A Story About Life:
Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
by Melanie Tanielian
City College San Francisco
English 96
05/21/1999
Maya Angelou is one of the greatest poets of our time. She is an example of great courage and stamina; surviving the rape of her body and soul when she was only seven years old, surviving only to live a life in poverty, facing discrimination every day. In her book she describes her life, and the suffering she endured in great detail; however, her will has proven to be strong, and only this has made her what she is today. Her first book "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" was published in 1972, and it stayed on the bestselling list for many years. The book became part of the curriculum for ninth grade English courses, so many students got to read and discuss her work. Unfortunately there has been much controversy about this piece of literature. Parents complained that Angelou's book is poor literature and that the violent content is inappropriate for children. In august of 1998 a case was publicized all over the U.S. in which Barry and Sharon Taylor , parents from Annapolis, were seeking to overturn School Superintendent Carol Parham's decision reinstating the book as part of the ninth grade curriculum. I disagree with the concerns of the parents and propose that "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"continues to be part of our educational system. This book does not only teach us a wide variety of vocabularys; it teaches us about life. Many lessons are to be learned from this book including the terrors of racism,and sexual abuse .
Racism and its roots is addressed in Angelou's book many times. She describes the violent and cruel behavior of white people in the South in the 1930's; first as her uncle Willie has to sleep in a bin buried by potatoes to hide from the "boys"who were going to come around to teach the black folks a lesson, since a black boy had touched a white woman. As the used to- be-sheriff comes riding by the store of Maya Angelou's grandma he advises "Annie, tell Willie he better lay low tonight. A crazy nigger messed with a white lady today. Some of the boys'll be coming over here later."(1) Another incident is her visit to a white dentist who owes her grandma a favor, but he sends her away with the words "Annie, my policy is I'd rather stick my hand in a dog's mouth than in a nigger's."(2) By giving children the chance to read her descriptions ,which are vivid and harsh, we are letting children experience the reality of racism and its wrongful character. Something so immoral cannot be taught as wrong if it is described in an embellished way; the cruel reality needs to be addressed . The message needs to be shocking to have an impact on our teenagers,who already are so used to violent pictures on the daily news, and in the cartoons they watch on the television. We allow our teenagers to witness violence on many different levels without realizing it; inside the classroom is the safest place to allow the learning experience, under the expert guidance of a teacher, that violence and racism is wrong. In Germany teenagers are shown the most disturbing pictures of the Jewish Holocaust, causing sleepless nights for many students. The message the school board has for the parents: We need to teach our children about the past, even if it is disturbing, so that similar events do not reoccur in the future. This is how we need to treat Maya Angelou's book as a means for a brighter future.
But most of all, Barry and Sharon Taylor and many other parents were concerned with the sexual content of Angelou's book. The detailed description of the rape by her mothers boyfriend, Mr. Freeman ( what a suiting name for someone who takes away the freedom of a little girl)is the cause for most of the discussions. I think many parents are underestimating their children's knowledge of sexuality, or are in denial of them growing up. In this country with the highest amount of teen pregnancies among all industrialized nations, two times higher than Great Britain and ten times higher then Japan,(3) we need to realize that education is the only way to prevent about one million girls from getting pregnant before they reach the age of eighteen every year. By teaching teenagers about sex and its consequences at an early age will protect them from abuse, premature intercourse , and pregnancy. The safety of a classroom provides for an excellent environment to discuss the subject teenagers are so intrigued with; teenagers would be provided with a forum to discuss their concerns under adult supervision and advice.Reading "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"will open discussions about sexual abuse, and with the right guidance teenagers will learn that under no circumstances sexual abuse is right, and that the way to deal with a serious crime like this one is to speak up , unlike Maya Angelou who was so afraid, that Mr. Freeman would hurt her brother.
Another chapter under much discussion is chapter 35, here Angelou discusses lesbianism. Her own fear that she might a lesbian is the main point of this chapter. She was reading a book by the name of "The Well Of Loneliness" wondering about lesbian lovers,"I thought lesbian was synonymous to hermaphrodite"(4), and how one would know that one is a lesbian. Her ignorance is humorous to an adult , but I am sure that many teenagers have the same questions, which could be answered in the safety of a classroom, while discussing topics many teenagers might not dare to discuss with their parents.
"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"should be mandatory for high school students regardless of its shocking content, because it opens discussions about the terrors of racism and sexual abuse, which might not be addressed otherwise. The parental concerns are results of ignorance , with the intention to protect their children from reality. A reality, which is facing the children every morning, when they get up to go to school.
References;
(1) "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou page 17, line 25
(2) "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou page 189,line 12
(3) National Campaign to prevent teen pregnancy resources and statistics 1998
(4) "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou page 275, line 5
To see our coverage of this controversy, including other comments, clickhere.
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