I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Preface and Chapter 1
Vocabulary:
“The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses.”
Definition: A rough or coarse paper that sounds bad when rubbed against other material.
Language Technique:
“The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses.” (1-2)
Simile
In the beginning of the preface Maya forgets the lines of the poem she is reading at church. She is very dressed up and is ashamed of herself which eventually causes she to panic and run out of …show more content…
At the end of the school day, a group of little white girls come to Momma’s house and mess with/ terrorize Momma. Maya describes these moments as molasses-slow because there is nothing she can do but it is killing her inside. The discrimination from the white children leads to the development of a theme of racial discrimination.
Interpretive Question:
Why does Momma refers to the little girls as “Miz?”
4) Chapters 8,9:
Vocabulary:
“Gallons of lard, flour, salt, powdered eggs and powdered milk.”
Definition: Fat.
Language Technique:
“Only in strict emergencies did Bailey allow me to speak Pig Latin to him in front of adults.”
Symbol
In this section of the book, Pig Latin is a symbol for Maya’s and Bailey’s relationship. Maya and Bailey are very close and Pig Latin is like a private way for them to communicate with each other. When Maya and Bailey arrive in St. Louis Maya speaks in Pig Latin which shows how tight their relationship is. This symbol leads to the characterization of Maya, explaining how her only real friend is Bailey.
Interpretive question:
Why isn’t Bailey nervous when they arrive in St.Louis?
5) Chapters 10,11,12,13
Vocabulary:
“Grandmother Baxter was a quadroon or a octoroon,.” (61)
Definition: Being nearly or almost white.
Language …show more content…
This sparks a fight between Maya and Dolores and Maya describes Dolores’s hold on her as octopus like because it was very strong. This reaction to Dolores conveys how Maya is still not a grown because she is fighting with Dolores.
Interpretive Question:
How will Maya handle Bailey moving out of the house?
14) Chapters 34-36: Vocabulary:
“...wear a blue serge suit.”(265)
Definition: Type of fabric
Language Technique:
“The confusion that ensued when I explained to my stepfather that I expected to deliver the baby in three weeks, more or less, was reminiscent of a Molière comedy.” (287)
Allusion
Before Maya Angelou was going to give birth to her baby in a few weeks, she was the only one who know. By describing telling her family that she was pregnant like a comedy showed how the confusion of her pregnancy was comedic because it was the first time she was actually treated like a real person. Now having to be a mature mother, Maya evolution as a person was highlighted through her pregnancy.
Interpretive Question:
What has changed about Maya throughout the
Preface and Chapter 1
Vocabulary:
“The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses.”
Definition: A rough or coarse paper that sounds bad when rubbed against other material.
Language Technique:
“The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses.” (1-2)
Simile
In the beginning of the preface Maya forgets the lines of the poem she is reading at church. She is very dressed up and is ashamed of herself which eventually causes she to panic and run out of …show more content…
At the end of the school day, a group of little white girls come to Momma’s house and mess with/ terrorize Momma. Maya describes these moments as molasses-slow because there is nothing she can do but it is killing her inside. The discrimination from the white children leads to the development of a theme of racial discrimination.
Interpretive Question:
Why does Momma refers to the little girls as “Miz?”
4) Chapters 8,9:
Vocabulary:
“Gallons of lard, flour, salt, powdered eggs and powdered milk.”
Definition: Fat.
Language Technique:
“Only in strict emergencies did Bailey allow me to speak Pig Latin to him in front of adults.”
Symbol
In this section of the book, Pig Latin is a symbol for Maya’s and Bailey’s relationship. Maya and Bailey are very close and Pig Latin is like a private way for them to communicate with each other. When Maya and Bailey arrive in St. Louis Maya speaks in Pig Latin which shows how tight their relationship is. This symbol leads to the characterization of Maya, explaining how her only real friend is Bailey.
Interpretive question:
Why isn’t Bailey nervous when they arrive in St.Louis?
5) Chapters 10,11,12,13
Vocabulary:
“Grandmother Baxter was a quadroon or a octoroon,.” (61)
Definition: Being nearly or almost white.
Language …show more content…
This sparks a fight between Maya and Dolores and Maya describes Dolores’s hold on her as octopus like because it was very strong. This reaction to Dolores conveys how Maya is still not a grown because she is fighting with Dolores.
Interpretive Question:
How will Maya handle Bailey moving out of the house?
14) Chapters 34-36: Vocabulary:
“...wear a blue serge suit.”(265)
Definition: Type of fabric
Language Technique:
“The confusion that ensued when I explained to my stepfather that I expected to deliver the baby in three weeks, more or less, was reminiscent of a Molière comedy.” (287)
Allusion
Before Maya Angelou was going to give birth to her baby in a few weeks, she was the only one who know. By describing telling her family that she was pregnant like a comedy showed how the confusion of her pregnancy was comedic because it was the first time she was actually treated like a real person. Now having to be a mature mother, Maya evolution as a person was highlighted through her pregnancy.
Interpretive Question:
What has changed about Maya throughout the