Titre : THE MEANING OF MAYA ANGELOU’S I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Auteur.e.s : KONAN N’goran Clément, ADOUPO Acho Patrice.

Résumé
In Stamps, a small town in Arkansas, the population is divided between whites and blacks. Living in different parts of town and frequenting different places of leisure, these individuals have little contact with each other. It is in this segregationist environment that Margaret and Baley Jr., the main characters in Maya Angelou’s novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (IKWCBS), were born. However, despite the hardships, they survive, graduate from school, and find work. Margaret even has a son. IKWCBS is an expression of sorrow, a call for sympathy, and a prayer for African American freedom. In fact, this article discusses the features of the social “cage” in IKWCBS, the impact of these social features on Black people, factors of resilience, and offers a perspective for their future. By seeking to draw meaning from the text through the characters’ experiences, it aims to reveal the realities of society in IKWCBS, show its impact on the characters, and demonstrate how they can free themselves from the social “cage” in which they are trapped. To achieve this, we use New Criticism and structuralism, theories that create meaning through a deep reading of the text.

Volume 1, numéro 1

Publié le  15-12-2025 de l’année (12 – 2025)