There are two parts of this book that are rather connected. These parts deal with Maya Angelou and her encounters with racism and how white people put themselves above black people.
The first scene of the book is when Maya has a horrible toothache, and Momma takes her to a white dentist by the name of Dr. Lincoln, whom owes her a favor, in hope that he will help Maya. Dr. Lincoln makes the following statement, page 189 “ Annie, my policy is I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s.”. He made it clear that he would not treat Maya because of the color of her skin, and he put it in one of the harshest possible ways.
The previous scene alone reflects two of the themes from I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The first theme being “Race and Appearance”. These two things made a huge difference during Maya’s childhood. In this case it clearly shows that if you weren't the right color or had a certain appearance, people would treat you differently; people would refuse to help you. The second theme this scene reflects is “The power of Words”. Dr. Lincoln could have told Momma and Maya no in many different ways, but he chose to use a very negative and aggressive way that suggested a sense of hatred. It shows that the words you …show more content…
Edward Donleavy chose to put down the black children and belittle them by saying statements to suggest that they were only good at sports and that they couldn't succeed at anything else. Page 179, “The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguin's , and our boys (the girls weren’t even in on it) would try to be Jesse Owenses and Joe Louises.”. This shows how Mr. Edward thought of the black children. This time the blacks would not let this negativity bring them down. Henry Reed, the class valedictorian led the singing of the Negro National Anthem. This united the black community and the sung together to stand
The first scene of the book is when Maya has a horrible toothache, and Momma takes her to a white dentist by the name of Dr. Lincoln, whom owes her a favor, in hope that he will help Maya. Dr. Lincoln makes the following statement, page 189 “ Annie, my policy is I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s.”. He made it clear that he would not treat Maya because of the color of her skin, and he put it in one of the harshest possible ways.
The previous scene alone reflects two of the themes from I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The first theme being “Race and Appearance”. These two things made a huge difference during Maya’s childhood. In this case it clearly shows that if you weren't the right color or had a certain appearance, people would treat you differently; people would refuse to help you. The second theme this scene reflects is “The power of Words”. Dr. Lincoln could have told Momma and Maya no in many different ways, but he chose to use a very negative and aggressive way that suggested a sense of hatred. It shows that the words you …show more content…
Edward Donleavy chose to put down the black children and belittle them by saying statements to suggest that they were only good at sports and that they couldn't succeed at anything else. Page 179, “The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguin's , and our boys (the girls weren’t even in on it) would try to be Jesse Owenses and Joe Louises.”. This shows how Mr. Edward thought of the black children. This time the blacks would not let this negativity bring them down. Henry Reed, the class valedictorian led the singing of the Negro National Anthem. This united the black community and the sung together to stand