Maya Angelou's
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
and Survival
"The black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power."
The autobiography of Maya Angelou's I know Why the Caged Bird Sings covers these turbulent and "tender" years of her life. As an African American adolescent in rural Arkansas, Missouri, and California in the 1930's, Maya has to survive the oppression put on her by both the white communities and the male gender. The story explains in a matter-of-fact tone how Maya courageously survived and overcame the oppression ties that held her down due to the color of her skin and her gender. In my opinion, survival to Maya Angelou (as an adolescent) was about meeting a challenge head on and living through it and learning from the experience. Maya taught me that one does not have to be victorious in the struggle but that one must be aware of the struggle and understand the importance of survival. I believe Maya Angelou visits this thought in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings when she states,
"The fact that the adult African Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance."
Her autobiography is event after event that portrays her struggling with issues of either her race or gender. In this book, the first in a series that describes Maya Angelou's life, she is proud to have lived through her adolescence. Maya basically raised herself and educated herself about the issues of race and womanhood. In some ways Maya did walk the "tightrope" alone. Although she does not outwardly admit that she believes she survived her teens, it is in my opinion that she did. She states,
"To be left alone on the tightrope or youthful unknowing is to experience the excruciating beauty of full freedom and the threat of eternal indecision. Few, if any, survive, their teens."
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings