I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Analysis Paper

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She wears an unflattering altered taffeta dress that, she notes, is probably a secondhand dress from a white woman, and she fantasizes that one day she will wake up out of her “black ugly dream” and be white and blond instead of a large, unattractive African American girl.(Caged Bird) In the beginning of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Angelou continues to use elements like prison narrative; self hatred. Angelou uses words like “black ugly dream” or “unflattering” which symbolizes self hatred. Self hatred was common in the 1930’s and 40s, even til this day in the African American community there’s still self hatred; slavery really hadn’t been outlawed for that long back then. Enslaved Africans were taught to hate their dark skin. Thus, many Black people have a strong dislike for their skin tone today. Many Black people all over the Americas intentionally deny their African heritage.

For example, actress Raven-Simone recently told Oprah that she wasn’t African-American. She said, “I’m not an African-American. I’m an American.” (Atlanta Black Star) Angelou also referred to her hair as “blond”, she doesn’t like her curly natural hair, she wants it to be straight and silky like the young adolescent white children. Some Black people don’t like their natural hair so they use relaxers, perms and other techniques to straighten their hair.

"We were on top again. As Always again. We survived. The depths had been icy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls. I was no longer a member of the graduating class of 1940; I was a proud member of the wonderful beautiful ***** race."(Caged Bird) Angelou felt knocked down after the speaker at her school spoke. After that she felt she had been to the icy, dark depths. But then she thought about some things and felt on top again, the bright sun per say. Then in that moment, Maya felt no longer as the graduating class, she felt happy and proud to be an African American.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.

"27." Caged Bird Legacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Manora, Yolanda M. "CRITICAL READINGS: "What You Looking At Me For? I Didn't Come To Stay": Displacement, Disruption, And Black Female Subjectivity In Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings." Critical Insights: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (2010): 192-210. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings What's Up With the Title?"Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Sep. 2016.

@ATLBlackStar. "8 Self-Hating Things Black People Learned During Slavery And Still Do Today - Atlanta Black Star." Atlanta Black Star. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

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