The Caged Bird Controversy
The novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the life story of Maya Angelou as she struggles through life in the South. Published in 1969, the novel has received critical acclaim since 1970 and spent three years as a number one best seller on the New York Times Best Seller List. (Caged Bird Essay) Although this book has a best seller, it was the ninth most frequently challenged book in American high schools (Caged Bird Essay) and has been a censorship target for years. Many school libraries have banned I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, because numerous parents believe that the book is vulgar, poor literature and that it is inappropriate for use in public schools for young people of any age. Others believe that I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings might do what parents fear most - raise important issues while leaving the young reader no avenue to discover his or her relationship to those ideas.What do people mean by "vulgar"? The story consists of Angelou's experiences when she was growing up which includes graphic scenarios. For example, when she described her rape by her mothers boyfriend at the age of eight. In Southlake Texas high schools, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was banned because of the "
I Why the Caged Bird Sings also encourages social problems that our society fights. In the following quotation, Angelou talks about joy derived from a pregnancy as an unwed sixteen year old. 'For the next two weeks, I whirled around the city, taking vitamin shots and pills, buying clothes for the baby, and except for the rare moments alone, enjoying the imminent blessed event.' The last message we want to put across to sexually curious teenagers is that a teenage pregnancy can bring happiness! -Author Unknown Overall many believe that I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings is one of the greatest books that Angelou has written so far. Still this book is destined to be controversial for a long time. Maybe one day, parents will understand the important issues and feelings towards important issues like the ones described in the story and understand them through the eyes of Maya Angelou. The pornographic content and premarital sex do not compare to the racism which is the number one issue of the book and is the main reason why this book has been so controversial. There is no reason to believe that the novel is in its poignant portrayal of race relations. (Learning to Live) This explains why the story has been most controversial in the South, where racial tension was historically the worst and where the novel is particularity set. The obvious and subtle effects of racism o
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Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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