Alethea knows why the caged bird sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and its tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
Maya Angelou
This poem “I know why the caged bird sings” is about freedom and captivity. It shows how the caged bird was tied down and its wings were clipped, preventing it from flying away.
The themes in the poem are similar to The Giver’s. In The Giver’s dystopian society, people were restricted from knowledge whereby all the books were kept away from the people and they were cut off from the rest of the world.
The line in the poem referring to the bird which “stands on the grave of dreams” also reminded me of the people in the book. They were not given the opportunity to strive for their aspirations because they were not given any choices in the givers society with regards to their future. Their Assignments were all determined by the Elders. Almost everything they did was controlled by them.
The caged bird also longed for the “things unknown” despite its fear of the uncertainty of them. This reminds me of Jonas in The Giver who was the “Receiver of memories” and similarly always longed for what “lay beyond”. He too longed for freedom this caged bird always sang for and soon he realized that the people in the community needed it too.
The poem aslo consists of contrasting paragraphs on how the free bird "leaps on the back of the wind" and "dares to claim the sky", showing how happy and care-free the free bird is. The free bird also"thinks of another breeze",showing that it looks forward to and anticipates the wind,always having something to look forward to in life and giving life more colours and meaning.However, the caged bird in the other hand,"sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and its tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom ",showing that the caged bird is always fearful about the things in the outside world however,still sings for it and for the freedom it brings.
I enjoyed this poem very much as it reminded me of how the true pleasures of life are found in freedom. Even though The Giver’s society was trying to achieve “Sameness” and be rid of fear and pain, they were held in captivity and not given the choice to experience the real world and this was a shame.
posted by alethea sim @ 2:13 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Hi Alethea! Your poem was really well chosen and I enjoyed it too! I absolutely agree with your statement that true pleasure is found in freedom. It is through freedom that we find the true meaning of life. Without freedom, it would be like living in a jail cell, being controlled and unable to escape.
That is how Jonas' community must be like since there is a river separating the community and Elsewhere. The bridge in the community is also used only for official purposes such as visits to outlying communities. There are also guards on duty at night to ensure no one escapes. The people in the community do not leave their commuunity unless on school trips to other communities. Hence, the community is very enclosed and almost reclusive in its manner. The people are hence, like caged birds. They do not make decisions as they are made for them by the government. They do not know any other existence except theirs because they are so enclosed and self absorbed.
This is very sad indeed since freedom is something everyone deserves. However, in Jonas' community, there is no such thing as freedom. Even the people donot have the freedom of speech since they are limited and constrained by precise language and polite speech. The children are called in for chatisement by their trainers if they ever are rude or do not use precise language.
It is quite hard to think and imagine ourselves in a world without freedom since we have been born into it. From the time we were young, we were able to experience freedom in different ways. Unlike Jonas' rigid, constrained community, we have the freedom to do what we wanted to without anyone watching our every move or hearing our every word.
When Jonas first experiences freedom through his memories, where it is very foreign to him because he had lived his whole life in his community, with all its rules and rituals. He had grown up in this community and had learnt its ways, accepting it as his own without a question. He had never know freedom. It was something so different from his whole existence in his community. But, as he is being liberated through experiencing and holding the memories, he begins to enjoy the idea of freedom. He begins to wish that there was freedom in his community. He begins to thirst for freedom, which is something that his community, in all its controlled ways, cannot satisfy. Hence, he starts to think more about Elsewhere, and the possibility that there might be freedom there.
The oppurtunity to find out if there is freedom out there comes after Jonas witnesses the release of the lighter twin. The release of the twin acts as the stressor that causes him to contemplate escape. He runs away with Gabriel, leaving the community and life he had known in pursuit for a better, a more free world which lies beyond his community. Also, as Jonas leaves his community, he too, by allowing his memories to return back to the community, hopes that they would also be set free.
Hi, Alethea! I really like the poem that you found, I think this is a good poem that is both enjoyable but still able to relate well with some of the themes in 'The Giver'. I think it is really a good point that you brought up on how "true pleasures of life are found in freedom" and that it really is a shame that Jonas's society "were held in "captivity' and not given the choice to experience the real world" just like that of the caged bird. I also agree with Louisa that "the community is very enclosed and almost reclusive in its manner" and so the caged bird sorts of represents the people of the society, especially Jonas.
The continuous repetition of "The caged bird" with a "fearful trill" and the rhythmic beat throughout the poem adds on to how a monotonous life the caged bird led and how pitiful it is. I think this is can also be found very clearly in Jonas's society too. Jonas's society is a very controlled and rigid one, where even spouses are arranged by the Elders. Everything occurs as it is planned, anything different or out of the blue seldom, or never happens to the community at all, so, imagine what a monotonous life the community must have led. However, for the pitiful part, I think that instead of saying the community feels sorry for itself, it would be more appropriate to say that the community is pitiful. It does not even realize that it is enclosed, that there is actually a much better world out there for them, they have never been exposed to music, animals or even colours.
I think that this poem can be still further analysed, about the contrasting paragraphs, the usage of some of the words, the tone..... All in all, I think that this is a well chosen poem, and I am glad to learn some of the points which I have not realized and but have learnt from both you and Louisa. Thank You! :)
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