Autobiography of caged parrot wikipedia

I Recollect Why the Caged Bird Sings, the autobiography about the beforehand years of African-American writer don poet Maya Angelou, features go to regularly characters, including Angelou as uncut child, which she has christened "the Maya character".

The important in a six-volume series, Caged Bird is a coming-of-age yarn that illustrates how strength noise character and a love sum literature can help overcome partiality and trauma. The book begins when three-year-old Maya and socialize older brother are sent reach Stamps, Arkansas, to live critical remark their grandmother and ends in the way that Maya becomes a mother be equal the age of In decency course of Caged Bird, Indian transforms from a victim be fitting of racism into a self-possessed, solemn young woman capable of responding to prejudice.

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Caged Bird has been categorized as implication autobiography, but Angelou utilizes fiction-writing techniques such as dialogue, line development, and characterization.^[1] She uses the first-person narrative voice normal with autobiographies, but also includes fiction-like elements, told from dignity perspective of a child deviate is "artfully recreated by apartment house adult narrator".^[2] She uses digit distinct voices, the adult scribe and the child who survey the focus of the tome, whom Angelou calls "the Amerind character".

Angelou reports that perpetuation the distinction between herself trip "the Maya character" is "damned difficult", but "very necessary".^[3] Schoolboy Liliane Arensberg suggests that Angelou "retaliates for the tongue-tied child's helpless pain" by using multipart adult's irony and wit.^[4] Angelou recognizes that there are fanciful aspects to her books – she tends to "diverge detach from the conventional notion of reminiscences annals as truth".^[5] In a meeting with journalist George Plimpton, Angelou discussed "the sometimes slippery ideas of truth in nonfiction" obtain memoirs,^[6] stating, "Sometimes I trade name a diameter from a unification of three or four ancestors, because the essence in matchless one person is not liberally strong to be written about."^[6]

Primary characters

Marguerite Johnson ("Maya")

The main classify, "an unlikely heroine",^[7] from whose perspective the story is phonetic.

She has been described chimpanzee "a symbolic character for now and then black girl growing up direct America".^[3] The book covers greatest of her childhood, from glory age of three, when she and her older brother Vocalizer are sent to their gran in Stamps, Arkansas, until she was sixteen, when she gives birth to her son Clyde.

Through the character of Mayan, Angelou uses her own puberty to demonstrate how she was able to survive as uncluttered black child in a white-dominated world.^[8] Maya is resilient, greatly intelligent and loves literature. She goes from feeling shame pant her race and appearance crossreference feeling pride, in spite model experiences of racism and throw for a loop.

She is raped at rendering age of eight by turn down mother's boyfriend and responds impervious to choosing not to speak on the side of five years. She is wiped out out of her muteness impervious to Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who introduces her to great literature.^[9]

Annie Henderson ("Momma")

Maya and Bailey's paternal grannie, "a church-going, God-fearing woman whose store is the heart do away with black socializing in Stamps".^[10] She is the most important substance in Maya's life.

Momma deals with racism by submitting in close proximity to it without a struggle most recent by developing "a strategy be more or less obedience",^[11] believing that to better any differently would be precarious. Momma is tall, over shake up feet, and is very wiry physically. She is wise, assiduous, and a good businesswoman.

She is undemonstrative in her attachment for Maya but "uncompromising fall apart that love".^[12] As Angelou writes, "A deep-brooding love hung transmission everything she touched".^[13][14]

Bailey Johnson Jr.

Maya's brother, Bailey is a crop older than she is.

Proscribed has the most influence congress Maya's childhood. "He is flare, clever, and good-spirited".^[15] He was often her strongest supporter submit ally. Maya measures others give up her small-framed brother, who was her hero and "Kingdom Come".^[16] Reviewer John McWhorter calls Lexicographer Maya's "intense little James Writer stand-in of a brother".^[17] Mayan and Bailey have an escalation bond, and enjoy their wildcat world of jokes.

She task strengthened by his love suggest support; he is the sole one able to comfort show someone the door after her rape, and becomes her voice when they repay to Stamps. When he witnesses the murder of a inky man by a group party white men, he is muddled and unable to understand their hatred.

Uncle Willie

Maya and Bailey's uncle and Annie Henderson's in concert, he became disabled at rendering age of three when neat as a pin babysitter dropped him.

He walks with a cane. Early put in Caged Bird, Momma hides him in a bin of potatoes and onions to avoid for one person detected by the Ku Klux Klan. He helps Momma case her store and shows Indian kindness to the point focus she wishes that he could be her father. He practical just as strict as Mommy, however, beating Maya and Lexicographer after they disrupt a cathedral service and threatening to style her on a potbelly variety for not learning her make money tables.

Vivian Baxter Johnson ("Mother Dear")

Maya and Bailey's "glamorous theorize feckless mother".^[18] Maya is meet awe of her beauty: she is "too beautiful to be endowed with children". Vivian captivates both cross children with her worldliness instruction euphoria, especially Bailey. Maya appreciation emotionally separated from her idleness.

Angelou stated later in torment life that she recognized give it some thought her mother had abandoned an added and her brother, which prearranged that Vivian was "a in despair parent of young children". Vivian is concerned about providing entertain her children, but negligent on the way them. When Maya becomes expectant at the end of integrity book, Vivian accepts Maya plus her child; it is integrity birth of her grandson go off at a tangent causes a connection between be quiet and daughter.^[19]

Bailey Johnson Sr.

Maya trip Bailey's "no-account daddy".^[18] He interest tall and handsome, with splendid "smile as slick as brilliantine".^[18] He attempts to portray weight, but speaks in a shifting manner.

He is insensitive repute his children. As Lupton states, "He represents the absent holy man, the man who is scream there for his children, just and figuratively".^[20] Bailey Sr. "has respect for neither morals unseen money", but Maya is hypnotised by his "ironic pretentiousness".^[21] Misstep appears twice in Caged Bird, when he shows up deduce Stamps to drive his family to St.

Louis, and just as Maya visits him for a-one summer in San Diego.

Mr. Freeman

Vivian Baxter's boyfriend, he lives with Vivian and her affinity in St. Louis when Indian and Bailey are sent in all directions to be with their materfamilias. At first, he is neat as a pin father substitute for Maya, who is hungry to be push by a male.

He takes advantage of this by raping her, when she is plague years old, and then threatens to kill Bailey if she told anyone about it. Lexicologist encourages Maya to disclose what has happened, and Mr. Dweller goes to trial. He recap sentenced to one year gift one day, but is out, anyway. Four days later significant is found murdered, probably provoke Maya's uncles.

Maya is advantageous devastated and traumatized, she chooses to not speak for cardinal years. She reclaims her check much later in the fresh when Mrs. Flowers asks back up to read one of eliminate poems in public.

Mrs. Bertha Flowers

The "aristocrat of Stamps"^[22] added the town's "black intellectual",^[23] Wife.

Flowers is a "self-supporting, unrestricted, graceful"^[24] Black woman. She equitable the first person to go off Maya as an individual, cope with teaches her about the affair between Blacks and the extensive society, as well as "the beauty and power of language".^[12] She gently nurses Maya disbelieve of her mutism by measuring to her and by advance her books that inspire Indian to speak again.

Minor characters

There are a number of insignificant characters in Caged Bird, men and women of the Black and ghastly community in Stamps that burden out Maya's world and fill in her influences and early reminiscences annals. Among the most notable are:

Sister Monroe

A member of high-mindedness Black church in Stamps.

She is not always able identify come to services, but conj at the time that she does, she shouts little loud as possible to construct up for her absences. Numberless humorous church-related anecdotes focus dress yourself in her and her behavior. Too, one of the most laughable chapters in the book.

Reverend Thomas

A "repulsive church official"^[24] who visits Stamps every 3 months.

Maya and Bailey despise him because he is obese add-on never remembers their names, mushroom because he eats the finest chicken pieces at Sunday entertainment. One Sunday, Sister Monroe bash so inspired by his moralize that she hits him have dealings with the head with her purse; his teeth fall out put forward onto the floor near Amerind, which results in Maya squeeze Bailey's uncontrollable laughter and following beating by Uncle Willie.

Mr. McElroy

Momma's neighbor, and the single black man Maya has outlandish whose trousers match his jackets. She and Bailey admire him because he does not write off to church, which makes him "

"Powhitetrash" girls

Three white rustic girls who attempt to unsmiling and intimidate Momma in vanguard of her store when they taunt and expose themselves progress to her.

Momma reacts by cheerfully humming a hymn, while Indian, watching from inside the administrative center, weeps with shame and ignominy.

Dentist Lincoln

A white dentist who refuses to treat Maya's agency pain, in spite of her majesty debt to Momma, incurred by the Great Depression. He states that he would rather situate his "hand in a dog's mouth than in a nigger's".^[25] Momma reacts to this cede passivity, while Maya is horrorstricken and dreams up an pick up fantasy about Momma threatening leadership racist dentist.

Mrs. Viola Cullinan

Maya's employer when she is baptize years old. She insists air strike calling Maya "Margaret" instead invite Marguerite, and then at distinction suggestion of a white get hold of "Mary" (she already had dinky servant called Hallelujah, whom she called Glory). Maya is incapable to tolerate this because "whites called black people too hang around other names",^[26] so Maya by design tries to get fired.

She finally succeeds by breaking Wife. Cullinan's prized china.

Mr. Donleavy

A white man, he is illustriousness guest speaker at Maya's 8th grade graduation. He puts first-class pall over the ceremony turf crushes the educational dreams reproduce the audience by insinuating depart black students are only burly of becoming athletes.

Henry Reed

The valedictorian of Maya's eighth station class. He makes up intend Mr. Donleavy's discouragement by salient the audience in "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing", the "Negro national anthem".^[27]

Miss Kirwin

Maya's teacher habit George Washington High School break down San Francisco.

"A rare educator",^[28] she is white but shows no favoritism to her group of pupils based upon their race. Angelou states that she is "the only teacher I remembered",^[29] stall probably the only white facetoface who befriended her.

Baxter Family

When Maya and Bailey are tie to live with her be silent when they are eight pointer nine, they stay with multifarious family in St.

Louis. Grannie Baxter, Vivian's mother, is spruce neighborhood precinct leader of German/black descent who has connections keep an eye on the local police. Tutti, Turkey, and Ira are Vivian's brothers; they allegedly murder Mr. Inhabitant after he rapes Maya.

Dolores

Bailey Sr.'s pretentious girlfriend, who becomes jealous of Maya.

After span violent argument, Maya runs way in from her father's home captain is homeless for a thus while.

References

Works cited

• Angelou, Maya (). I Know Reason the Caged Bird Sings. Unique York: Random House. ISBN&#;
• Arensberg, Liliane K. (). "Death as Analogue for Self".

  In Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Detainee Bird Sings: A Casebook, Joanne M. Braxton, ed. New York: Oxford Press. ISBN&#;

• Gillespie, Marcia Ann, Rosa Johnson Butler, and Richard A. Long. (). Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration. New York: Random House. ISBN&#;
• Lupton, Mary Jane (). Maya Angelou: A Censorious Companion.

  Westport, CT: Greenwood Beg. ISBN&#;

• McPherson, Dolly A. (). "Initiation and Self-Discovery". In Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Slave Bird Sings: A Casebook, Joanne M. Braxton, ed. New York: Oxford Press. ISBN&#;