I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
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Book Reviews of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Book Review: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Review
Summary: 3 Stars
I gave the book I know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou 3 out of 5 stars. To me reading about the situations that the main character Maya had to go through was hard. There were so many bad things that led up to the good. She grew up with her younger brother Bailey. They lived in California and later had to move with there grandparents. Their mother Vivian had a boyfriend who was referred to as Mr. Freeman. He was not very nice to Maya and raped her on more then one occasion. Mr. Freeman told Maya that if she told anyone, he would kill her little brother. She swore that she wouldn't tell anyone and she then became sick and let out the big secret. The case went to court. Mr. Freeman was accused guilty, and was later murder. Maya felt responsible and the murder haunted her for the rest of her childhood. Maya's grandparents own a shop, which she worked at, and it became a huge part in her life. In this book Maya seems to have very low self-esteem and she thinks that she will never measure up to white girls. Later Maya was sent to live with her real mother again, and at this time she was married, and they moved to San Francisco. There was a fight with her new father and she was cut. Maya ran away and lived in a junk yard with homeless teenagers. Maya became pregnant and didn't tell her parents for eight months. In the end Maya began to feel comfortable with herself after graduating highschool, and her pregnancy and her new born soon. There was a lot going on in this book and the drama didn't stop. There was always something new happening. I liked this book because it was easy to read and to keep on going, but it was so tragic that at points you didn't want to keep on reading.Book Review: A young womans struggle
Summary: 5 Stars
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is, in my mind, one of the best books ever written. This is a wonderful coming of age story of a young African American girl growing up in the 50's and 60's. It tells the story of a young woman and her brother and the struggles Maya faces trying to be the best she possibly can be. Marguerite (Maya) is a very intelligent, well spoken young woman, but she never has the chance to really shine. When Maya is about 11, she is molested by her mothers boyfriend, and later raped when no one is home. She is immediately scared into silece and never really has the chance to blossom. She and her brother are then sent back to Stamps Arkansas to be raised by their grandmother. She then begins to attend school, and the book goes on to tell her life story of how she came to be the woman she is today.This book is an inspiration to anyone who has ever faced adversity. The things that this woman has endured are enough to make you thank the Lord above for your life. If I were dealt the same cards as Maya, I don't think I would have such a prominent place in society as she does. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an eye-opener for anyone who thinks that they have had it "hard"." This book allowed me to know some of what a young black girl growing up in the south experiences in her quest to better herself and her life. After reading this book, I have a much deeper respect for Maya Angelou. Many people, myself included, are not completely aware of the harsh conditions that blacks were forced to endure decades ago. I believe that this book is a good way for one to read what life in the south for blacks once was. This book is a true inspiration for anyone who has dreams.
Book Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Summary: 5 Stars
How I see it, people are like little machines living in a repetitive cycle that just want to get out. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is what you might call an escape route to experience life from another perspective. The enthralling book by Maya Angelou tells a story about a young girl and her many adventures through the troubles and joys of family, school, church, people, and just plain life. What I found to be the strongest point in the book was the character development. I thought that it was very clear and organized and it kept my interest through her many back and forth moves from her grandmother to her dad, and to her mom and then back again. I also found that I could relate to many of her situations and I understood her choices. I also felt the plot was very becoming. I found it interesting and captivating the writer's words were so well detailed I could picture everything. I flowed so smoothly I found myself no being able to stop reading, The only complaint I have about the plot is that one or two parts did not have a true significance, otherwise all was well. The meaning, even though it depended on the individual reader, I thought was all very relevant and it taught the reader about many life adventures as well as tragic events. It also gave the reader some historical information on World War two and the depression. I felt this adventure of a young girl's life in the early 1900's was a great experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly.It led you through twists and turns so and the end you were just yearning for more. I would most definitely recommend this to anyone if they were looking for a great entertaining story.Book Review: Maya ... Dear, sweet and good, Maya
Summary: 5 Stars
I started reading this book and found I could not put it down. I read through it in two days and was hungry for more. I went searching for more Maya and I found her next two autobiographies titled "Gather Together in My Name" and "Singin' and Swingin' and Getting Merry Like Christmas". It wasn't until I picked up her complete set of autobiographies that I realized that "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" was her first attempt at writing a book. You'd never know it by the quality of writing. The reader is instantly transported to Stamps, Arkansas just before the Depression. The book carries your though and out of the Great Depression.You can almost taste the dusty roads and feel the heat on your shoulders and you travel through town and meet all the interesting characters who visit grandma's store. The first person perspective of Maya is passed onto the reader and you truely get a feel for what it must of been like to be black, and in the south during this turbulent time. Your heart goes out to little Maya who has been sent to live with her grandmother but longs to know her parents. Her brother Bailey becomes your hero as he has become Maya's. You'll learn what schooling was like and the importance of going to church to this rural community. Ms. Angelou went on to do so many great things with her life and this book gives you a glimpse of how her strength came to be. She's not only strong but calm no matter what life throws at her. Maya is a wonderful woman, a role model for any race/color/or age. I highly recommend this book as a starting point for a journey with Ms. Angelou. Follow up with the rest of her autobiographies!Book Review: I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently read an interesting book in my English class. "I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRDS SING". That was the first time that I read it. The book was a High School level. This book got my attention because the unfair and the discrimination that were involved in the story. At these days still the discrimination, but years back people suffered a lot, principally the children. "Maya" a... person and the author of her own story, narrate us the crude reality that she had to suffer back those days. She was living with her parents and his older brother in California, but she and her brother had to separate from their parents. Because the unfair in that state. They were sent to San Louis, Arkansas to live with their grandma. They were sent by train like a package with astamp in their chest. When Maya was in first grade the teacher get mad with her because she knew how to read and write. she didn't want to go to school anymore because her grandma taught her school things. Her brother and her grew up without knowing anything about their parents until Christmas, when they received a present from them. They were upset because they tough that their parents were death. Months later their father went for them to take with him to see their mother. But when they were living with their mother, Maya was... by the boyfriend of her mother. She was in shook for a long time. Nobody made her to speak anymore.... Maya and her brother went back to San Louis, Arkansas with their grandma. This is only one example of all what ... people suffered back those days, only of their skin color.