I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing

Maya Angelo’s, I know why the caged bird sing is an interesting and inspirational story. Although it had many unfortunate situation for Maya it seemed she always overcame her difficulties. As I read the book I stopped and put myself in her place. I felt her pain as she was walking down the isle in the church looking for the all colored bathroom, and she had no choice but to go to the bathroom right there and then. Her embarrassment really made me feel overwhelmed as I compared the situations of my life. In my life’s situation I often feel just like Maya. When I walk into a room and I do not see people of my color. I often feel uncomfortable and afraid to say anything .

Her brother Bailey was her role model and support system when she was raped. I felt so sad when I read this portion of the story. I tried to visualize the pain Maya went through, but could not conceive the struggle she was faced as raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of eight. Maya kept to herself and was not able to communicate with others, It was when she decided to move back to Stamps that she began to come around.

Stamps, for the most part was a very segregated town. In Stamps, her grandmother owned a convenient store. Her husband uncle Willie was crippled at an early age when his babysitter dropped him. Maya felt right at home in Stamps. Her abilities to develop through her hard work and educational values grew day by day. Although being

black was often time difficult for her in Stamps, she overcame the hardships by allowing the world of reading and education influence her. I felt really connected with Maya during this period of her life. I figured she wanted to learned as much as she could and to welcome the world with open arms. Her lifestyle of strict discipline and religion was the foundation she had in her life.

When Maya moved to St. Louis she felt a part of her stayed in Stamps, she was afraid of the changes that were happening in her life. She felt that St. Louis was a foreign country. She often felt the disconnection with St. Louis and could never get used to the different thing that was happening in her surroundings. As Maya went back to Stamps, she welcomed it back with open arms. It seemed that the only person that really made a difference in her life was her brother Bailey. Her experience In St. Louis wasn’t that great and she often felt a desire to go back home where she felt secured. When she got back to Stamps, you could see that her development was growing, her learning experience was not only through books but through many of lives adventures. When she graduated the eighth grade. She must have felt on top of the world. She was at