Essay Database

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou, who was born Marguerite Johnson, recounts her experiences as an African-American youth in the United States during the 1930's and 1940's. She candidly explores the complexities of racism, family life, and growing up. The thirty-six chapters of Angelou's 250-page autobiography are arranged chronologically and geographically, following Angelou and her brother, Bailey, from home to home. Angelou sets the tone of the autobiography with a three-page …

…We waited." When Louis came back, so did Angelou's people; when he won, they did. Although the sketches and the chronology hold I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings together, the strong, life-affirming voice of the author also unifies the autobiography. Just as the book begins with a child, reciting a half-remembered Easter poem, it ends with a child. Angelou, just out of high school, lies in her bed, snuggled close to her three-week-old infant.