Reaction to Angelou

Maya Angelou is an Afro American writer that was living in the middle of the fighting of civil rights for blacks and she was very marginalized by the media because of this. In the poem "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" she compares how a caged bird feels versus a free bird. The caged bird symbolized a blank person and how they felt because they were treated very badly and the free bird symbolized the white race. In the whole poem, the author want to make a statement that being black was a barrier for the person and he felt caged because of their color skin. Instead the free bird is the white race that have been free all their live and had the opportunity of having hopes and dreams that blacks can't. The author explains how also the black person has the same dreams and hopes as a white person and how badly they want to succeed in life. In the poem, the caged bird is angry because he wants to escape into this unknown world and be finally free like the black people. The singing of the bird symbolizes freedom. The author called throughout the singing of the caged bird to freedom and equality of the black people. Is a call for the white people to finally stop with the segregation and start to respect their black brothers. This poem is important because it catches the strength and perseverance that all the caged birds, black people, had during this difficult times through the Civil Right Movement.