maya angelou book i know why the caged bird sings

Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Along the way, Maya's life and self-image are shaped as much by the terrific mentors in her life and the love of family members as it is by the shocking racial prejudice in her world or by her traumatic rape as a child.Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Louis, MO (where their mother and her family live for a time), and San Francisco (where their mother eventually settles). As the book progresses, the siblings are shuttled between Stamps, St. Though Momma owns the black area of Stamps' only general store and is somewhat wealthy by local standards, the children suffer the same cruel racial bigotry as any black people in that place at that time. In Stamps, they're raised with love by their strict, stoic, religious grandmother (Momma) and their disabled uncle Willie. In this book, Marguerite (nicknamed Maya) and her brother, Bailey Jr., are sent to Stamps, AK, to live with their grandmother around 1934 when they are 6 and 8 years old, respectively. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS is the first volume in poet Maya Angelou's autobiography. She later has intercourse once with a boy her age in an effort to understand her own sexuality better.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide. As Maya grows older, she develops confusion about the ways her body is changing and seems different from some of her peers, and wonders about lesbianism, which she briefly erroneously associates with hermaphrodites. Her mother has live-in boyfriends, but sometimes stays out all night and seems also to have multiple partners. Maya's father is a womanizer his sexual exploits are not described, but it is known that he is involved with multiple partners. gets involved sexually with an older girl. Maya and her brother, Bailey Jr., overhear adults talking about people 'doing it.' After she fails to recover emotionally from a sexual assault, Maya and her brother are sent back to Stamps, where 11-year-old Bailey Jr. Sexual activity in the book ranges from confused to violent.

Maya angelou book i know why the caged bird sings