TEACHING GUIDENOTE TO TEACHERS Show Please click on the PDF link below to download the Teacher’s Guide. As with all great works of literature, there are some challenges associated with the use of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in the classroom. Along with classic books such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Angelou’s work has drawn attention from critics advocating censorship, who claim that it is too graphic for student use. Angelou’s unguarded depiction of rape and sexual abuse, and her treatment of topics such as racism and teenage pregnancy, placed the work at the top of the American Library Association’s list of banned books, where it still remains today. Although this presents some obstacles for teachers, the attempted censorship of the book only serves to illuminate its most important themes: namely, the power of literature and the power of our own voices, as well as the greater theme of freedom in all of its varieties, and the struggles we undertake in order to preserve it. Teachers who wish to use I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in their classroom should possess a solid awareness of the subject matter it contains. They should also be prepared to confront the challenging issues the book presents by engaging students in an active examination of these issues, rather than downplaying the book’s controversial attributes. Taking this approach in the classroom can yield tremendous rewards. An exploration of such dynamic topics can re-invigorate the classroom by inviting students to participate in an active form of learning. In opening up these topics for discussion, students do more than witness someone else’s story; they engage in a process of reflection, formulating and sharing their own thoughts. They learn to value their story and to develop and find confidence in their own voices. Throughout I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, we witness Maya and her brother reading voraciously, and through their interaction with literature, they are educated and empowered. Angelou also makes note of the tremendous influence of Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who acts as a mentor not only by sharing books, but by encouraging a young Angelou to give voice to her ideas. With the same principles of mentoring applied in the classroom, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings can have a similar effect on your students, inspiring them to find their own voices. Finally, while the book certainly possesses a distinct sense of time and place throughout, teachers (who will no doubt note the book’s historical and cultural significance) should resist the urge to reduce their lesson to a study of the book from a purely historical perspective. The work certainly has many cultural and historical merits, but the primary challenge for
teachers today lies in helping students recognize how the book applies to their own lives. Challenge them to ask: Why has this book had such a lasting impact? What significance does I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings hold for me? In fact, these are questions which should not only be asked in consideration of Angelou’s works, but in our confrontation with all works of literature. How does literature reflect, challenge, or define notions of our identity, our culture, our history, and our
philosophies? Encouraging this line of questioning will help your students truly connect with the book, allowing the work to enter their lives in a way they might not have expected. In 1969, Random House published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical work of literature which instantly catapulted its author, Maya Angelou, to fame. The book, which told the story of the first 17 years of Angelou’s life, broke records for the unprecedented time it spent on the New York Times bestseller list, and cemented its place in literary his- tory by challenging stale conventions attributed to the genres of memoir and autobiography. It was the first and most successful of six autobiographical works written by Angelou, honored with a National Book Award nomination in 1970, and countless accolades throughout the decades that followed. The book reveals the story of Angelou’s development from a child into a mother at age 17, and presents an unrestrained look at the many challenges she faced during that time. Within the dynamic retelling of the events of Angelou’s own childhood lies a candid exploration of the issues facing American youth. Although I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was written 40 years ago, it remains fresh and relevant for today’s readers with Angelou’s story giving voice to universal concerns. The book speaks about contemporary issues with which many students continue to be confronted today: the effects of emotional, sexual, and intellectual development; the complexity of familial relationships, the struggle to overcome racism and prejudice in its various forms; and the journey towards knowing one’s self. Remarkably, even while addressing topics of such enormous significance, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings remains accessible and captivating, a pleasurable read. This winning combination of features, which has propelled the book’s success in both the popular and literary realm, has made it a natural candidate for use in the classroom and accordingly, the text has been adopted for use in high schools, colleges, and universities around the world. One of the book’s greatest accomplishments has been its ability to redefine and refresh the genre of autobiography, a particular point of interest for scholars and critics. By acting as both narrator and protagonist, Angelou is able to generate a memoir with the feel of a novel, transforming her story into something that extends beyond herself. She heightens this feeling by employing fictional devices such as dialogue, character development, unified themes, and motifs. Today, the question of how autobiography can be defined has transcended the literary realm, finding its way into other venues as well. It is a significant and timely question, which pertains not only to the definition or re-definition of literary genres, but which ultimately leads us to a consideration of identity and truth. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a “A beautiful book—an unconditionally involving memoir for our time or any time…Maya Angelou is a natural writer with an inordinate sense of life and ABOUT THE AUTHOR MAYA ANGELOU was a poet, autobiographer, and activist, among other roles throughout her career. She was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. The name Maya was given to her by her older brother, Bailey Jr., who referred to her in his youth as “my-a-sister,” a moniker which was later shortened to “Maya.” After her parents divorced, Maya and her brother resided with their paternal grandmother and crippled uncle in Stamps, Arkansas, where they bore witness to the racism and prejudice that plagued the American South. Angelou turned to literature at an early age, studying a wide range of books which inspired her to begin writing works of her own. In addition to the composition of many volumes of poetry, Angelou chronicled her life in a series of six autobiographical works, which included her most lauded and controversial work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was convinced to tell her story by the author James Baldwin, whom she met after joining the Harlem Writers Guild in the 1950s. Angelou allowed her voice to be heard not only in her writing, but also through her political and social activism. During the 1960s, Angelou served as the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She also assisted Malcolm X in his work and was deeply affected by the subsequent assassinations of both men. In addition to her work in literature and poetry, and her involvement in social activism, Angelou was also engaged in theater, film, and music. She worked on adaptations, produced, directed, wrote, and composed musical scores. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play Look Away, and three Grammy Awards for her spoken word albums. Angelou’s literary works also garnered significant attention and praise. Her 1971 volume of poetry Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ’Fore I Diiie was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and in 1993, she recited her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Angelou has served on two presidential committees. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and was the recipient of countless honorary degrees. Maya Angelou passed away on May 28th, 2014, at the age of 86. Author Website: www.mayaangelou.com TEACHING IDEAS Alternatively, you might choose to address the historical and cultural context of the work by studying its role as a social device or impetus for cultural change. If you take this approach, you may wish to look at the book within a tradition of American protest literature. This approach might be adopted in literature classes, but would also be a fitting and dynamic approach for history students, or those studying the American South in particular. Consider how the work addresses racism and identity. Explain the significance of scenes such as the Joe Louis fight and the scene where readers find Uncle Willie hiding in a potato bin. How do these scenes tie in to larger historical and cultural issues? Those interested in teaching the text from a sociological standpoint might wish to consider how the various groups of people in the story relate to and identify with one another, or how they fail to do so. How do the different races interact? Does Angelou want us to form judgments about races as single entities? Or is there something else that she is getting at? How do the characters of varying generations interact? Finally, what do we learn about social class? In each of these instances, you would do well to focus primarily on character. Are the characters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings flat characters or round characters? Do the characters serve a function beyond themselves, symbolizing something greater? The book is also a valuable resource for those studying psychology and human development. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings covers tough issues such as the effects of rape and the trauma resulting from abuse; sexual development and gender issues; identity; and the impact of relationships between family members, friends, teachers, and students. DISCUSSION AND WRITING BEYOND THE BOOK (SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES) 1. Discuss an event that you consider to have been a critical part of your growth and development. How has your perception or understanding of this event changed (or
remained the same) as you have grown older? How did this event help to define who you are? TOPICS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION • Censorship • Freedom • Identity • Joe Louis • Ku Klux Klan • Pregnancy • Racism • Rape •Segregation OTHER
BOOKS BY MAYA ANGELOU OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST The following list contains suggested works which can be studied profitably alongside I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Included are works which share similarities in formal characteristics such as style, character, and plot, as well as works which share a historical and cultural significance. The list also references some of the works known to have influenced Angelou, which she mentions in the book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain ABOUT THIS GUIDE’S WRITER This guide was produced by JENNIFER BANACH, a writer from Connecticut. A member of the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics, Banach has written on a wide range of topics from Romanticism to contemporary literature for publishers such as Random House, EBSCO, and Oxford University Press. She was the Contributing Editor for Bloom’s Guides: The Glass Menagerie and Bloom’s Guides: Heart of Darkness, edited by Harold Bloom for Facts on File, Inc., and the author of How to Write about Tennessee Williams. Currently, Banach is at work on How to Write about Arthur Miller and How to Write about Kurt Vonnegut, also to be edited by Harold Bloom for Facts on File, Inc., and Understanding Norman Mailer for the University of South Carolina Press. Which are the two bird compared and contrasted in the caged bird poem?The bars of rage on the caged bird's cage is supposed to represent the bird's blinding anger at being locked up. The free bird is the polar opposite of its caged counterpart and serves to highlight everything the caged bird lacks. The free bird has the freedom to do what a person would believe birds enjoy.
What does the caged bird sing about how is the caged bird different from the free bird?He sings of freedom and hope. A caged bird is not free to have his own life. He is not free and the only thing he can do is he can sing for his freedom and hope. The caged bird sings with a fearful thrill because he does not know that dangers may come in his life because of his singing.
What did Maya Angelou mean by I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?Angelou uses the metaphor of a bird struggling to escape its cage, described in Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem, as a prominent symbol throughout her series of autobiographies. Like elements within a prison narrative, the caged bird represents Angelou's confinement resulting from racism and oppression.
What do the two bird's symbolize in caged bird?The bird represents freedom or desire to be free, while the cage symbolizes confinement or oppression.
|