I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Poem by Maya Angelou: Character Analysis

Do you ever feel like life puts you in a cage? In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Marguerite's experiences of insecurity, racism, and sexual abuse make her feel as if she were a bird trapped inside a cage. The caged bird in the poem “Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar symbolizes Marguerite's situation, since she is represented by the bird and her difficulties are represented by the birdcage. Dunbar, an African-American poet born to parents who were slaves in Kentucky, wrote the poem to show how slavery, discrimination, and other difficult circumstances made African-Americans feel as if they were trapped in a cage.

Marguerite's insecurity contributes to her feeling of being trapped. First, she feels that she is ugly because of her race. "Wouldn't they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream?" (2) Additionally, she criticizes her own features. "A cruel fairy stepmother...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." (3) In both of these quotations, Marguerite associates being black with being unattractive, and, like Dunbar, feels trapped by the circumstances that have come about as a result of being black. Marguerite's negative self-image and low self-esteem makes her feel miserable, like the caged bird described in Dunbar's poem: "And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars" (line 12) Marguerite and the bird both experience pain and suffering because of their circumstances.

Marguerite's experience of racism is another obstacle that she faces. First, she feels alienated from white people in Stamps. "People were those who lived on my side of town... These others, the strange pale creatures that lived in their alien unlife, weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks." (26) This highlights the isolation and racial tension that is present in Stamps and shows that Marguerite feels marginalized because of her race. Next, she is frustrated at the social and legal disadvantages that come with being black. "It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense." (180) The inequities that Marguerite must endure as a black girl are symbolized by the cage described in Dunbar's poem: "When [the caged bird] beats his bars and he would be free" (line 17) Marguerite and the bird are both situated in disadvantaged conditions.

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Marguerite's experiences of sexual abuse exacerbate her hardships. First, when testifying in court against her rapist, Mr. Freeman, she feels ashamed of her own victimization in the abuse. "I couldn't say yes and tell them how [Mr. Freeman] had loved me once for a few minutes and how he had held me close. . .My uncles would kill me and Grandmother Baxter would stop speaking, as she often did when she was angry. And all those people in the court would stone me as they had stoned the harlot in the Bible. And Mother, who thought I was such a good girl, would be so disappointed." (85) Because Marguerite initially didn't resist Mr. Freeman's advances, she feels traumatized and guilty, even though she is the victim of the rape. Moreover, she feels that she has become impure and evil as a result of the rape. "Obviously I had forfeited my place in heaven forever...I could feel the evilness flowing through my body." (86) Marguerite's victimization causes her to feel mentally tormented, like the caged bird described in Dunbar's poem: "I know why the caged bird sings...It is not a carol of joy or glee" (lines 15-18) Marguerite and the bird both feel distressed by their hardships.

The caged bird in Dunbar's poem embodies the difficult burdens of insecurity, racism, and sexual abuse that Angelou underwent as a child and adolescent. Similar to Dunbar's poem, Angelou was observed by an outsider, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who felt sympathetic to Angelou's emotional pain. However, contrary to the events that unfold in Dunbar's poem, Mrs. Flowers takes action to help and support Angelou instead of simply passively regarding the victim and deploring the metaphorical cage. Both Dunbar and Angelou chose to use the same image in order to highlight extreme misery and suffering, and Angelou, having had personal experience, knows why the caged bird sings.

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