38 pages • 1 hour read
Maya AngelouA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
1. Considering the theme of Freedom and Imprisonment, in what ways is the experience of the caged bird similar to the Black experience in America? The poem alludes to the slave trade with the phrase “trade winds,” yet Angelou publishes the poem in 1983. What is she saying about the nature of oppression? Cite textual evidence in your response.
2. Considering the theme of Freedom and Imprisonment, in what ways does the free bird symbolize white America? At what cost does the free bird name the sky his own? Why does the bird believe it is entitled to do so? Who loses access to the sky if the sky belongs to the free bird? In what ways does the free bird have Complicity in the imprisonment of the caged bird? Cite textual evidence in your response.
3. Consider the theme The Power of Voice. Giving voice to a story or experience is often equated with empowerment. Despite its circumstances, why does the caged bird sing? Cite textual evidence in your response.
By Maya Angelou
A Brave And Startling Truth
A Brave And Startling Truth
Maya Angelou
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
Maya Angelou
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
Maya Angelou
Gather Together in My Name
Gather Together in My Name
Maya Angelou
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Letter to My Daughter
Letter to My Daughter
Maya Angelou
Mom & Me & Mom
Mom & Me & Mom
Maya Angelou
Mother, A Cradle to Hold Me
Mother, A Cradle to Hold Me
Maya Angelou
On the Pulse of Morning
On the Pulse of Morning
Maya Angelou
Phenomenal Woman
Phenomenal Woman
Maya Angelou
Still I Rise
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou
The Heart of a Woman
The Heart of a Woman
Maya Angelou
The Lesson
The Lesson
Maya Angelou