answered. This leads us to believe that maya is not confident in herself to make the right decisions on her own and trusts the thoughts more than her own. As a child when you are the most impressionable, it is not wise to let a child rely off of someone else’s decision making skills and the child would become to dependant on others. Also in this book it

    Read More

  • How Did Maya Angelou Impact Society

    842 Words  | 4 Pages

    When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.

    Read More

  • Why Is Maya Angelou Important

    514 Words  | 3 Pages

    After informing her family of this traumatizing encounter, the perpetrator was hunted down and beaten to death. Maya didn’t speak for the next five years. Maya found joy in singing, dancing, and poetry, after moving to San Francisco in 1940. However, this joy was put on hold after having a son at age 16, and moving to San Diego. Being young and reckless waitress, Maya got tangled in drugs, prostitution, and strip dancing.

    Read More

  • Identity In Gretel Ehrlich's Looking For A Lost Dog

    1036 Words  | 5 Pages

    The environment in which an individual grows up in can affect life greatly. Our surroundings influence one’s personality, self-expression, and individuality, otherwise known as identity. Finding one’s true self is the most grueling stage of life and expectations of family and society make the process even harder. One’s true identity can sometimes clash with hopes of others, thus breaking tradition and/or family ties. Pressure to change will always be present, but staying true to uniqueness will prevail.

    Read More

  • Momma The Dentist And Me Analysis

    664 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Momma, the Dentist, and Me,” Maya Angelou describes Mommas’ struggle during racial segregation in a childhood memory and in a rare but glorious case is overcome. Angelou recalls when she and Momma, her grandmother, go to the dentist for a toothache severe enough that young Angelou contemplates death to feel relief from the excruciating pain. Angelou imagines her Momma’s actions in the dentist's office after being turned down heroically. Angelou demonstrates a small victory over racism with Momma’s actions as she stands valiantly against racial injustice. In order to strengthen her narrative, Angelou employs imagery, hyperbole, and tone effectively.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou Sexual Abuse

    802 Words  | 4 Pages

    Freeman sexually abused Maya, she is unable to control her body or words which signals the domination of her body by others. Even in the opening scene, there is a combination of Maya’s inability to control her appearance, words, and bodily functions. The inability to create a story about her body “pervades the remainder of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as Maya struggles to cope with her emerging womanhood” (Vermillion 252). Instead of letting the mute and sexually abused Maya represent the black female body in her text, she begins to reembody Maya by critiquing her admiration for white literary speech and writing.

    Read More

  • I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou Analysis

    935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Life is a journey that is challenging for many people. As a result, many do not live up to their full potential. Nevertheless, there are always few distinguished people in every generation who master the art of living better than everyone else. Such individuals emerge as icons of the society and leave phenomenal legacies. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Maya Angelou are outstanding souls who made their communities and the world a better place.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou Graduation Day Analysis

    618 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation Day”, she narrates her graduation and the events that surround the day. Angelou portrays the power of words throughout her narrative and how they impact her thoughts. Because words, whether careless or thoughtful, persuade, they can enrich or belittle the human spirit. First, words shape the human spirit and have the power to unite. Angelou illustrates the excitement and preparation that leads up to the graduation day. This anticipation carried over to her church as the pastor directed his sermon towards the graduates.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Motherhood In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

    3280 Words  | 14 Pages

    Afro-American women writers present how racism permeates the innermost recesses of the mind and heart of the blacks and affects even the most intimate human relationships. While depicting the corrosive impact of racism from social as well as psychological perspectives, they highlight the human cost black people have to pay in terms of their personal relationships, particularly the one between mother and daughter. Women novelists’ treatment of motherhood brings out black mothers’ pressures and challenges for survival and also reveals their different strategies and mechanisms to deal with these challenges. Along with this, the challenges black mothers have to face in dealing with their adolescent daughters, who suffer due to racism and are heavily influenced by the dominant value system, are also underlined by these writers. They portray how a black mother teaches her daughter to negotiate the hostile, wider world, and prepares her to face the problems and challenges boldly and confidently.

    Read More

  • Self Identity Essay

    885 Words  | 4 Pages

    Self-identity is defined as the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context. In other words, self-understanding. Finding self-identity is more more difficult for some people than others. In the autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, the author reflects on her identity as a mixed raced individual which is illustrated through Walker’s reflections. People define themselves in many different ways.

    Read More

More about I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Identity Essay

Open Document