Comparison Between The Novel Beloved By Toni Morrison And I
Know Why The Caged Birds Sings By Maya Angelou.
Fatimah Aslam
Bahauddin Zakariya University
Multan
Abstract
The paper deals with the comparison and contrast between the two novels; Beloved by
written Toni Morrison and I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Both the
writers were black females and very aptly describe the lives of the blacks in their respective
novels.
Introduction:
Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison were two influential women in the literary world,
especially in the black community. These ladies discussed about the miseries of black
community in their own unique style. Both of them have been blessed with a way of
articulating, telling stories and their experiences in a unique way, which attract others to their
masterpieces and inspire readers as well as writers to aim for the best in their work.
Comparative Study of the Novels:
Beloved is not a linear tale. It is a story of present with flashbacks and memories of the past.
The novel is written in fragments and pieces for the writer to place the together and
understand it. Beloved is a fictional story and is well told through Morrison’s eyes and
imagination. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographical account of Maya
Angelou’s life. She is the story teller and describes all the experiences of her life in an
attention grabbing way. She narrated the incidents in a simple manner yet beautifully
illustrating her thoughts and feelings.
The titles of these novels have great significance. Beloved is an ironical title. The name of
Sethe’s daughter was beloved and she was murdered by her. Beloved was to be loved but,
was killed because of the fear of slavery. This murder of Beloved reflects the miserable
conditions of slave as they preferred to die then to be slaves. Beloved is the voice of whole
black community being humiliated at the hands of whites. The title, “I Know Why the
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Caged Birds Sings”, is the struggle of a black lady to get freedom and identity and she wants
to get out of the cage. The cage is the restrictions and difficulties of life and the song of the
bird is the scream and struggle of bird to get rid of this cage.
The characters of both novels are in contrast with each other. Beloved is the main character
in the novel Beloved which is in contrast with Maya in I Know why the caged birds sings
and the story revolves around them. The character of Sethe is parallel to Momma, both
ladies are concerned about their children. Denver is comparable with Bailey and both have
love and affection for their sisters. Paul D and Mr. Freeman could be compared as both
bring about change in the life of the other major characters. The white people are played
similar role in both novels and were unfair to the black community.
There is a wide use of symbols and motifs in both novels. Few symbols used in Beloved
include, House number 124 (pg.1) is symbolic as it shows that the letter three is missing as
Sethe killed her third child. The Ohio River (pg.1) is of great significance. For slaves such
as Sethe, the river represents the promise of freedom. Sethe’s scar on her back is an emblem
and reminder of the physical cruelty of slavery. But the scar eerily resembles a chockberry
tree (pg.17) and this describes the family of Sethe. Similarly, various symbols are used in I
know why the caged birds sings. Momma’s store(pg.6) is a central gathering place in Stamps
.It symbolizes the rewards of hard work and loyalty and the importance of a strong and
devout community. The lavender taffeta dress ( preface) that Momma alters for Maya on
Easter symbolizes Maya’s lack of love for herself and as she thought herself to be ugly. It
was the time she realized that transformation had to come out of her own self. Many other
symbols including these are used in the novel.
One of the prominent themes in Beloved and I know why the caged birds sings is Identity
Crisis. The writers of these novels were Black and thus have to face many problems in their
life at the hands of white people. This theme is linked with the slavery in Beloved. The
characters in this novel have to face identity crisis as they were slaves to white people.
Whites treated them harshly at the Sweet Home. While talking about the past, Paul D said “
It wasn’t sweet and it sure wasn’t home.”pg( 24). The names given to blacks like; Paul A,
Paul D, Sixo (pg.11) were mere numbers or alphabets so, they lacked true identity. Maya is
depicted as symbolic character representing every African-American girl growing in
America. She was given different names like by various people. "Mrs. Cullinan was right
about one thing. My name wasn't Mary”(pg.111). Maya thought that she was treated badly
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because of her ugly appearance. “had turned me into a too big Negro girl, with nappy black
hair,broad feet and a space between her teeth” (pg.3) Such incidents were the cause of her
identity crisis and affected her personality.
In Beloved, Morrison also focuses on how African blacks are always drowned in the vast
ocean of racial discrimination throughout their life. The Blacks were slaves of Whites in
this novel and it is shown that how the masters treated their slaves physically, emotionally
and sexually . “And they took my milk” (pg.17). The whippings made a tree on Sethe”s back;
“ I got a tree on my back” (pg 15). Those children who were born out of their slave were
legally belonged to their slave- owner. The theme of racial discrimination is also important in
I know why the caged birds sings. Maya from the beginning of her life have to face this
discrimination. Maya was not a slave but belonged to the Black community and thus was
treated as slave. Angelou describes an incident in which she had a terrible toothache from
two abscessed teeth. Momma decided to take her to a dentist to see if he would treat her teeth.
The dentist refused, telling Momma that “he’d “rather stick his hand in a dog’s mouth than
in a nigger’s”. Blacks were always afraid of white people even Momma was a respectful lady
but did not utter a word when she was humiliated by the white girls. “then one of them
wrapped her right arm in the crook of her left, pushed out her mouth and started to hum”
(pg. 30) These incidents show differences between the black and white community.
Another significant theme is of displacement which is discussed in both novels. Sethe and
Paul D reflect displacement in Beloved. Sethe ran from the Sweet Home to save her child
from being slave and this was her first displacement but was later caught and brought back to
the same life of slavery. Paul D also displaced “from Ohio to Cincinnati, then to Baby Sugg’s
house” pg(41). Similar displacement could be seen in I know why the caged birds sings. In
this novel, Maya and Bailey were displaced from one place to another. They shuttled around
to seven different homes ; from California to Stamps to St. Louis to Stamps to Los Angeles to
Oakland to San Francisco to Los Angeles to San Francisco. She, in the very beginning said
that I did not come to say and this refers to her displacement throughout the novel. In the
beginning she herself said “I didn’t come to stay” (preface).
The parent child relationship is evident in both novels. In Beloved, Sethe is the mother who
murdered her daughter Beloved to protect her from the curse of slavery. She had been facing
the cruelty of her masters and wanted her daughter to be saved. From the time she slits the
throat of her daughter, she had been giving evidences of her actions. The second daughter,
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Denver was alive and she had a good and close relationship with her mother. Once Paul D
talked about her rude behavior and Sethe got furious and replied “ I can’t hear a word
against her” (pg.45). This shows her concern towards Denver.. While in I know why the
caged birds sings, the chidren; Bailey and Maya were sent to their grandmother by their
parents. Later, their father came and took them along him and they were sent to their
mother.Bailey adjusted with his father and mother easily but, Maya was always reluctant to
face them. "He was a stranger, and if he chose to leave us with a stranger, it was all of one
piece" (pg.60) As we lead to the end of the novel, a strong bond is tied between Maya and her
mother espacially during the whole incident when Maya gave birth to a boy.
The theme of family is also one of the major themes in these novels. In Beloved, the slaves
were living in Sweet Homes and they were as a family to each other. They shared common
problems and harsh treatments and could understand each other very well. The wish of Paul
D to form a family with Sethe and Denver was also present. He wanted to spend his life with
them. “Leave it to me and see how it goes” (pg.46) Denver was reserved but, he took her to a
carnival and this was the time when they got closer. By the end, he was the one to support
Sethe and Denver and decided to begin a new life with them. In I know why the caged birds
sings, we can see various families. One was of Momma including; Uncle Willie, Bailey and
Maya. They were close to each other and were living a peaceful life. Momma was a wise
women and she lead the family in a proper way. Another family was of Grandfather Baxter,
all were very friendly and caring towards each other in this family. Grandfather used to say
“I love my wife, my children and my dog” (pg.61) The only distorted family was of Maya as
she along with Bailey had to move from grandmother to father and then mother, repeating
this displacement a several times.
Community played an eminent role in these novels. Both the writers belonged to the black
community and had to face difficulties at the hands of white community. Beloved provides
numerous examples of slaves and ex-slaves creating and relying upon strong
communities. Baby Suggs’ gathering of people in the woods illustrates this. They come
together again toward the end of the novel, as different families provide food
for Sethe and Denver when they are in need and Elle sent “large group of women to exocrise
Beloved” (pg.258) from the house. While in I know why the caged bird sings, Momma ran a
store and was a respectable lady in the area though she was afraid of the white people. The
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incidents narrated by the friends of Daddy Clidel also tell about the sufferings of blacks at the
hands of white community.
In Beloved, supernaturalism is very prominent. The significance of house number i.e
124,strange incidents in the house. Paul D was in "a pool of red and undulating light that
locked him where he stood." the arrival of ghost from water , drinking plenty of water and
seeping for long hours, the crawling of the ghost, behavior towards Denver and Sethe all
depict that Beloved was a supernatural being. While in I know why the caged bird sings,
there is no such supernatural element. It is an autobiography and talks clearly about the
incidents of life.
The memory of past comes to Sethe’s mind several times in the novel. Various events and
gestures lead her to the times when she was a slave .She was of the view that “nothing ever
dies” (pg.36). The memories consist of three main phases of her life; when she was a slave,
when she ran away at arrival at 124. Although the memories are fragmented but are enough
to trap her mind. “But it’s where we were,” said Sethe. “All together. Comes back whether
we want it to or not.” (pg.14)No such discussion about the past is present in I know why the
caged birds sings. The story of writer’s life is a moving one. The incidents as whipping by
Momma , rape by Mr. Freeman, meeting with Miss Bertha Flowers, of past had a great
impact on her life.
The stream of self consciousness is important in Beloved. Sethe was a slave and this slavery
was passed on to her by her mother. She wanted to save her daughter from the life of slavery
so, she killed her. There was a constant guilt and self realization in Sethe, from the time she
did so. “Beloved, she my daughter. She mine” (pg.100) When Paul D talked about this
incident, she once again realized her mistake. On the other hand, I know why the caged birds
sings, does not contain such self realization. Maya learned all as the life moved on and she
was not guilty for her past actions. She was innocent and young to judge her actions.
There is a varied use of color semiotics in Beloved. Different colors are associated with
different characters and events. Baby Suggs was fond of colors and had large variety in her
house. “The walls of the room were slate colored, floor was earth brown, white curtains, the
quilt was made up of scarps of blue, black, brown and grey wool” (pg.38). The red color is
very prominent among all. Red was the color to show the theme of life and death, absence
and presence. To Amy, it was hope, Paul D took it as emotions. The colors those Sethe
recalled were red of baby and pink of the gravestone. In contrast, food imagery is widely used
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in I know why the caged birds sings. Maya and Bailey loved to have food as he “was apt at
stealing pickles from the barrel” (pg. 23). Bailey taught Maya the ways to steal food from the
Store of Momma. Pineapples were her favorite. “My obsession with pineapples nearly drove
me mad” (pg.15) .Throughout the novel, food imagery is used.
Conclusion:
The comparison of the novels reveals the similar circumstances those were faced by the
blacks. Maya wrote about the blacks, in general while, Morrison discussed particularly about
the African-American slaves. Though, the writing techniques and style of the writers is
different, the novels perfectly reflect the lives of black people.
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References:
1. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, A Bantam Book published by arrangement
with Random House, Inc.
2. Beloved, published by Penguin Putnam, Inc, 375 Hudson Street, New York, USA.
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