I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
has a very interesting combination of voices and tenses. This is because of the childish nature of Angelou's thoughts in the past tense and the present tense, present day Angelou commenting on her past self. When she writes in past tense, her prose is often filled with naivete. This is shown is passages such as, "People were those who lived on my side of town. I didn't like them all, or, in fact, any of them very much, but they were people. These others, the strange pale creatures that lived in their alien unlife, weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks" (26). This passage shows race relations of her hometown of Stamps through the eyes her childhood self. The language is simpler in these sections as well. In the present tense sections, Angelou inserts herself, the accomplished poet and writer, into the story, and the reader is shown her feelings about her childhood from her view as an adult. "Looking through the years, I marvel that Saturday was my favorite day in the week. What pleasures could have been squeezed between the folds of unending tasks?" (113). These sections, while much more brief, give important insight into Angelou's life.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I think that this combination of tenses and styles makes for a really powerful autobiography. The past tense with childlike prose makes the book read more like a novel and less like an autobiography. Angelou furthers this with metaphors and language that are more typical of literature than non-fiction. I'm really enjoying this book so far. The characters are fascinating, and it's really fun to remind myself that these characters actually existed. My favorite character is Mrs. Flowers. I love her quote, "'Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That's good, but not enough. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning" (98). The concept of the human voice bringing new meaning to words is really intriguing to me, especially because my first experience with Maya Angelou's work was listening to her read a poem on NPR.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been a quick read and I'm hoping to finish it before the next blog post.
