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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
It feels kinda wrong to rate this book.
I'd been putting off reading it for a long while, but I think this one will stay with me. I'll never be able to fully understand what she went through. But I smiled, I cried, and felt frustrated.
What a read!
I'd been putting off reading it for a long while, but I think this one will stay with me. I'll never be able to fully understand what she went through. But I smiled, I cried, and felt frustrated.
What a read!
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
This is an all-time favorite of mine. I've read it I don't know how many times, but I've never listened to it before. Even at 1.35x speed, Maya Angelou is slow, languorous, and still somehow hilarious. If you're new to Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first installment of the writer/performer's memoir. In it, she takes us from Long Beach, California, to Stamps, Arkansas, to St. Louis, Missouri, and then to San Francisco where this entry ends in Angelou's 18th year. She has funny but fucked up adventures in Mexico and the streets while supposedly under her father's care and she fights racist hiring practices at the SF streetcar, while lying about her age.
A timeless autobiography of Ms. Angelou's childhood days, filled with both the loss of innocence and appreciation of the small, simple things in one’s life to reminisce. Furthermore, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” touches on Ms. Angelou’s sensitive events as a child from rape to racism. Alongside her personal experiences as a Black girl in the 1930s and 1940s, the book explores the prejudice and discrimination the Black community faces in the Rural South. Though not an easy read regarding content, the book exhibits her perseverance and support from family and friends around her as she grows. Various individuals such as her paternal grandmother shape her religious and intellectual mindset that encourage her to persevere into a strong spirit. This touching journey of Ms. Angelou's childhood and cusp of womanhood is an essential read that establish the strength of a black girl during times of adversaries and most of all, the human spirit.
I really wanted to like this book; I have the utmost respect for Ms Angelou. But it was a struggle for me to read her writing style. There were a few interesting anecdotes sprinkled in but I found myself skimming portions of the book.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
What an incredible gift Maya left for us! Although sad and gut-wrenching in much of the memoir, her resilience was astonishing. The fact that her grandmother, Bailey, and her mom were present in her life made all the difference.
Some of my favorite quotes:
1. “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult“
• Theme: Angelou captures the compounded pain of childhood, gender, and racial discrimination in the Jim Crow South.
2. “The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”
• Theme: Intersectionality before it had a name—Angelou describes the triple oppression of race, gender, and social status.
3. “If you asked a question, it was answered with a full sentence. Children were expected to know their manners and to stand up straight and not to contradict white people.”
• Theme: Reflects the survival strategies Black children were taught to navigate systemic racism.
⸻
Identity & Self-Discovery
4. “I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as a little girl, but as a person.”
• Theme: Recognition and respect feed the development of self-worth, especially for marginalized identities.
5. “The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste, and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as the result of direct survival.”
• Theme: Strength is not accidental—it’s forged in response to adversity.
6. “I believe that most people can look back and identify a teacher who was important in their lives. One who cared, who took time, and who helped shape the person they became.”
• Theme: Mentorship and validation are key to building identity and self-confidence.
⸻
Resilience & Overcoming
7. “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
• Theme: Adversity may shape us, but it does not have to diminish us.
8. “Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into the ocean. Either you do it or you don’t.”
• Theme: Courage is essential in creative and personal transformation.
9. “The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination.”
• Theme: Resilience isn’t about hardness alone—compassion strengthens survival.
Some of my favorite quotes:
1. “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult“
• Theme: Angelou captures the compounded pain of childhood, gender, and racial discrimination in the Jim Crow South.
2. “The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”
• Theme: Intersectionality before it had a name—Angelou describes the triple oppression of race, gender, and social status.
3. “If you asked a question, it was answered with a full sentence. Children were expected to know their manners and to stand up straight and not to contradict white people.”
• Theme: Reflects the survival strategies Black children were taught to navigate systemic racism.
⸻
Identity & Self-Discovery
4. “I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as a little girl, but as a person.”
• Theme: Recognition and respect feed the development of self-worth, especially for marginalized identities.
5. “The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste, and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as the result of direct survival.”
• Theme: Strength is not accidental—it’s forged in response to adversity.
6. “I believe that most people can look back and identify a teacher who was important in their lives. One who cared, who took time, and who helped shape the person they became.”
• Theme: Mentorship and validation are key to building identity and self-confidence.
⸻
Resilience & Overcoming
7. “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
• Theme: Adversity may shape us, but it does not have to diminish us.
8. “Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into the ocean. Either you do it or you don’t.”
• Theme: Courage is essential in creative and personal transformation.
9. “The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination.”
• Theme: Resilience isn’t about hardness alone—compassion strengthens survival.