essay questions for i know why the caged bird sings

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

• Literature Notes
• Essay Questions
• About I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Introduction
• Chapters 1-3
• Chapters 4-5
• Chapters 6-7
• Chapters 8-9
• Chapters 10-11
• Chapters 12-13
• Chapters 14-15
• Chapters 18-19
• Chapters 20-23
• Chapters 24-25
• Chapters 26-29
• Chapters 30-32
• Chapters 33-36
• Maya Angelou Biography
• Critical Essays
• Form in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Settings in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Style in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Women in the Maya Character's Life
• A Note on Southern Fundamentalism
• Full Glossary for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Cite this Literature Note

Study Help Essay Questions

1. Contrast Bailey and Maya Johnson in terms of their coping skills. Make additional contrasts between the older and younger generations, particularly Grandmother Baxter's method of orchestrating her family's murder of a rapist, Momma Henderson's stoicism in the face of three young hecklers, and Vivian's response to being called a bitch.

2. Explain how and why Vivian and Daddy Bailey seem oblivious to Maya's childhood sufferings and insecurity. Discuss the effects of undeserved exile on both children.

3. Compare Angelou's depiction of Southern culture with that of Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, James Agee, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, George Washington Cable, Shirley Ann Grau, Ellen Gilchrist, Paul Green, Zora Neale Hurston, Donald Davidson, and other Southern writers.

4. Discuss autobiography as an art form. Contrast Angelou's approach to personal narrative with Joy Adamson's Born Free, James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Frederick Douglass' Narrative Of the Life of Frederick Douglass, George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," Lorraine Hansberry's To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Linda Brent's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman Warrior, John Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks, Dick Gregory's Nigger, and Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi.

5. Relate the Maya character's response to rape to current findings about victim dysfunction, loss of speech, refusal to testify, blaming the victim, guilt, irrational fears, and other long-term reactions. Discuss the efficacy of Maya's return to her grandmother and to literature. Explain why the image of the caged bird epitomizes her situation.

6. Compare the Maya character as protagonist with the fictional Vyry in Phyllis Walker's Jubilee, Ruth in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, O-lan in Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, or Celie in Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Comment on their victimization by strong or tyrannical male figures and their need for approval and acceptance as women and mothers.

7. Contrast the film version of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings with other cinematic studies of the rural South, such as Conrack, Huny Sundown, Song of the South, Sounder The Color Purple, Mandingo, Band of Angels, Gone with the Wind, The Foxes of Harrow, Raintree County, Tobacco Road, Pinky, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and Roots. Comment on depictions of black/white relationships, particularly over broad economic, educational, and social disparities.

8. Comment on Angelou's view of women and their ability to cope with poverty, hunger, sickness, rejection, powerlessness, alienation, job discrimination, self-criticism, and social ostracism. Compare her views on female strengths with those in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Craven's I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Jeane Houston's Farewell to Manzanar, Scott O'Dell's The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear, and Harriette Arnow's The Dollmaker.

9. Contrast the lifestyle of Stamps, Arkansas, with that of St. Louis, Ensenada, and San Francisco. Comment on opportunities for nonwhites, including the Japanese-Americans who are interned during World War II, women at the cantina near Ensenada, and the pickers who buy supplies at Annie's store.

10. Supply an overview of the improvement in civil rights from 1930 to the present. List influential nonwhites, particularly sports figures, entertainers, political and religious leaders, inventors and scientists, writers, journalists, and educators.

11. Discuss cultural influences on Bailey Junior and Maya, especially comic strips, children's and classic literature, sports figures, and religious fundamentalism.

12. Support or refute Angelou's statement that "every student should be encouraged to read everything in a catholic sense."

13. Contrast the female characters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings with those of the poem "Our Grandmothers" from Angelou's I Shall Not Be Moved.

14. Discuss Angelou's comment in Ebony magazine in February 1982: "Black people . . . comprehend the South. We understand its weight. It has rested on our backs. We recognize its violence. We have been its victim. We acknowledge its history. It was first written with our blood." Apply her experience to that of other successful black Southerners, such as Andrew Young, Madame Sarah Walker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ida Wells-Barnett, James Weldon Johnson, Jesse Jackson, Zora Neale Hurston, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ernest Gaines, Medgar Evers, Mary McLeod Bethune, Margaret Walker, Rosa Parks, Barbara Jordan, and Louis Armstrong.

15. Explicate William Henley's "Invictus" and Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 and describe their effect on the Maya character. Apply significant phrases to her evolving selfhood. Explain what quality or characteristic causes her to survive and excel.

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya angelou, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Caged Bird Sings: Introduction

Caged bird sings: plot summary, caged bird sings: detailed summary & analysis, caged bird sings: themes, caged bird sings: quotes, caged bird sings: characters, caged bird sings: symbols, caged bird sings: theme wheel, brief biography of maya angelou.

Historical Context of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Other books related to i know why the caged bird sings.

• Full Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• When Written: 1969
• Where Written: USA
• When Published: 1969
• Literary Period: Postwar / Contemporary
• Genre: Memoir / autobiographical fiction
• Setting: Stamps, Arkansas; St. Louis; California
• Point of View: Maya narrates in 1st person.

Extra Credit for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Inaugural Poet. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. This made her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost in 1961.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

88 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 28-30

Chapters 31-33

Chapters 34-36

Key Figures

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Religious fundamentalism, central to Maya’s life in Stamps, is an invisible yet constant presence in Momma Henderson’s home. How does it shape Maya’s worldview in her formative years, and to which extent it is reflected in her personality?

The structure of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is thematic, rather than chronological, which makes it stand out among other coming-of-age autobiographies. Using specific examples from the text, explain how and for what purpose Angelou utilizes the non-chronological narrative .

What techniques, common to fiction, but less characteristic of autobiography, does Angelou use in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ? List specific examples and explain what purpose they serve in the text. 

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

By maya angelou.

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• How is Stamps described at the beginning of the book?

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W hy's T his F unny?

Caged Bird – Important Questions

Fresh Reads

‘ Caged Bird ’ by Maya Angelou is one of the most acclaimed poetic pieces written by the prominent African American poet, Maya Angelou. Although African American people were free people in Angelou’s time, there were still many restrictions on them in society, that many black Americans did not feel free at all. This poem reveals the depth of those feelings.

Important Question and Answers

Q. read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:.

A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange sun rays And dares to claim the sky.

1. How does the poet refer to nature here? What does the poet mean by the phrase ‘dares to claim the sky’ in the last line?

Ans. She refers to nature by describing the way “a free bird leaps on the back of the wind”. She also describes the bird’s flight against the orange sky. The last line speaks of the state of absolute freedom enjoyed by the bird out of cage. A free bird such as this can fly in the sky as it wishes.

2. How does a reader get a hint of appreciation for the beauty of nature?

Ans. The way she describes the “orange sun rays” gives the reader an appreciation for the natural beauty of the sky. Moreover, her description of the way the bird “dips his wing” helps the reader to appreciate the bird in his natural habitat, enjoying his freedom.

3. What is the free bird metaphor for here? Explain.

Ans. The free bird enjoys its freedom without any interference. The free bird is compared to the white race retaining freedom and aversion towards black people of America. They have the freedom to pursue their ambition easily. They are unaware of the cries and needs of the oppressed black community.

4. What is meant by “orange sun rays’’?

Ans. The poet says that the bird seems to dip its wings in the orange rays of the sun. Here she refers to beauty of nature, that nature is full of colours. The way she describes the “orange sun rays” gives the reader an appreciation for the natural beauty of the sky. It alludes to a free, lively and a blissful atmosphere where the free bird lives.

5. Describe the image of the bird as presented in the stanza.

Ans. The poem is a contrast between a caged bird and a free bird. In the first stanza Maya Angelou breathes life into her description of a ‘free bird’ by using verbs like ‘leaps’,‘floats’,‘dips’. The free bird is a symbol of freedom and happiness and these well chosen verbs are especially meaningful because they contain joy and energy. The free bird has the freedom to go wherever and can claim the sky because there are no other birds to contest with her. The stanza shows us that the free bird is lazy and would rather float with the wind instead of making its own path.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing.

1. Describe the tone of the poet in these lines. How does the bird respond to his existential condition?

Ans. The poet’s tone is dark, unnerving, and even frustrating. She describes that the caged bird can hardly see through his bars of rage. The bird is helpless by everything but only responds by opening his throat to sing due to his immense longing for freedom.

2. Explain the lines:’ can seldom see through his bars of rage.’

Ans. By the lines, “can seldom see through his bars of rage” i.e., the poet says that the caged bird is hardly able to get a glimpse of the sky which makes him angry. His clipped wings and tied feet tied prevent him from flying away. His aspirations are suppressed, he is helpless to even get a sight of the great freedom outside the bars of the cage which makes the bird resentful for he longs for freedom to be outside the cage

3. What does the use of the word ’but’ in the beginning suggest?

Ans. This stanza is in stark contrast with the first. By using the word “but” to begin this stanza, the poet prepares the reader for this contrast. The poet then describes the pathetic condition of another bird that is captive in a caged, with wings clipped and feet tied. The word “but” indicates that the idea or imagery that the poet is going to present is contrary to what she has already stated.

4. What is the condition of the bird described in this stanza?

Ans. The bird’s wings are clipped and feet are tied. It hardly even gets a chance to see the sky. It has been placed in a cage that prevents it from flying. The bird is helpless. He is resentful, for this unfair captivation to him as birds fly freely in the sky and they should not be kept captive. He longs to be free from the pain and suffering inside the sorrowful cage.

5. Whom does the poet refer indirectly while mentioning of the free and the caged bird?

Ans. This contrast between the birds enables the poet to express indirectly her own emotions about freedom and isolation. By the ‘free bird’ the poet refers to the white people, and the caged bird can be interpreted as the black race being deprived from freedom by their skin colour. This could be compared to slavery in the U.S.A, where the blacks were suppressed from their aspirations and were much tortured by the white people.

The caged bird sings with A fearful trill of things unknown But longed for still and his Tune is heard on the distant hill For the caged bird sings of freedom.

1. What does the poet imply about the bird’s craving for freedom?

Ans. The author implies that even though the caged bird may have never experienced true freedom, yet deep down that bird still knows that it was created to be free. Although freedom, to the caged bird, is “fearful” because it is “unknown”, he still sings “a fearful trill” because he still longs for freedom.

2. Give the significance of the lines: The caged bird sings with A fearful trill of things unknown”.

Ans. Maya Angelou uses irony to be cleverer and effective but less direct in conveying her feelings. ‘The caged bird sings with a fearful trill’. This sentence is ironic as the caged bird is the one singing not the free bird as we expect. However, the words ‘fearful’ and ‘trill’ makes us realize that actually it is not a happy tune but in a fearful and trembling tone. The bird is unknown of many strange things but still sings the songs of freedom in quaver which enables the readers to reach to more depth and appreciate freedom.

3. What does the poet mean by the expression ‘his tune is heard on the distant hill’?

Ans. The speaker reveals that cry for freedom is “heard on the distant hill”. This parallels to the author and her cry for freedom in the form of equality. She feels that her cries are heard, but only as a soft background noise. She still feels that she is caged and that although she sings, her cries are heard only as a distant noise.

4. Show the relevance of the stanza.

Ans. The stanza describes the conditions of the American black people longing for freedom. It implies that even though the caged bird may have never experienced true freedom, deep down that bird still knows that it was created to be free. Here, the poet reveals that like the caged bird many black people are deprived from their freedom and that although they sing their cries are heard, but only as a distant noise.

5. What does the last line imply?

Ans. The last line states, “For the caged bird sings of freedom”. With this, the speaker implies that although the caged bird may never have experienced freedom, he still sings of it because he was created for freedom. This is paralleled to the African American struggle in Maya Angelou’s time. She feels that black Americans wrote and sang and danced and cried out for the freedom they deserved, but they were only heard as a distant voice. Yet, this would not stop them from crying out for freedom and equality because they knew they were made for freedom, and they would not relent until they were given their rights as human beings to enjoy the freedom they were created to enjoy.

The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing.

1. How does the poet describe the bird’s freedom here? Comment on the tone of the poet.

Ans. The poet says that a free bird has freedom of choice and opportunities to fly at his sweet will. He can enjoy the “sighing trees” and is free to find his own food. The tone of the poet suggests a sense of ecstasy and thrill due to freedom.

2. What is meant by another breeze? Why does the free bird thinks of another breeze?

Ans. “Another breeze” implies that the free birds thinks for a flight in a different air current. The poet writes that a “free bird thinks of another breeze“, so that is he can enjoy the sighing trees and be free to find his own food. The bird is not contented and is greedy to have even more freedom, but again it is shown to be lazy and unsatisfied with the stream of wind that is on but not enough to do something about it.

3. In what way is the caged bird different from the free bird?

Ans. The poem is a contrast between a ‘free bird’ and ‘caged bird’. The caged bird possess its own limitations. His wings are clipped and feet are tied. He hardly even gets a chance to see the sky. He has been placed in a cage that prevents it from flying. Despite its fear, the cage bird continues to sing for freedom. The bird opens his mouth to sing because his desire for freedom and his desire to express himself cannot be controlled. Whereas a “free bird thinks of another breeze “so that he can enjoy the “sighing trees” i.e., it is free from all worries and sufferings.

4. Explain: “But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams”.

Ans. The reality of the life of the caged bird is revealed in this line. It is a dark, sombre and haunting image indicating the slavery and inability to exercise one’s freedom of choice. The bird is helpless by everything. His aspirations and desires are suppressed by the sorrowful captivity of the cage. He is unable to fulfil his dreams and cries out like someone who has seen a nightmare.

5. How does this signifies the author’s own state of mind?

Ans. The reality of the life of the caged bird that the bird “stands on the grave of dreams” reveals the author’s feelings about her own dreams. She has so many dreams that have died because she was never given the freedom to achieve all that her white counterparts were able to achieve. Discrimination and Racism made up her cage, and although she sang, she felt her voice was not heard in the wide world, but only by those nearest her cage.

6. What does the poet wants to convey by the contrast between the two birds?

Ans. These contrasting environments—the freedom of an open world of the free bird and the restrictive surroundings of the caged bird—create the setting for the poem, to contrast a free bird with a bird who is confined to a cage; the poet wants to convey two different birds as metaphors for people free from oppression and people who are oppressed by society. The metaphor shows the free bird and caged bird which is important to understand for the theme. The tone shows the difference between the free bird, proud and controlling, and the caged bird, angry and determined which is essential to the theme. ‘For the caged bird sings of freedom’ is the last line of the poem and it delivers a very important message for the reader – the caged bird wants to be like the free bird. This tells us that we should be aware and thankful for the freedom we have and basically this sums up the whole poem.

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78 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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• Racial Segregation in the “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou Maya’s understanding of the racist attitudes of the town dentist renders shock when she discovers that her grandmother intends to take her to him. Maya’s solution to the racist treatment she and her grandmother receive […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Maya Angelou: Racism and Segregation in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” An example is that, as she fails to recite her poem in church, she notes that her dress is probably a handout from a white woman.
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1. IvyPanda . "78 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-essay-examples/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "78 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." December 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-essay-examples/.

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

By maya angelou, i know why the caged bird sings quotes and analysis.

Then they would face another day of trying to earn enough for the whole year with the heavy knowledge that they were going to end the season as they started it. Without the money or credit necessary to sustain a family for three months. Maya, p. 17

The “they” in this quote refers to the Black cotton pickers that shop in the Store. Like many Black descendants of former slaves, the Stamps’ cotton pickers are trapped in a vicious debt cycle. They don’t own the land they work on, but rather work it for white landowners. The landowners provide the land, housing, tools, and seed as a loan. By the end of the picking season, the workers must have picked enough cotton to pay back the landowners, pay off their credit at the Store, and have enough remaining funds to see their family through the winter. This is already a tall order, and is further complicated because the cotton workers receive only half (maybe less) of the profits accrued from picking. Thus the workers “end the season as they started it,” poor and in debt.

He must have tired of being crippled, as prisoners tire of penitentiary bars and the guilty tire of blame. Maya, p. 23

Uncle Willie is the focus of this quote. As a Black crippled man, he has two identity markers that negatively impact his place in society. As Maya says earlier in the book, being an able-bodied Black man is already a struggle. Uncle Willie’s disability adds a new dimension to his struggles. In this quote, Maya speculates that perhaps Uncle Willie grew tired of being “the cripple” in his community, and so when the Store has customers from out of town, he pretends he doesn’t have a disability.

It is significant that Maya compares Uncle Willie’s life to that of a prisoner or a guilty person. It suggests that Uncle Willie feels trapped in his body and ashamed of his situation. It also suggests that perhaps society treats him the same way they treat criminals—with scorn, fear, and righteous anger.

I remember never believing that whites were really real. Maya, p. 42

Segregation in Stamps is so absolute that many Black children don’t know what white people look like. Hence, Maya says she once believed that white people were not real.

I had decided that St. Louis was a foreign country. Maya, p. 116

When Maya and Bailey first arrive in St. Louis, the city’s modern technology and diversity of food options blow them away. For kids that have spent most of their lives in rural Arkansas, St. Louis’ flushing toilets, packaged foods, and multitude of cars, trains, and buses seem like artifacts from a “foreign country.”

Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning. Mrs. Bertha Flowers, p. 162

This quote showcases Mrs. Flowers’ philosophical mind and her excellent ability to read people. Thus far, Maya’s family has tried to make her speak by cajoling her, punishing her, and ignoring her, all with no success. Mrs. Flowers figures out that in order to get Maya to speak again, she must make Maya desire to speak again. She knows Maya has a love of literature, and tells the girl that books take on new and deeper meaning when read aloud. Maya begins the road to recovering her voice because she wants to tap into these deeper meanings in the literature she reads.

I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson’s grandchild or Bailey’s sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson. Maya, p. 167

Maya has grappled with insecurity and self-repudiation her entire youth. Being viewed and liked because she was Bailey’s sister or Mrs. Henderson’s grandchild has not helped Maya deal with these feelings, but rather made them worse. Thus, when Mrs. Flowers seeks out Maya (and only Maya) and befriends her, Maya feels for the first time that she is liked and respected for being her. This is an important step in Maya’s development.

Her name’s Margaret, goddamn it, her name’s Margaret. Mrs. Cullinan, p. 183

This quote is important because it shows that Mrs. Cullinan didn’t just “forget” Maya’s real name. Rather, she was using her own name for Maya to show her supremacy and power over the young girl. After Maya shatters Mrs. Cullinan’s prized family heirloom, Mrs. Cullinan relinquishes the illusion of control she thought she had over Maya. Mrs. Cullinan’s use of "Margaret" and not "Mary" symbolizes the shift in power from Mrs. Cullinan to Maya.

It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. Maya, p. 301

These are heartfelt and bitter words torn from Maya’s soul during her school graduation. This sentence sums up the lives of Black Southerners during the early to mid-1900s. White supremacy, expressed in Jim Crow laws, made Black people second-class citizens with a limited amount of opportunities. Maya feels this low glass ceiling acutely during Mr. Donleavy’s speech, when he reminds the Black students of Stamps that they are expected to be athletes or hired help. Because of Donleavy’s speech, Maya feels that she has no control over her life choices and is incapable of achieving her dreams.

The colored men backed off and I did too, but the white man stood there, looking down, and grinned. Uncle Willie, why do they hate us so much? Bailey, p. 328

Bailey asks a question that has no clear answer in this quote. After witnessing and experiencing firsthand white brutality against Black people, he wonders what Black people could have done to warrant such hatred. Uncle Willie is somewhat at a loss, and simply tells Bailey that white people aren’t hateful, but scared. This quote reveals the senselessness and unexplainable aspect of racism, and also marks the end of Bailey’s innocence.

We are the victims of the world’s most comprehensive robbery. Life demands a balance. It’s all right if we do a little robbing now. Maya, p. 373

In this quote Maya discusses the actions of Black con artists who specifically target white con artists for revenge. These white con artists are typically guilty of “fleecing” vulnerable Black people, and so the Black con artists feel justified. Maya takes it a step further, and argues that because Black Americans lost so much during slavery, and continue to lose in modern America, some reparations are in order. She views the actions of the Black con artists as just desserts, as the righting of wrongs, and as a balancing act.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Before meeting Mrs flowers marguerite has refused any help why is Mrs flowers able to help her when others could not

The "aristocrat" of black Stamps, Mrs. Flowers is a gracious woman who encourages Maya's love of literature, and also helps Maya to break out of her muteness. Maya regards her as the pinnacle of humankind. Mrs. Flowers refuses to let Maya feel...

When he realizes that Maya is wounded, what does Maya’s father do? Why doesn’t he take Maya to see a doctor?

Maya's father doesn't take her to the doctor because he is afraid that the circumstances.... Maya being cut by his girlfriend.... would ruin his reputation.

In the car he explained that the couple were his friends and he had asked the wife to...

i know why the caged bird sings

Ms. Flowers is the "aristocrat" of black Stamps, she is a gracious woman who encourages Maya's love of literature, and also helps Maya to break out of her muteness. Maya regards her as the pinnacle of humankind. Maya finds Ms. Flowers a unique...

Study Guide for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings study guide contains a biography of Maya Angelou, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Summary
• Character List

Essays for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

• Maya Angelou and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• The Struggle for Self: Oppression's Effect on Identity
• Overcoming Black Oppression Through Empowerment

Lesson Plan for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

• Introduction
• Plot summary
• Style and genre

The character in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” that is most like the free bird in “The Caged Bird” is

Maya angelou is the character in "i know why the caged bird sings" that is most like the free bird in "the caged bird". maya experiences periods of freedom and joy in her life, much like the free bird in the poem, but also faces challenges and struggles that can feel like being trapped in a cage..