I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou grew in Stamps, Arkansas, a town with a history of racism and discrimination. Angelou published 36 books, was awarded over 50 honorary doctorates, and won the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Much of Angelou's work includes subjects she experienced through her own life: racism, poverty, and abuse. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" covers all of these subjects as they relate to her individually, as well as her family.

The narration Angelou provides is a reminder of the racism she experienced in her childhood. She dreams, "Because I was really white and because a cruel fairy stepmother, who was understandably jealous of my beauty, had turned me into a too-big Negro girl, with nappy black hair, broad feet, and a space between her teeth that would hold a number-two pencil" (343). Margeurite (Angelou's birth name) feels uncomfortably conscious of her race. More importantly, she is aware that she is supposedly inferior or less desirable than the white people surrounding her. There are numerous accounts where she feels lesser or weaker because of the racism in her town. These moments would be understandable to a black audience, for whom she is most likely writing. However, Angelou uses exemplification and contrast to demonstrate that it is possible to rise above the racism and discover one's value.

In the final scene, Momma suffers from a great deal of harassment and mockery from the young white girls. As a proxy to the audience, Margeurite feels fear and uncertainty over how to handle the situation. In contrast, Momma remains steadfast and calm. Momma triumphs over the white girls, proving to Margeurite (and the audience) that one does not have to succumb to the pressures of a racist society. Angelou characterizes Momma as an almost other-worldly being, saying, "Her face was a brown moon that shone on me. She was beautiful" (357). This contrast to Angelou's earlier description of her race shows a growth in Margeurite's acceptance of herself, in spite of the existing racism. Angelou's writing is convincing because of the emotional roots upon which it touches.

Racism pervades many beauty standards around the world. Eurocentric beauty standards dominate several cultures. It is not uncommon to see advertisements for skin lightening products or to see lightened skin in edited pictures. Although seemingly inconsequential, these beauty standards are the result of many long years of racism and colonialism.
Photo credit

No Name Woman

In "No Name Woman," culture and tradition are two pervasive subjects. Kingston speaks on the ways her families would trick the gods, the traditionally round objects in her parents' homes, and the familial nature of her parents' village. Much of Kingston's life and writing has been influenced by her Chinese heritage; at the same time, the reader can recognize a struggle within Kingston to reconcile her American and Chinese identities.

As a daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, Kingston has published many non-fiction books which include subjects of Chinese and Hawaiian culture. Kingston is currently professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. "No Name Woman" is a recollection of Kingston's aunt, but it serves as more than a tribute--it is a rebellion.

With an unspoken agreement, Kingston's family agreed to forget the sister largely because of cultural values. Kingston writes, "Adultery, perhaps only a mistake during good times, became a crime when the village needed food" (391). In her parents' village, there was no separation between individual family units and the entire community. Because the sister had hurt the family and the entire village, it seemed justified to neglect her after death. Although Kingston seems cool toward her aunt in this passage, the essay is ultimately a rejection of her family's treatment of her aunt. Kingston disregards the punishing silence against her aunt by daring to print her story on a page. Such a piece is likely intended for individuals who also remain complicit in the erasure of victims and their suffering. To draw the reader into this rebellion, Kingston employs a narrative. Describing her aunt's labor, she writes, "At [the child's] birth the two of them had felt the same raw pain of separation, a wound that only the family pressing tight would close" (392). Such narration helps flesh out the aunt and child as actual people. No longer is her aunt an evil outcast, but a human who suffered immense pain. Readers can now empathize with the aunt and continue the rebellion Kingston has started: they can remember her story and break the silence.

Kingston hypothesizes that her aunt was likely pregnant as a result of a rape. However, there was no justice or sympathy for her aunt, an unfortunate parallel to today's current events. Many survivors of rape are silenced or ignored in favor of the comfortable safety of the status quo. It is the responsibility of every individual to break the silence and create change.
Photo credit

(Pages 383-394)

How It Feels to Be Colored Me

In the 20th century, Zola Neale Hurston was a prominent black woman writer who rose to success with the publication of her various novels, folklore, essays, and plays. Hurston was a member of the Harlem Renaissance and a graduate of Barnard College. In the beginning of Hurston's essay, she writes, "I remember the very day that I became colored" (114). "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" includes a startling moment in a tale of childhood: the moment Hurston becomes racially conscious.

Throughout the text, Hurston treats race as a malleable concept. She can recall the very day she "becomes" colored—and even then, her identity is not permanent. Depending on the social situation, Hurston's perception of her race can diminish or amplify. This malleability is central to Hurston's essay and purpose. Although she recounts feelings of inferiority, Hurston's struggles as a black woman are not the focus of "How It Feels to Be Colored Me." Rather, she uses sharp imagery to empower audience members. Hurston likely intended her essay for other African-American readers; perhaps young people seeking guidance or affinity with the author.

To first establish ethos with the audience, Hurston included her various encounters with racism. Her readers would likely have also experienced similar struggles; therefore, they would have placed a greater trust in Hurston's advice. To truly replicate her relentless fight against racism, Hurston uses figurative language to her strength. Although her words may have been intended for young black readers, the power of her voice conveys a message of empowerment to all readers. She writes, "The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said "On the line!" The Reconstruction said "Get set!"; and the generation before said "Go!" I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep" (115). By likening her struggle to a race, Hurston awakens a sense of restlessness and thrill to "fight the power," so to speak. Such unambiguous determination sends a message of strength and confidence loud and clear. 

Although Hurston's experiences of racism would have differed from those in the 21st century, recent happenings in Ferguson and Baltimore are a reminder that anti-black sentiment is not yet a thing of the past. Hurston's writing still strikes a chord, even nearly a century later.
Photo credit

(Pages 114-117)