1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Living in the Deep South during the civil rights era, Angelou was aware that "black women were consigned to a particular place in the social order, not only constructed in opposition to white women, but assigned roles that served to fix this binary" (Manora). ... Being black meant being ugly and she could not wait to one day hopefully wake up from the terrifying "big black dream" that she was living. Throughout Angelou's autobiographical portrait, she puts emphasis on the role that the community represented in her life. ... Accomplishing the American Dream was a promi...
- Word Count: 673
- Approx Pages: 3
- Grade Level: Undergraduate