Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. She is an African American author, poet, and entertainer best known for her portrayals of a strong African American woman. She was raised by her grandmother in rural segregated Arkansas. Because she was a black woman raised in the South, she witnessed racial prejudice and inequalities one can only imagine today. This discrimination prompted her to be an avid civil rights activist. Many of her writings stress themes of courage, perseverance, self-acceptance, and the realization of one's full potential. These themes regard obstacles that she overcame in her own life, and she hopes they will enhance the lives' of her readers (A Song).

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,aE? speaks of a free bird leaping on the back of the wind and floating downstream to

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,aE? gives me insight into the life of a black person. It also makes me more knowledgeable on how my people, the whites, treat blacks and other races. Reading this poem made me glad that I am white, and that I have never had to endure racial prejudice or discrimination. And yet, at the same time I am ashamed of how the blacks are treated by my people. I can definitely understand what causes some blacks to feel as though they cannot better themselves in this society. I can only pray that one day society will better itself, and everyone will benefit from it.

the current's end, dipping his wings in the sun's rays, daring to claim the sky his own. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage because his wings are clipped and his feet tied. The bird sings of things unknown, but he longs for his song of freedom to be heard. The free bird thinks of another breeze and names the sky his own. The caged bird stands on a grave of dreams, and his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.

There is definitely a difference between the caged and the free bird. The free bird has a life much easier than that of a caged bird. The statement that the free bird floats downstream until the current's end suggests that the free bird can go wherever he pleases in life with no obstacles to overcome. There is another statement that says the free bird thinks of another breeze and names the sky his own. In this statement it is suggested that the free bird has it so easy he only has to think about what he wants, and it will happen for him. The ideas expressed in the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,aE? are not entirely justified, but there needs to be a change made in our society quickly.

Maya Angelou believes that blacks are caged in American society. "Why the Caged Bird Sings,aE? describes how blacks feel caged in by bars of rage due to the racial discrimination they face. Some blacks feel that no matter how hard they try, they cannot be treated fairly in our society. They feel that their wings have been clipped and their feet bound, and that at the end of time they will be living under the exact circumstances they are living under today. Maya has many poems tha

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Approximate Word count = 1513
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)