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Introductory Notes - PowerPoint Presentation

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Introductory Notes - PPT Presentation

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou About the Author Dr Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4 1928 in St Louis Missouri Maya is a nickname given to her by her brother who used to call her ID: 569958

angelou maya angelou

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Slide1

Introductory Notes

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya AngelouSlide2

About the Author

Dr. Maya Angelou was born

Marguerite Ann

Johnson on April

4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri

(Maya is a nickname given to her by her brother who used to call her

“my-a-sister”)

She is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.

As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son

,

a

few weeks after

graduation

In

1960, Dr. Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt where she served

as an editor. The

next year, she moved to Ghana where she taught at the University of Ghana's School of Music and

Drama.

During her years abroad, Dr. Angelou read and studied voraciously, mastering French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language

Fanti

.

While

in Ghana, she met

with Malcolm X

and, in 1964, returned to America to help him build his new Organization of African American Unity.

Soon

after X's assassination

, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

asked Dr. Angelou to serve as Northern Coordinator for

the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

With the guidance of

a friend, she

began work on the book that would become

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

.

I

Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

was published to international acclaim and enormous popular success.

The

list of her published verse, non-fiction, and fiction now includes more than 30 bestselling titles.

Her 1972 film script for

G

eorgia,

G

eorgia

,

the first by an African American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Dr

. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards.

At

President Bill Clinton’s request, she wrote and delivered a poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” for his 1993 presidential inauguration, becoming only the second poet in American history to receive such an honor.

Dr

. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University

.Slide3

About the Book/Historical Context

Angelou’s first of five autobiographies, published in 1969.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

is Angelou’s most popular and critically acclaimed autobiography.

Focuses

on Maya Angelou’s first 17 years

of life:

Child

to mother at age

17

The

challenges she faced along the way

Book

can relate to teens today through the effects

of:

Emotional

, sexual, and intellectual

development

Detailing of family relationships

The struggle

to overcome racism and prejudice in various

forms

The journey

of self

discovery

Genre

is

Non-Fiction Autobiographical

: includes fictional devices like dialogue and character development,

themes,

and

motifs.

The book also describes Angelou’s rise into activism.

She

has remained a civil-rights activist throughout her

life, earning respect from prominent figures such as Dr

. Martin Luther King,

Jr., President

Gerald

Ford,

and

President Jimmy Carter. Slide4

Characters

Maya Angelou -

Writes

about her experiences growing up as a black girl in the rural South and in the cities of St. Louis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Maya has an unusual degree of curiosity and perceptiveness. Haunted by her displacement from her biological parents and her sense that she is ugly, Maya often isolates herself, escaping into her reading. Angelou’s autobiography traces the start of her development into an independent, wise, and compassionate woman.

Bailey Johnson, Jr. - Maya’s older brother. Like Maya, he is intelligent and mature beyond his age. Though Bailey enjoys sports and fares well in social situations, he also shows deep compassion for his isolated sister.

Annie

Henderson - (Momma) Maya and Bailey’s paternal grandmother. Momma raises them for most of their childhood. She owns the only store in the black section of Stamps, Arkansas, and it serves as the central gathering place for the black community.

Vivian

Baxter - Bailey and Maya’s mother. Although she has a nursing degree, she earns most of her money working in gambling parlors or by gambling herself. Though Vivian and Momma have very different values, they are both strong, supportive women.

Big

Bailey Johnson - Maya and Bailey’s father. Despite his lively personality, he is handsome, vain, and selfish. He stands out among the other rural blacks because of his proper English and his flashy possessions.

Willie

Johnson - Momma’s son, who is in his thirties. Injured in a childhood accident, Uncle Willie lives his entire life with Momma. He suffers insults and jokes because of his disability.

Daddy

Clidell

- Vivian’s second husband, whom she marries after her children join her in California. Although Maya initially tries to dismiss him, Daddy

Clidell

becomes the only real “father” Maya knows.

Mr

. Freeman - Vivian’s live-in boyfriend in St. Louis. When Maya and Bailey move to St. Louis, Mr. Freeman sexually molests and rapes Maya, taking advantage of her need for physical affection and her innocent, self-conscious nature.

Mrs

. Bertha Flowers - A black aristocrat living in Stamps, Arkansas. One of Maya’s idols, she becomes the first person to prod Maya out of her silence after Maya’s rape, taking an interest in Maya and making her feel special.

Mrs

. Viola

Cullinan

- A Southern white woman in Stamps and Maya’s first employer. Perhaps unwittingly, she hides her racism under a self-deceptive veneer of gentility.

Dolores

Stockland

- Big Bailey’s prim-and-proper live-in girlfriend in Los Angeles. Maya spends the summer with them when she is fifteen and drives Dolores into a jealous rage.

Miss

Kirwin

- Maya’s teacher in San Francisco. Miss

Kirwin

treats Maya like an equal human being, regardless of her color. Slide5

Setting

1930s Rural South

Stamps, Arkansas

St. Louis, Missouri

1940s California

Los Angeles

San

FransiscoSlide6

Themes

Illusion

vs.

Reality

Coming

of Age

Family Unity

Abuse/Child Abuse

Gender Roles

Discrimination & Prejudice

Racism/Sexism

Sexuality

(Rape

)

ActivismSlide7

Questions to Ponder

Why

has this book had such a lasting impact?

What

significance does it hold for me?

How

does literature reflect, challenge, or define notions of our identity our culture our history and our philosophies?

How

do the different races interact?

Does

Angelou want us to form judgments about races as single entities?

What

do we learn about social class?