Angelous Style of Writing - Essay Example

One of the author’s strongest themes throughout the work is displacement. Angelou and her brother are moved by their parents so that they can avoid racism though this is never fully possible. The displacement is not limited to geography alone but to racial undertones as well. The author believes that the sense of displacement is stronger than the racial prejudice alone (Neubauer): "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." Essentially this work is interlaced with themes such as “self-acceptance, race, men, work, separation, sexuality, motherhood” that can be seen as glued together by the central theme of racism (Lupton). Racism continues not just as a theme in ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ but rather as the underlying fabric on which Angelou’s tale is woven.

On the other hand, the theme of motherhood emerges strongly late in the work with the birth of Guy, Angelou’s son. However, subtle references to motherhood remain scattered throughout the work. The connection between Momma Henderson and the author is essentially about motherhood where the older woman serves as Angelou’s link to her social and racial identity. Angelou’s work dwells on the use of metaphor to propagate her point of view. The author has adeptly blended racist undertones and overtones with the metaphor of a caged bird.

The utilization of the caged bird stems from Dunbar’s poem titled ‘Sympathy’ where a caged bird is shown singing in order that its prayers for freedom be realized. Angelou likens herself and her community to the caged bird that can see the world around it but remains restricted by the cage from freedom of exploration (McMurry). The African Americans had been emancipated, but socioeconomic liberties remained few and far in between. The situation in Angelou’s case was exacerbated by a rural community and her female gender.

While Dunbar’s caged bird keeps singing in frustration, Angelou is seen as transforming her frustration into her self-acceptance while still being caged by society at large (McMurry). The author has demarcated the cage in the metaphor as social roles that have become so well entrenched that no flexibility or hope for change exists anymore. In Angelou’s tale of self-realization and development, society’s roles and statuses serve as analogous to the bars of a cage. Among other metaphors, Angelou tends to transform Momma Henderson metaphorically to preserve her image as the community leader.

Momma Henderson provides Angelou with a submissive method to deal with life but the author feels that this is not the life for her.