i know why the caged bird sings

A detailed Summary of i know why the caged bird sings

In her book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou describes one sunny afternoon when a couple from Little Rock visited her family's small store operated by her Uncle Willy who is physically disabled. Angelou was startled to realize that for the only time in her life she was witnessing her uncle's deception; Uncle Willy was pretending to not be lame. Early in the book Angelou describes her impression of that afternoon:

I'll never know why it was important to him that the couple (he said later that he'd never seen them before) would take a picture of a whole Mr. Johnson back to Little Rock. He must have tired of being crippled, as prisoners tire of penitentiary bars and the guilty tire of blame. The high-topped shoes and the cane, his uncontrollable muscles and thick tongue, and the looks he suffered of either contempt or pity had simply worn him out, and for one afternoon, one part of an afternoon, he wanted no part of them. (p.11)

Angelou is one of my favorite authors, and her description of Uncle Willy's feeling of alienation is beautiful. Furthermore, I identify with Uncle Willy's desire to appear normal, if only "for one afternoon," for a more important reason than just enjoying Angelou's work. When I first read it

I was too young to be aware of it while living in Indiana, but as the scenario replayed itself later in Mississippi I then realized my mother always had trouble teaching. She frequently received poor comments from her students, and occasionally the administration would have to speak with her. Just before our family moved south, my mother suffered her first nervous breakdown and was hospitalized. After four or five days of rest she recovered, so the doctors released her. The official diagnosis was nervous exhaustion. Consequently, my father decided the way to solve Mother's problem was a geographical cure, so we moved to Arkansas. My mother suffered severely from culture shock, and, deprived of family and friends, she retreated from the world. The first year we lived in the south my father went to school full time, worked part-time, and preached. So he was never home to see that my mother never left her bed except to cook two meals a day, shower, and go to the bathroom. After a!

Mother has adjusted to her illness and has recovered as much as possible. To a certain extent the brain can heal. She has regained basic skills such as minimal cooking and personal care. But she'll never work, or read long or complicated articles, or sew a dress, or do any other task that requires prolonged concentration. The drugs necessary to keep Mother mentally balanced have caused a hundred pound weight gain, and she sometimes cannot keep her train of thought well enough to carry on a conversation. But it is not necessary for Mother to be hospitalized, and she is grateful. Every weekend she goes to the Ozark Folk Center, and the people there are oblivious to her mental problems. Mother told me, "I meet new people every week, as well as seeing the regulars every weekend, and it's wonderful. They don't know I am sick; they treat me as i

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Approximate Word count = 1231
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels