His hair fell down in black curls, and my head was covered with black steel wool. Maya talks about a moment when she was younger and says, “When I was described by our playmates as being shit color, he was lauded for his velvet-black skin. That one must have good looks in order to feel affection. Maya also thinks that there is another relationship between love and beauty. Maya is setting a false view, specifically on women, that if you are not considered beautiful, than you will not be respected. This however, is untrue and the way you look, does not give you power. Maya is saying that there is a relationship between power and beauty. Maya admires her mother’s looks and says, “Mother’s beauty made her powerful and her power made her unflinchingly honest” (Angelou, 206). The topic of beauty appears a lot through the story. This quote represents what she is willing to do, and her refusal to follow traditional and stereotypical gender roles. The best way to describe Maya’s grandma is through the quote, “ Momma walked in that room as if she owned it” (Angelou, 189). Momma is seen as the opposite of weak, and she even owns her own store, which at the time, women were not known to own anything. Women during the 1930’s were not very respected and were seen as weak and over emotional, and were only able to fulfill certain tasks/jobs. How does this relate to feminism you may ask? Her grandma goes against the stereotypes that were present during the time of the story. One of those women is her grandmother, who she calls “Momma.” Maya looks up to her grandmother and sees her as this strong and independent woman. The book focuses on the way women are viewed, the importance of looks and gender stereotypes.Īs I read through the story I noticed that Maya talks about different women. That’s when I realized, if I look at the story through a feminist literary theory perspective, it is obvious that the story’s main theme is about feminism. Maya went through a lot when it came to gender discrimination and stereotypes, but I also noticed that the entire book focuses on feminist topics. After finishing I know why the caged bird sing s by Maya Angelou, it made me think about women’s rights.
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