“It was a large heart with lots of hearts growing smaller inside, and piercing from the outside rim to the smallest heart was an arrow” (45)
“Momma never turned her head or unfolded her arms…” (45)
Word count: 301
This quote from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings stood out to me when reading. The pattern that she made symbolizes could be how she feels internally about being a young child in the prime time of segregation. The large heart with the smaller hearts could represent the African American community as a whole and the smallest heart being pierced by an arrow could represent Maya and how she feels the white community treats her. The title of the book hinted at this because it insinuates that she might be comparing herself to feeling trapped like a caged bird in the time of segregation. This quote represents the struggles that Maya went through as a young girl growing up Black in the South. It also represents the injustices that have been done to her and as the story continues it shows how she kept the strength to keep going.
The second quote was from the scene previously where the young white girls were taunting her mother which instilled Maya with rage. She didn’t understand why her mother let them do that to her without saying anything back. This also shows the way that the black community was treated during this time and where they live, they are unable to stand up for themselves. Not saying anything shows how fueling someone’s fire against you will only make it worse and the best thing to do is ignore them. The message Maya was trying to get across is even though some people will taunt you and put an arrow through your heart, willpower will rise against all odds.
The first quote you used also really stood out to me because of how it resembles her internal emotions. Throughout the time her and her family were being mocked, the analogy she uses about the hearts and spears makes it easier to understand how she was seen in society and how it effected her. I like how you added "willpower will rise against all odds". I strongly agree that once she saw her mothers reaction to the racism, she realized that the strength she needs is within her and only her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that her mother was a strong influence on her and how she was reacting to things like the taunting from the girls.
DeleteI chose the same quote for my blog and I really enjoyed reading about your perspective on the symbolism of the hearts. I did not think of it being a representation of the African American culture and now this reflection has me pondering the entire chapter and the contents within the reading. We had very different analysis' about the chapter and I am very engaged with how you were able to bring a new light to the subject in a way I did not think of before. I think this blog post and your analysis of the chapter is very intriguing and it allowed me to look at this with a new light.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paige!
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