I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou describes her coming of age as a mature but insecure black girl in the American South during the 1930s and later on in California during the 1940s. Maya’s parents divorce when she is only three years old and ship Maya and her older brother, Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, whom they call Momma, runs the only store in the black section of Stamps and becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s childhood.
As young children, Maya and Bailey struggle with the pain of being rejected and abandoned by their parents. Maya also finds herself distressed by the belief that she is an ugly child …show more content…
She spends time at Momma’s store, observing the cotton-pickers as they journey to and from work in the fields. When Maya is eight years old, her father, of whom she has no memory, arrives in Stamps unexpectedly and takes her and Bailey to live with their mother, Vivian, in St. Louis, Missouri. Beautiful and luring, Vivian lives a wild life working in gambling parlors. One morning Vivian’s live-in boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, sexually harasses Maya, and he later rapes her. They go to court and afterward Mr. Freeman is violently …show more content…
Momma manages to break through Maya’s silence by introducing her to Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a kind, educated woman who tells Maya to read works of literature out loud, giving her books of poetry that help her to regain her voice.
During these years in Stamps, Maya becomes aware of both the damaged and the strength of her community. She attends a church revival during which a priest preaches completely against white dissimulation through his speech on charity. The spiritual strength gained during the speech soon fritter as the revival crowd walks home past the honky-tonk party. Maya also observes the entire community listening to the Joe Louis heavyweight championship boxing match, desperately longing for him to defend his title against his white
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou describes her coming of age as a mature but insecure black girl in the American South during the 1930s and later on in California during the 1940s. Maya’s parents divorce when she is only three years old and ship Maya and her older brother, Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, whom they call Momma, runs the only store in the black section of Stamps and becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s childhood.
As young children, Maya and Bailey struggle with the pain of being rejected and abandoned by their parents. Maya also finds herself distressed by the belief that she is an ugly child …show more content…
She spends time at Momma’s store, observing the cotton-pickers as they journey to and from work in the fields. When Maya is eight years old, her father, of whom she has no memory, arrives in Stamps unexpectedly and takes her and Bailey to live with their mother, Vivian, in St. Louis, Missouri. Beautiful and luring, Vivian lives a wild life working in gambling parlors. One morning Vivian’s live-in boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, sexually harasses Maya, and he later rapes her. They go to court and afterward Mr. Freeman is violently …show more content…
Momma manages to break through Maya’s silence by introducing her to Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a kind, educated woman who tells Maya to read works of literature out loud, giving her books of poetry that help her to regain her voice.
During these years in Stamps, Maya becomes aware of both the damaged and the strength of her community. She attends a church revival during which a priest preaches completely against white dissimulation through his speech on charity. The spiritual strength gained during the speech soon fritter as the revival crowd walks home past the honky-tonk party. Maya also observes the entire community listening to the Joe Louis heavyweight championship boxing match, desperately longing for him to defend his title against his white