Society in I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is depicted, mostly, as a fragmented puzzle
of opposed communities. From Maya Angelou’s side, the Negro community is united
and the individuals belonging to it look after each other, share their hopes
and understand their needs. They understand the segregation they suffer by the
hands of the white folks and even state that God preferred white over the
Negroes.
These factors model the ethics of the community
differently for each “race”. Even though the Negro community respects and
silently duels a wall of respect towards the white men and women, they consider
that the crimes committed against them, and by the hands of Negroes, are not
necessarily bad.
Both sides of the coin are shaped by the other and the
black girl that Marguerite Johnson has to learn to be suffers from all the
problems of being a teenager plus racism and sexism. In her character, we can
appreciate how it is not only her that suffers, but also her whole community.
And she becomes proud at last and has to overcome the challenges that the oppression
against her people represents.
