I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS - MAYA ANGELOU

My Experience of reading the autobiography  "I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS" by MAYA ANGELOU



About the Author :

• Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou (April 4, 1928 to May 28, 2014) known as Maya Angelou
• American writer, poet, actress, screenwriter, and civil right activist
• Best known for her series of seven autobiographies
• Honored with NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. 

Must know details about the autobiography "I know why the caged birds sing"

• Author - Maya Angelou
• Originally Published - 1969
• Original Language - English
• Nominations: Coretta Scott King Award for Authors

My Reading Experience

"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" is the evocative first volume of Maya Angelou's six part autobiography. It is my second book in the journey of reading. The first book I read was "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho about which I have already shared my experience with you (My Experience of reading the novel  "THE ALCHEMIST" by PAULO COELHO).

Generally autobiographies fall into two categories. First category includes the history of a person who is considered extremely intelligent and well educated.  Example: Wings of Fire by A.P.J Abdul Kalam.

The second category includes autobiographies those give us insights on the social, economic and political conditions, events, customs or practices which were once a part of our society and the writer himself is a participant or victim of such society. Maya Angelou's autobiography is an example.

To be honest, as a beginner in the journey of reading, I am not very much  fond of autobiographies. So I made a study on the pros of reading autobiographies and I found this old saying, it goes like this:

"Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement."
To which I always add "But the very best comes from someone else's bad judgement!"

Learning from the mistakes and challenges of others is a powerful tool. Autobiographies teach us different stories, the authors’ struggles in life, the emotions they went through,  and valuable lessons. 

"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" consist of 36 chapters. On first day I read only two chapters. At first I felt a little boring as I am not very much interested in autobiographies. On second day I read up to nine chapters. It gave me some grip and cultivated a bit of curiosity which helped me to continue reading.

From my third day I was deep into it and read up to 16 chapters. Fourth day up to 25 and fifth day 30. I was planning to finish the book on fifth day but some emergency work popped up and so it took me one another day to finish the book . 


What I felt about the Autobiography

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, relatively a short work, is tragic and also hopeful at the same time.It discusses a wide range of social situations (rape, racism, poverty, young motherhood, etc.), and ultimately, the work raises questions about why society is so institutionally racist; how rape, young motherhood, and sexuality are stigmatized; and the real ways in which this circumstances change someone.

The author has written with  disarming honesty and a genuine sense of humor. Even the most distressing events are discussed casually – the child’s eye view is done really well. Gradually the author makes you walk alongside her childhood and feel for her pain, enjoy her laughs and cheer her on her adventures.I love that she portrays herself with her anger alongside her compassion and speaks honestly about sexual abuse, abandonment, poverty, race relations, jealousy, desire, perseverance and a deep and uncompromising individuality.

At times I felt bored when some incidents were belabored. But of course those events are indelible memories of the author and there is no surprise that she became pretty talkative about them. 

An outline of the story

Profound - culturally historical-"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" lucidly depicts Angelou's tender years from the age of three to sixteen, partly in the American south during the depression-wracked 1930s. The painful sense of being unwanted haunts her early childhood, for when Maya (then known as Marguerite and often called Ritie) is three and her brother Bailey four they are sent to the musty little town of Stamps, Arkansas wearing tags on their wrists addressed to "To whom it may concern", dispatched by their parents in California who had decided to end their devastating marriage. 

Living with their grandmother (called as "Momma"), who owns a general merchandise store, and Uncle Willie, they suffer racist incidents both in the store and on the streets and nowhere feels safe. Sent to live with her mother, Maya endures the trauma of rape by her mother's lover Mr Freeman. After Freeman is murdered, she literally lose her voice and stops speaking for years.

Through the help of Mrs.Flowers, who, writes Angelou- "has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be"- Angelou finds confidence, self worth, love of language and books and her voice retrieves from imprisonment  The memoir traces Angelou's growth from inferiority complex(of being black) to confidence, finding the strength to tackle the perplex of inequality  and be hired as the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco and later on the poet laureate that people recognize to this day. Thanks to her for being hell-bent.

Maya Angelou ends the story of her youth with the birth of her son and that is a fitting ending for with a child comes an adult's responsibilities.

Phrases I Liked

• “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
• “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” 
• “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” 
• “If you're for the right thing, you do it without thinking.” 

Negative reviews and Banned Book

The negative reviews attempts to turn a blind eye to actual events which it deems too troubling to admit to. The book deals with situations that affected real lives and real people, in real places. How can one put a cover on the truth? I could see some arguments about the sexual content but it is a part of her life and now history. How does hiding it heal the wounds or explore the answers? 

In my opinion, in the present scenario of rising child abuse (irrespective of the demographic characteristic) the autobiography is socially well-off.

Recommendation

With all the prejudice still in the world I believe "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is as relevant today as it may have been on day one of the book. The book is unfading classic and is highly recommended for children of high school age and above. Just be sure to discuss it's content with them......like a parent should anyway.

We live in a country where many women experience domestic violence every year and when you do enter the job market, you stand to earn 10% less than the man sitting next to you.

Shakespeare is a true literary artisan. But if you want to read literature that will inspire progression, self-belief and self-esteem , I can think of no better work than "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou.

"The fact that she went through that period of history and is alive to see the first Black president in US history is just wonderful." I read it somewhere but unable to remember the writer. 

Happy Reading!

A Book lover lost in the world of books...Anju N Nampoothiry.



References - Wikipedia