I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Angelou, Maya. (1997). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Bantam Books. 290 pp.

Memoir/Autobiography; African American, Coming of Age, Discrimination, Identity

This is the first volume of an autobiographical series written by Maya Angelou. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a coming of age story which describes Maya’s childhood in Arkansas and California during the 1930’s and 1940’s. This autobiography centers around her childhood after the divorce of her parents and concludes with her giving birth to her son at the age of sixteen.

Maya’s parents divorced when she was three years old. She was then sent with her brother, Bailey Jr., to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas. Much of the story is based in Arkansas, which was particularly interesting to learn about the culture during those times. The children called their grandmother, Momma, and she quickly became the central moral figure in Maya’s life. Bailey and Maya had a wonderful brother/sister relationship. They laughed together and struggled through hard times together. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings portrays a clear picture of what it was like growing up around strong racism and segregation in the South. This novel also deals with struggles of isolation and displacement. Maya lived many different homes during this account: from California to Stamps to St. Louis to Stamps to Los Angeles to Oakland to San Francisco to Los Angeles to San Francisco. The poem Maya read on Easter which stated, “I didn’t come to stay”, foreshadowed her rootlessness. Maya struggles with finding her true identity throughout the novel, and this plays a major role in that struggle.

The story also conveys the struggles of becoming a strong black woman during this time period. She constantly struggles with self-esteem issues, mainly after being sexually molested by one of her mother’s boyfriends at the young age of eight years old. Later, she becomes pregnant at the age of sixteen. Literature plays a major role in this novel, as well. Maya says that her first love was William Shakespeare! Maya and Bailey both have a passion for reading, because it allowed them to escape into an imaginary world of fantasy. After her rape, Maya was helped by a woman named Mrs. Flowers to redefine her voice through the words of writers and poets. Her self confidence dramatically rose during this time. The novel also includes a great list of literature that Maya and Bailey read, including Jane Eyre and The Well of Loneliness. Naming was also a big theme in this novel. Maya’s real name is Marguerite, and most of her family in Arkansas called her Ritie. The nickname, Maya, was given to her by her brother. When she left Arkansas to live with her mother in St. Louis, her family told her the story of the nickname. Consequently, finding her family is connected with finding her identity. The fact that she goes by this name today, shows the deep admiration she holds for Bailey.

This novel is filled with many other issues, including violence, murder, resistance, self-esteem, religion, family, community, diversity, segregation, parental responsibility, alcoholism, and neglect. However, the novel is not overtly sexual and does not include overly violent details. I think this book can be used in 7th grade classrooms and up.

All in all, it was a great novel and I would definitely use this as a choice for an independent book read/ book choice or literature circle. I think this would be a great bridge to a history class if they were discussing African American history during the 30’s and 40’s or if they were talking about Arkansas history.