Term Paper on "American Themes and Americanism in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou"

Term Paper 6 pages (1766 words) Sources: 6 Style: Chicago

[EXCERPT] . . . .

African-American Literature

The American experience is varied and includes both the good and bad aspects of American life, and both elements are reflected in American literature as well. The experience of black Americans is expressed most fully by black writers, and these expression are also reflective of aspects of American life and of the development of American society over time.

A large portion of the black experience relates back to the slave era and then to the ongoing discrimination and struggle of black Americans after that era. Both elements are reflected in the writings of African-Americans. An early expression of both elements can be found in the works of Charles W. Chesnutt, an African-American who was never a slave himself but who reflected on the plight of those who had been and on free black as well in novels like the Marrow of Tradition, in which he makes use of a number of stock characters from the literature of the time and reshapes them in ways that suggest the falsity of the stereotypes. He further shows how the prevalence of these stereotypes can become a self-fulfilling prophecy so that individuals begin to live the life attributed to them and take on the character others already see in them. He also makes use of characters of mixed ancestry, identified as mulattoes, again to suggest ways in which the stereotypes are false. This is part of the social significance of the novel -- it suggests how these stereotypes serve as destructive influences and contribute to racial tensions. The author also examines issues surrounding such themes as the effects of white supremacy, classism within both races, and the idea of the old Negro vs. The young Negro. In doing so, Chesnutt shows us much about ourselves and our racial attitudes.

For instance, the character of Josh Green in the Marrow of Tradition embodies a major stereotype that struck fear into whites everywhere, the idea of the violent black man, almost animal-like in his responses, and dangerous as a result. Chesnutt presents Josh as the image of the brutal black man, but he also provides his character with a motivation for hating whites and for acting out this hatred in violent ways, which is counter to the view that such violence was an animal response to the world and was not based on any rational concept. He is first described as a "black giant" (Chesnutt 109), and he is also described as accepting the Mosaic law of revenge: "Here was a Negro who could remember an injury, who could shape his life to a definite purpose, if not a high or holy one" (Chesnutt 112).

Ralph Ellison is a black man, and Zora Neale Hurston is a black woman. They write about their experiences in different ways, though each is reflecting an aspect of the black experience in American culture. Ellison seems more bitter than Hurston, and he has created a particular persona as the Invisible Man, a persona that allows him to hide even when in a crowd. Hurston, on the other hand, has a much stronger structure of self-esteem and personal worth. For Ellison, blackness has been made by society into the defining characteristic of his existence, while for Hurston blackness is only one of many, and one that she can at times set aside.

The main character in the Invisible Man is invisible in a metaphorical and symbolic sense, invisible both to himself and to others, and invisible in a way that has resonance for other characters in modern literature and for modern man himself. The hero of this novel is a black man who is invisible in white society because he is black, in black society because he takes on various expected roles accepted by white society, and to himself because he has been subsuming his real character in these roles and has not allowed himself to exist as a real person with his own point-of-view.

Hurston's experience differs not because she has not encountered racism (she has) and not because she does not have an awareness of being black (she has). The difference between herself and Ellison may derive from the fact that she is a woman and he is a man, but more than this they have different personalities and different ways of relating to the world. Ellison takes his humiliation to heart and lacks the self-esteem necessary to do what Hurston does -- she marvels that anyone could treat her badly, considering how special she knows herself to be. Indeed, Hurston says that she is not tragically colored, and we can see that Ellison is precisely that. The real contrast for Hurston is when she is the only black person in a sea of white faces, while Ellison has reached the point where he is invisible in a sea of white or a sea of black, uncomfortable being seen in either world. Hurston is too open to disappear in a crowd, and in fact she believes she stands out in a crowd. Ellison approaches the American dream as if it were a nightmare, and Hurston as if it were her due.

In the novel Native Son by Richard Wright, an aspect of the black experience is represented in the story of Bigger and his family. Wright introduces the world of Bigger and shows the poverty in which he and his family live, with danger on all sides from such things as the rat Bigger kills. Bigger's coolness in the face of this threat and the violence with which he kills the rat suggests how he approaches the world. At the same time, his family blames him for not getting them out of this terrible environment by showing more ambition and ability in the outside world, and he is pressured to take a job to get his family off relief. The mother wants Bigger to get the family off relief and out of an environment where his sister wakes up threatened by a rat every morning. She also wants her son to show himself as a man and to achieve something for himself, though she talks most about what he can do for the rest of the family. In the end, his effort to achieve what she wants again releases his violent nature as what he sees as his only possible response to the oppression of the white world.

Nell Larsen offers another perspective on the black experience from a woman's point-of-view in Passing, a title which refers to two black women light enough to pass for white. The novel raises questions about the meaning of race as well as how it fits with issues of social class and personal identity. The male writers seem more interested in the direct clash between black and white in society, while the women show more interest in the meaning of race and identity to the individual, influenced as that may be by the social order in which they live. This concept is mixed with questions of gender and gender relations as well, as is seen in Larsen's novel most clearly because Clare is married to a white man who is also a bigot, and the strain on her as she tries to keep her secret is considerable.

Maya Angelou tells her own story her autobiographical book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and suggests much about human development and some of the obstacles that can be placed in the path of a child. The book also offers psychoanalytic insights into the effects of trauma and some of the cultural forces that shape a child's mind, and it also reflects certain aspects of the black experience in particular, seen here as through the eyes of a child.

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was her first autobiographical book and was very well received in 1970 when it was published. The book is, as noted, autobiographical, telling of Angelou's childhood and her relationship with her brother, Bailey. In the story of this one girl, readers found what Angelou herself clearly found -- evidence of the larger black experience, expressed in her own specific life but extended by her in the book to blacks everywhere in America. She is seen in the book traveling away from her parents, with a strong sense of rejection even as she travels to the new experience of a home with her grandmother. The personal relationships in the book can serve as examples of different sociological theories, illustrating issues of family, class, race, victimization, gender, and the bureaucratic society.

Maya's interactions with her older brother Bailey change over time but always have at heart the same expectation of the reward of affection, nurtured by pride and mutual concern for one another's welfare. When Maya is at her graduation, it is noted that she is following in the footsteps of her brother, who graduated a year or so before. Both attended the "black" school in town, the Lafayette County Training School, which unlike the "white" school… READ MORE

How to Reference "American Themes and Americanism in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings Thesis

Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the autobiography of Maya Angelou, and tells the story of how she and her brother grew up largely in the rural South. While… read more

Thesis 2 pages (608 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Term Paper

Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Specifically it will discuss the themes of racism and segregation in the book, strong themes that are woven throughout this moving… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2718 words) Sources: 7 Style: MLA Topic: Race / Ethnic Studies / Racism

---

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Thesis

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou is one of America's most well-known and best loved poets. Due to her status as an African-American female, however,… read more

Thesis 7 pages (2230 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Maya Angelou Life Term Paper

Maya Angelou

Summary of Five Articles on Maya Angelou

Danahay (1991) takes on one of the most important topics in Angelou's writings -- but a topic that is probably even… read more

Term Paper 9 pages (2668 words) Sources: 9 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Psychological Impact and Significance of Geography in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Research Paper

Caged Geo

From Stamps to San Francisco: The Role of Geography in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Setting is one of the key elements in almost every piece… read more

Research Paper 6 pages (1773 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>