I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

While I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is primarily a coming-of-age story, it is also an in-depth analysis of race and racism in America in the 1930s and 1940s. Maya Angelou’s narrative is full of observations on the subject of racial discrimination and segregation. As a well-read, intelligent child, Maya doesn’t understand why she is treated differently because of the color of her skin. Angelou recounts many examples of discrimination, which take place mainly in Stamps. For instance, when she has a terrible toothache and a local white dentist refuses to see her because he doesn’t treat “colored people” (188). Since before the incident, Maya had minimal exposure to white people, his attitude astonishes Maya, and she feels bad for Momma, who is forced to beg the dentist to help Maya.

Unlike other residents of Stamps, Maya refuses to accept the discriminatory attitudes and tries to challenge them. When her white employer, Mrs. Cullinan, gives Maya a new name, erasing her personhood, the girl rebels and seeks revenge. Her reaction differs significantly from that of Ms. Glory, whom Mrs. Cullinan also renamed for her convenience. While Ms.