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
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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?