Maya Angelou’s Battle with Alienation in I know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Abstract

The themes of the existential crisis have been central in taking up their work in different domains of human experience and exhibit the force of departure from the so-called standardized norms and values of a society. These themes have been taken up by many authors of African American origin. This paper attempts to represent and explain the theme of alienation through an in-depth analysis of Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The crisis of identity, gender, consciousness, and everything seemingly comes to question in the powerful narratives of these kinds of writings. One such African American author is Maya Angelou. She is one of those who take these themes with great force and tries to free herself from the shackles of the so-called canonized versions of human values and seeks to explore a world in which she recreates an establishment of her new perspectives and freedom of humanity. The paper concludes by showing the struggles for recognition and self-awareness and developing onto a stronger woman pushed by her feeling of alienation.