I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Written by Maya Angelou
First published in 1969 by Random House
About Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an
American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies,
three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies,
and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more
than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies,
which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international
recognition and acclaim.
She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry
cook, sex worker, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and
Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt
and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and
producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she earned the first
lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin
Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made around 80 appearances a
year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou
recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at President Bill Clinton's inauguration,
making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at President
John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.
Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide although attempts have
been made to ban her books from some U. S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works
have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be
autobiographies.
Characters
Marguerite Ann Johnson (Maya)
At the beginning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya is a precocious young girl
suffering not just from the typical traumas associated with being black and female in
America, but also from the trauma of displacement. Smart and imaginative, Maya
nevertheless feels that people judge her unfairly due to her ungainly appearance. Feeling
misunderstood, she fantasizes that she is a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl trapped in a “black
ugly dream” and will soon wake up and reveal her true self. Maya describes her social and
familial displacement as “unnecessary insults” on top of the general difficulties associated
with growing up as a black girl in the segregated American South. The South presents Maya
with three tremendous impediments: white prejudice, black powerlessness, and female
subjugation.
In addition to these broad societal obstacles, Maya endures many personal traumas in her
lifetime as well. Her parents abandon her and Bailey when Maya is three, and her sense of
abandonment and her need for physical affection lead to further struggles. Five years later,
she must leave the only home she has known and live in an unknown city where she seeks
comfort in Mr. Freeman, who molests and rapes her. At age ten, having already witnessed
callous whites mistreating the people she loves most, such as Momma, Maya begins to
experience racism directly. Mrs. Cullinan tries to rename and demean her, and the racist,
, white dentist Dr. Lincoln says he would rather stick his hand in a dog’s mouth than treat
Maya’s problem. In San Francisco, Maya’s confusion about sexuality becomes compounded
when she becomes pregnant at age sixteen.
Angelou’s autobiography documents her victories and successes as well. With Bailey’s and
Momma’s unwavering love and later encouragement from Vivian, Daddy Clidell, and
numerous role models and friends, Maya gains the strength to overcome difficulties and
realize her full potential. She learns to confront racism actively and eventually secures a
position as the first black conductor aboard a San Francisco streetcar, which is perhaps her
crowning achievement in the book. She also learns to confront her own failings with dignity
and honor, never forgetting her guilt about lying in court and, in the Los Angeles junkyard,
realizing the need to think not just in terms of black and white, but in terms of humanity in all
its diversity. She shows the power of forgiveness as she tries to find positive qualities in Big
Bailey and to show compassion toward Dolores. She remains insecure, especially about her
sexuality and appearance, but eventually she learns to trust her own abilities, as we see in
the final scene, when she realizes that she will be able to care for her newborn son.
Bailey Johnson Jr.
As Maya’s older brother by one year, Bailey is the most important person in Maya’s life
throughout her childhood. When moved around from place to place, Bailey and Maya
depend on each other to achieve some semblance of stability and continuity in their lives.
Unlike Maya, Bailey is graceful, attractive, outgoing, and charming, and many consider him
the jewel of his family. Bailey uses his skills and status to protect Maya. With his charms, he
defends her against criticism and insults. Bailey and Maya share not just in tragedies but
also in private jokes and a love of language and poetry.
One of the most striking differences between Maya and Bailey is their ability to confront
racism. Bailey explains to Maya early on that when he senses the negative effects of racism,
he essentially puts his soul to sleep so that he can forget the incident. Maya, however,
learns to resist racism actively. Bailey and Maya grow further apart as they go through
adolescence, and Bailey continues to withdraw deeper into himself. Even so, Maya
continues to confide in him, asking for advice about her pregnancy. He continues to show his
love for her as well, replying quickly to his sister and giving caring advice.
The return to Stamps from St. Louis traumatizes Bailey, and though he never blames his
sister, he remains tormented by his longing for his mother. He expresses his longing through
moodiness, sarcasm, and a bold assertion of his independence. In Stamps, he finds outlets
for his longing for maternal affection by watching the white movie star who looks like Vivian
and by playing “Momma and Papa” with Joyce, his buxom girlfriend who is four years his
senior. In San Francisco, Bailey tries to win his mother’s approval by imitating the people
she befriends—he becomes the pimp-like boyfriend of a white prostitute. Bailey moves out at
age sixteen and gets a job on the Southern Pacific Railroad, explaining that he and Vivian
have come to an understanding with each other and that he has grown wise beyond his
years.
Annie Henderson (Momma)
Maya and Bailey’s paternal grandmother (Momma) raises them for most of their childhood.
She owns the only store in the black section of Stamps, Arkansas, and it serves as the
central gathering place for the black community. She has owned the store for about twenty-
