Throughout her work, she transforms from the meek and insecure Marguerite Johnson in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, to the self-confident and intelligent Maya Angelou that is reflected in her book of poems, And Still I Rise. ... Maya's first autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, chronicles her tumultuous life from adolescence to the tender age of seventeen, by which time she is pregnant with her illegitimate son. ... McCurry says, "The almost novelistic clarity of Caged Bird results from the artistic tension between Angelou's recollected self and her authorial consciou...

• Word Count: 1347
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School