I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Commentary on Society

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.