I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
By Maya Angelou

Over the period of my summer I read a quite interesting novel, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings caught my eye not only because it was recommended to me by a student from last year’s honors English, but the story had elements of hopefulness and heartbreak which I find entertaining throughout my books. Although the story was hard to grasp on to in the beginning chapters, I was able to find interest in some of the upcoming events.

Maya, or Marguerite as she was called throughout the story, is a young girl living in the small town of Staples with her grandmother, Momma, her younger brother, Bailey, and her uncle Willie. Maya began having a hard time being a younger black lady in this era due to the discrimination against the African Americans. She endured many situations based on her color and ethnicity. Through all of this, Maya and Bailey were able to work in their grandmother’s general store and have an education, which wasn’t common of the African American children.

Maya and Bailey were both undeniably smart, but after being moved from place to place, living with people they didn’t know, and being shipped across the country, their education was soon lost. School wasn’t an option for either of them at one point. When Maya was 8, she was first of the many households she stayed in for a fair amount of time. But this peacefulness and moment of settling was soon over when Maya was raped by her mother’s current boyfriend, who later left and arrested for molesting her. At her young age of 8, she went into silence and consoled to books and only spoke to her brother. After coming out of this phase, Maya became a better more confident woman with outstanding qualities and experience beyond her age.

As Maya grew throughout the story, I couldn’t help but get the sense that I was growing with her; it was astonishing how one woman can endure so much pain and tragedy and still come out so confident and beautiful. I was curious to see how the problems would resolve and the book kept me reading till the end once I was able to grasp onto the storyline. Although a bit dry at the beginning, I soon was attached to the book like glue, I would definitely recommend the book to a select few of my friends who I think would enjoy it, but overall, I think the book was a bit tedious and uninteresting at some points, with a few exciting and dramatic events that overall, made it worthwhile.