Purvis 1
Heather Purvis
Ms. Myself
IB English
13 June 2012
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Annotated Bibliography
Aarensberg, Liliane. “Death as Metaphor of Self in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
Exploring Novels. Online Detroit: Gale (2003): N.pag. Discovering Collection. Web.
10 May 2012.
Because it was only an excerpt from the original article, the information here was
minimal. Several significant points: Angelou placed the anecdote at beginning because
of the importance of this singular event (which is given no time); the first Christmas
present Maya receives from her mother is a doll that is representative of Maya’s desired
identity and she tears it up; Angelou capitalizes “Mother” while “father” remains in
lowercase. This last note is inaccurate in terms of the entirety of the text, but that may be
the case for the majority of it.
Evans, Robert. “’The Only Teacher I Remembered’: Schools, Schooling and Education in Maya
Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Critical Insights: I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings. Salem Press, 2009. 66-82. Print.
This article analyzes Angelou’s presentation of education, formal and informal,
throughout the book and points out the relevance this would have to any reader (thus
making Angelou’s memoir more accessible and relevant). It’s a good article for students.
It details several professional educators who are named in the book and summarizes
Angelou’s attitude towards them: the teachers in St. Louis, who emulate whites and hold
Purvis 2
their education over their students’ heads; Miss Williams, who insults the valentine Maya
received and who Angelou (the author) interrupts mid-sentence; Mr. Donleavy, the white
man who spoiled graduation by essentially telling the students they would be great
athletes instead of academics; and Miss Kirwin, the “elderly white spinster” who treats all
people with the same respect and distance and who is most respected and revered by
Angelou.
By focusing on formal education in his article, Evans is able to highlight the
informal education that Maya receives (and prizes more highly). He makes mention of
Daddy Clidell and his lack of schooling, as well as Angelou’s attributing her academic
success in St. Louis to working in the Store and reading out of boredom. He also
emphasizes the bond between Maya and Bailey, which is developed through their
commitment to learning. The author didn’t mention Mrs. Flowers, which is
disappointing because she was crucial in Maya’s development as an educated person.
Hagan, Lyman. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: ‘Childhood Revisited’.” Heart of a
Woman, Mind of a Writer, and Soul of a Poet: A Critical Analysis of the Writings of
Maya Angelou. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1997. 54-73. Print.
Hagan comments on Angelou’s techniques (imagery, structure) used to write an
autobiography that focuses on, not only herself, but the larger black race. The focus of
the article, like the focus of the autobiography, is on childhood and cultural setting.
Hagan asserts that she uses a reflective (sometimes humorous, sometimes indignant)
narrator to contrast the child Ritie/Maya. There is emphasis on the varying traditions that
influenced Maya: religious (as represented by Momma), blues (Vivian and the Baxters),
and literary (Mrs. Flowers and her books – though no mention is made of Miss Kirwin).