Plot and Characters Analysis

On Novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A Paper

Presented To The Faculty Of Letters And Humanities

As a Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements

For The Degree Of Strata 1

By

Ratu Aliyah

NIM: 101026021591

English Letters Department

ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah

Jakarta

2010
 APPROVAL SHEET

Plot and Characters Analysis

On Novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A Thesis
Submitted to Faculty ADAB And Humanities
In Partial Nifillment Of The Requirement
For The Degree Of Strata I

By
Ratu Aliyah
REG: 101026021591

Approved By
Advisor

Elve Octafiyani S.S M.HUM

English Letters Department

ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah
Jakarta
2010
 ABSTRACT

Ratu Aliyah, Plot and Character Analysis on Novel I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings by Maya Angelou. Paper, Jakarta: Adab and Humanities Faculty, UIN
Syarif Hidayatullah, August 2010.

This research discusses about Maya Angelo’s life struggling in I Know Why
the Caged Bird Sings Novel. The writer studied the plot and character on the
novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the unit analysis. The theory of
intrinsic element is used as the theoretical framework. This study applies the
library research and complied data are data analyzed through the descriptive
qualitative analysis method. To answer the research question and to make this
research more complete, the writer explains Maya Angelo’s life, the direct
statement of the author and the reaction from the other characters are the ways to
know and understand about intrinsic elements analysis describing autobiography
Maya Angelo’s life and experience struggling.

The result of the research found that the novel is setting up the story in
Arkansas America, the plot came with forward style with a little background in
the beginning, characteristics of Maya Angelo described as a black ugly woman.
Finally the writer concludes the theme that can be concluded from the author who
created this novel is that there should be no difference between black and white
people in gaining their rights.
 DECLARATION

Herby I declare that this submission in my own and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by
another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for
award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher
learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.

Serang, Juni 2010

Ratu Aliyah
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful. Before we embank on

the major discuss, we all must thank to our god Allah Azza Wa Jalla, it is he who
always gives his very much grace. All praise is to Allah, who bestwed upon the
written is completing this paper. Shalawat and salam may Allah shed to our great
beloved prophet, he is the real leader for the whole mankind in the world. Peace
and blessing be upon to our prophet Muhammad SAW, his companions and his
beloved humanity.

The writer would like to say his great honor and deepest gratitude to the
beloved parents: H. Tb. Aliyudin and Hj. Eneng S, who always give their never
ending attention and affection, say thank also she lovely brothers and sister Hj.
Ratu Afiyah, Tb. Lukman Hakim S.Ked, Tb. Lutfi and his wife, Tb. Fahrudzy,
and for my best friend Rahmawaty, Nenti, Sina, Rina S.Ked and the last for my
beloved friend mamang. Many thanks also dedicated to those who become the
motivator for the writer, Asep Rachmatullah, Meisya Salsabila, Raisha Alfa
Meida my husband and the two cute-funny beloved daughters.

The written also has a great willingness to say a lot of thanks to Mrs. Elve
Octafiyani, S.Ss, M.Hum, as the writer`s advisor, thanks a lot to her for new time,
guidance, kindness, contributions, and patience in correcting, evaluating, giving a
favor and helping the written for finish this paper.

The written also realizes that she would never finish this paper without the help of
some people around him, therefore, she would like to give a special gratitude to :

1. Dr. Abdul Wahid Hasyim MA, the faculty of Adab and humanities state
Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.
2. Dr. Muhammad Farkhan, M.pd, the head of English letters Department
Faculty of Adab and Humanities Faculty.
3. Drs. Asep Saefudin, M.pd, the secretary of English letters Department
4. All lecturers who had taught and educated during the written study at state
Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
 5. The entire staffs and officers at Adab and Humanities Faculty
6. The whole who finished in English letters Department 2001, her beloved
friends Marlia, Euis, Lia R, Dewi, Waty, Upunk, Hafas, Norman, Thanks
for advices, kindness, disappointment fun and everything.

May Allah the almighty bless them all and show then to the right way, Amien,
finally, the written realized that this search paper still has some weakness and
mistakes. Therefore, the written would like to accept any constructive suggestions
to make this research paper better.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

APPROVAL SHEET .......................................................................................... i

LEGALIZATION OF PAPER .......................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.................................................................................. iii

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iv

DECLARATION................................................................................................. v

TABLE OF CONTENT...................................................................................... vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1

A. Background of The Study ......................................................................... 1

B. Statements of the Research ....................................................................... 4

C. Objective of the Research ......................................................................... 4

D. Significance of The Study ......................................................................... 4

E. Scope and Limitation ............................................................................... 5

F. Methodology of the Research ................................................................... 5

1. Method and Data Collection ................................................................ 5

2. Analysis of Data ................................................................................... 5

3. Unit Analysis ....................................................................................... 5

4. Instrument of the Research ................................................................... 6

5. Place and Time of the Research .......................................................... 6

CHAPTER II: THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................... 7

A. The Definition of Novel ....................................................................... 7

B. Intrinsic Elements of Novel.................................................................. 9

C. Description of Character....................................................................... 12

D. Description of Plot................................................................................ 14

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH FINDINGS ........................................................ 17

A. The Synopsis of The Novel....................................................................... 17

B. Analysis of Main Characters ..................................................................... 19

C. Analysis of Plot ......................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ................................... 32

A. Conclusion................................................................................................. 32

B. Suggestion ................................................................................................. 33

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES
 1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study

Literary work is an application of feeling and language toward real

life. One of literary work is novel. The novel as an exploration or chronic

of living dreaming, illustration in standard work, influence, connections,

result, destroy or human behavior. 1

During the 18th century the novel adopted features of the old

romance and became one of the major literary genres. It is today defined

mostly by its ability to become the object of literary criticism demanding

artistic merit and a specific ‘literary’ style—or specific literary styles. 2

The novel is probably is not hard to discover. Public attraction to the novel

is partly owing to current reaction (and perhaps temporary) away from the

other major literary form. 3

One of the famous novels is I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by

Maya Angelouu. This novel was published in 1969. I Know Why The

1 Dennis Walder, Approaching Literature The Realist Novel, (London: The Open
University, 1995), p. 9
2 Bakhtin, Mikhail. The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans.

Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin and London : University of Texas Press,
1981. [Writen during the 1930s}
3 Durlame and Hughes, Literature, (New Jersey: Prenne Hall, inc, 1965), p.440
 2

Caged Bird Sings is a novel of social protest by African American to the

government of America and white American in 1930. Angelouu adapted it

in her works like themes to the black experience of oppression,

discrimination and prejudice in America. The novel of I Know Why The

Caged Bird Sings is a view personal author, Maya Angelou. The great

interesting from this novel is talking about personal author’s life from

memory of past in every character as a real reflection of author’s life.

Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson April 4, 1928th) is an

American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American

Civil Right Movement. She has been honored by numerous academic

institutions throughout her career. She has been awarded a fellowship by

Yale University, and also served as a Rockefeller Foundations Scholar in

Italy. Angelouu has taught at the University of Ghana, University of

Kansas and at Wake Forest University, where she holds a lifetime chair as

the Z. smith Reynolds Professor of American Studies. Outside academic,

Angelouu has achieved recognition for her poetry from bodies honoring

achievement in music and theater. She has received a nomination for the

Tony Awards, and in 1993 won the Grammy Awards for Best Spoken

Word Album for On the Pulse of Morning. In 2005, Angelouu was

honored by Oprah Winfrey at her “Legends Ball” along with 25 other

African-American women whom Winfrey considered inspirational. 4

4 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maya-angelou/background., June 25, 2007. 10 pm.

 3

Angelou’s first work of literature, I Know Why The Caged Bird

Sings, is an autobiography. Angelou’s disruptive life inspired her to write

this book. It reflects the essence of her struggle to the restrictions that were

placed upon her in a hostile environment. Angelou wrote with a twist of

lyrical imagery along with a touch of realism. The title of this book is

taken from the poem “Sympathy” by the great black poet, Paul Laurence

Dunbar. The work displays an impulse towards transcendence.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiographical novel about

the early years of author Maya Angelou’s life. The autobiographical

explores the isolation and loneliness faced by Angelou, and the attributes

of her characters that helped her cope with the prejudice of society. Quite

graphic in nature, the text deals with issues including childhood, rape,

racism and sexism, which has generated controversy. The novel is the first

in a six-volume autobiographical series, covering her childhood and young

adult experience.

The background of study above makes the writer in deep curiosity

to research it in this humble paper. This matter has interested the writer to

analyze the theme or idea author which author wants to tell through her

novel and the writer checks it with analyzing intrinsic elements. Those

intrinsic elements are finding how the story running is, what roles the

characters were, social setting in America. The writer would like to

analyze the novel I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings from its intrinsically

side.
 4

B. Statements of the Research

Based on analysis above, the points of question in this research are :

1. How is the plot described in the novel of I Know Why The Caged Bird

Sings?

2. How the major characters influence the development of the plot in the

novel of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?

C. Objective of the Research

Instantaneously, the aims of this research are :

The research is intended to know the plot structure of the novel I

Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. It is especially aimed at knowing the

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution on the

storyline and also the characters develops on the novel.

D. Significance of the Research

By analyzing the plot and characters on the novel, the writer hopes

the result of this research would be advantages for the reader who like

reading novel and can be used for the English Letters Department as one

references in studying of literary work.

E. Scope and Limitation

 5

Indeed, this research is accentuated properly into describing the

whole of Otto biography Maya Angelou’s life and experience struggling

among racialism on sexism intimidated her and her environment. The

prime source or primary datum in this research is Maya Angelou’s work “I

Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1969).

F. Methodology of the Research

1. Method and Data Collection

The writer conducts the research by using qualitative descriptive

method. The method tries to describe the plot of the story in I Know Why

the Caged Bird Sings novel. The description is based on the threat data as

found in the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

2. Analysis of Data

In this paper, the data is analyzed qualitatively. The data connected

with some events, expressions and conflicts that happen in the novel then

analyzed by the theory of the plot.

3. Unit Analysis

The unit of analysis is a novel of “I Know Why The Caged Bird

Sings” written by Maya Angelou published in the United State of America

by Bantam Books, Inc, in 1969 consist of 289 pages.

 6

4. Instrument of the Research

The research instrument is the writer herself who analyzed the

novel carefully and accurately by examining the text of the novel and

relating with sociological literature approach.

5. Place and Time of the Research

The research begins in the last semester of academic year 2005-2006, at

the Department of English Letters, the Faculty of Letters and Humanities,

Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.

 7

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. The Definition of Novel

A novel (from French Nouvelle Italian “novella”, “new”) is an extended,

generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. Until the eighteenth century, there

word referred specifically to short fictions of love and figure as opposed to

romances, which were epic-length works about love and adventure. Literary

theory of genres has not yet managed to isolate a “single definite, stable

characteristic of novel” that holds without reservations.

During the 18th century the novel adopted features of the old romance and

became one of the major literary genres. It is today defined mostly by its ability to

become the object of literary criticism demanding artistic merit and a specific

`literary` style or specific literary styles. 5

One meaning of the English word novel has remained stable: “novel” can

still signify what is new owing to its “novelty”. When it comes to fiction,

however, the meaning of the term has changed over time:

a. The period 1200-1750 saw a rise of the novel (originally a short piece of

fiction) rivaling the romance (the epic-length performance). This

development, which one could describe as the first rise of the novel,

5 Bakhtin, Mikhail. Op.cit.

 8

occurred across Europe, though only the Spanish and the English went one

step further and allowed the word novel (Spanish: novella) to become their

term for fictional narratives.

b. The period 1700-1800 saw the rise of a “new romance” in reaction to the

production of potentially scandalous novels. The movement encountered a

complex situation in the English market, where the term “new romance”

could hardly be hardly be ventured, after the novel had done so much to

transform taste. The new genre also adopted the name novel : this new

novel was a work of new epic proportions, which the effect that the

English (and Spanish) eventually needed a new word for the original short

“novel” : the term novella was created to fill the gap in English, “short

story” brought a further refinement.

The novel is probably the most popular literary from in this present age,

and reasons for it is popularity is not hard to discover. Public attraction to the

novel the other major literary from. 6 Novel is a story in prose about imaginary

people long enough to cover a book. There two important to understand a novel.

They are the intrinsic and extrinsic elements. The intrinsic elements are the

analysis of the literature its self without looking to the relation with the extern

aspects. They are theme, plot, character, setting, and point of view. And the

extrinsic elements are the analysis of the literature work its self looking to the

6 Durleme and Hughes. Op.cit. p.440

 9

relation with the extern aspects such as sociology, psychology, religious, and

philosophy.

B. Intrinsic Elements of Novel

The intrinsic elements of novel include plot, character, setting and theme.

Our discussions of each of these elements individually allow us to highlight the

characteristic features of novel in a convenient way. We should remember,

however, that analysis of any single element of novel (plot, for example) should

not blind us to its function in conjunction with other elements (such as character).

When characters do something, action takes place this action provokes other

actions. Action takes place somewhere at some time; this is the setting of the play.

A plot is a causal sequence of events, the “why” for the things that happen

in the story. The plot draws the reader into the character`s lives and helps the

reader understand the choices that the characters make.

Setting is where the story takes place. It also when the story takes place in

some cases. Basically, setting is an environment for the action and the characters.

Setting sometimes minimized by the writer to emphasize other elements of the

story. 7 Panuti Sudjiman and Hudson differentiate setting as:

1. Physical setting

Physical setting are the geographical location, including topography, place,

and scenery even the details of a room interior, building and region.

2. Social setting

7 Larry M. Sutton, et al. op. cit. p.6

 10

Social setting includes the description of the societies, social community,

and their characters, value, traditions, the way of life and cultures in

fictions.

3. Spiritual setting

The spiritual setting gives some information about the emotional

environment of the character.8

Setting is a term in literature and drama usually referring to the time and

location in which a story takes place. The term is relevant for various forms of

literary expression, such as short stories, novels, dramas, and screenplay.

Broadly speaking, the setting provides the main backdrop for the story and

often the overall tone for it as well. For example, many of William Faulkner`s

novels are set in the early 20th Century in Yoknapatawpha Country, a fictional

country in the American South. More specifically, the term “setting” can also

refer to the time or location of single scene in a large story. In John Cheever`s

short story “The Swimmer”, for the example, the story`s protagonist visits various

swimming polls in his neighborhood with each pool. 9

Eudora Welty said :

“Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and
plot and happened somewhere else… fiction depends for its life on place. Place is the

8 Panuti Sudjiman, op. cit. p.45

9 http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setting
 11

crossroads of circumstance, the proving ground of, What happened? Who`s here? Who`s
coming?....”

Writers describe the world they know. Sights, sounds, colors, and textures

are all vividly painted in words as an artist paints images on canvas. A writer

imagines a story to be happening in a place that is rooted in his or her mind. The

location of a story`s actions, along with the time in which it occurs, is the setting.

Setting is created by language. How many or how few details we learn is

up to the author. Many authors leave a lot these details up to the reader`s

imagination.

Theme is broad idea in a story, or a message conveyed by a work. This

message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are usually

implied rather than explicitly stated. Deep thematic content is not required in

literature : however, some reader would say that all stories inherently project some

kind of outlook on life that can be taken as a theme, regardless of whether or not

this is intent of the author. Analysis of changes in dynamic characters can provide

insight into a particular theme. 10

The theme of a fable is its moral. The theme of parable is its teaching. The

theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave. In fiction,

the theme is not intended to teach or preach. In fact, it is not presented directly at

all. You extract it from the characters, action, and setting that make up the story.

In other words, you must figure out the theme yourself.

10 http://www.learnear.org/exhibits/literature/read/theme.html
 12

The writer`s task is to communicate on common ground with the reader.

Although the particulars of your experience may be different from the details of

the story, the general underlying truths behind the story may be just the

connection that both you and the writer are seeking.

Each literary work has its own message. This message can be moral,

political, and religious, etc. usually the theme of a literary work represents the

theme than the writer tries to convey, describe or criticize. For knowing the theme

of a literary work. Theme is the basic idea of literary work. We can say that the

theme is the essence and has a goal or an idea of a literary work, theme is the

basic idea of literary work. We can say that the theme is message that the author

tries should notice the relationship between the theme and the other elements in

the central meaning discovered by the writer in the process of writing and the

story only by throughout and responsive reading of the story, involving a constant

awareness of the relation among the parts of the story and the parts of whole. 11

C. Description of Character

Character is presumably an imaged person who inhabits a story although

that simple definition may admit to a few exceptions. Characters classified based

on their function into two types, namely the main character (central character) and

subordinate characters (supporting character). Main character (central character) is

the most dominant character and often involves with other characters that exist in

11 Kenny William, How to Analyze Fiction, (New York: Monarch Press, 1966), p.94
 13

a story. 12 A character who holds the leading role is the main character or the

protagonist. Protagonist always becomes a central character in a story. He even

becomes a central attention in a story. The criterion, which is used to identify the

main characters but on the highest intensity of their involve men in the story. And

the subordinate character (supporting character) is the character that supports the

main character. A subordinate character is the character that is not posited in the

central of the story, but the presence is really needed to support the main

character. 13

Characters are often described as being flat or round, static or dynamic. A

flat character is not fully developed. The writer may reveal only one two

personality traits. A round character is a very complex individual, more like real

life with several facts to his personality. A static character is one who does not

really change in the progress of the story: he is the same person at the end as he

was in the beginning. But a dynamic character does change, psychologically,

physically, or otherwise. 14 The author can describe his character physically: age,

height, weight, and so forth. He can develop a character though action and can

also depict character though dialogue. Characterization is the player`s emotion,

attitude, desire, and the others. 15

12 Aminuddin, Pengantar Apresiasi Karya Sastra, (Malang: FPBS IKIP, 1987), p.80
13 Panuti Sudjiman, Memahami Cerita Rekaan, (Jakarta: PT. Dunia Pustaka Jaya, 1988), p.19

14 Larry M. Sutton, et al., Journey: An Introduction to Literature, (Boston: Holbrook Press, Inc.,
1971) p.4-5
15 Ibid
 14

D. Description of Plot

A plot is a series of related events or episodes that make up a story. Plot is

a structure of events a rising out of a conflict and this is consists of prolog. Unity

(completeness) is achieved as these rises to a climax, a “dramatic height”, and on

to a conclusion. At times, of course, the conclusion may be unexpected or even

absurd, but nevertheless it should grow out of the story. In general, the plot of a

story is a conflict and it is resolution. 16

In narrative, a plot is the rendering and ordering of the events and of a

story, particularly towards the achievement of some particular artistic or

emotional effect.

If an author writes, “The king died and then the queen died”, there is no

plot for a story. But by writing, “The king died and then the queen died of grief”,

the writer has provided a plot line for a story.

A plot`s structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged.

Writers vary structure depending on the needs of the story. For example, in a

mystery, the author will withhold plot exposition until later in the story. In

William Faulkner`s “A Rose for Emily” it is only at the end of the story that we

learn what Miss Emily has been up to all those years while locked away in her

Southern mansion.

The basic plot of any story is moving through five distinct section or stage,

namely:

16 Ibid
 15

a. Exposition is the beginning section in which the author provides the

necessary background information of the story such as the scene, the

situation, the action, introduction of the characters and the conflict, of the

potential for the conflict.

b. Complication is sometimes referred to as the rising action. In this stage,

the conflict is develop gradually and intensified. It is the catalyst that

begins the major conflict.

c. Crisis is also referred to as the climax. It is the turning point in the story

that moment at which the plot reaches is point of greatest emotional

intensity.

d. Falling action is when the tension lowered and the plot moves towards its

appointed conclusion.

e. Resolution is the final section of the story. It reveals the outcome of the

conflict and establishes some new stability. 17

In other source, the plot is based on seven distinct stages, they are :

1. Initial situation – the beginning. It is the first incident that makes the

story move.

2. Conflict or Problem – goal which the main character of the story has to

achieve.

3. Complication – obstacles which the main character has to overcome.

4. Climax – highest point of interest of the story.

17 Larry M. Sutton, et al. op.cit. p.5

 16

5. Suspense – point of tension. It arouses the interest of the readers.

6. Denouement or Resolution – what happens to the character after

overcoming all obstacles/failing to achieve the desired result and

reaching/not reaching his end result and reaching/not reaching his goal.

7. Conclusion – the end result of the climax. 18

18 http://www.en.wikipedia.org., op.cit.
 17

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Generally speaking, at this point, the writer will elaborate the inquiry of

Angelou’s work, especially I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, concerning about

intrinsic elements, it should be done, because of a novel, usually, comprising the

idea whom the authors intend to expose, either explicitly or implicitly based on

their experiences. That is why, this research now tends to disclose the missing in

disguise based on Angelou’s work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

A. The Synopsis of the Novel

The novel follows Marguerite’s (later called My, or Maya, by her brother)

young life and the struggles she undergoes in the racist South. Abandoned by their

parents at an early age, she and her older brother, Bailey, live with their

grandmother “Momma”, and her crippled uncle in Stamps, Arkansas, where her

grandmother operates a general store.

Many of the problems Marguerite encounters in her childhood stem from

the prejudices of her white neighbors who treat her family at the best with cool

respect and, at the worst, blatant contempt. Furthermore, despite, the fact that

Momma is wealthier than most of the white neighbors, the white neigbors’

children hassle them insolently, one girl even revealing her pubic hair to Momma.

These events, along with Marguerite’s feelings of inferiority to other white and
 18

black children, despite her above-average intelligence, cause her to initially start

out as a self-conscious and short- tempered girl.

A turning point in the novel occurs when Marguerite and Bailey’s father

unexpectedly appears at their home to send them to live with their Mother in St.

Louis. While there, Marguerite, only nine years old at that time, is raped by her

mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, which traumatizes her. Mr. Freeman is later

murdered after escaping jail time, which further burdens her with guilt and causes

her to withdraw from all other people except for her brother. Even after moving

back to Stamps, Marguerite remains reclusive until she meets the amiable Bertha

Flowers who supplies her with books to encourage her love of reading, and coaxes

her out of her shell.

As Marguerite grows up, she experiences many other instances of racism,

including an old white woman who shortens her name to “Mary”, hence reducing

her name to more common one; white speakers at a graduation ceremony who

disparage the black audience by implying their limited job opportunities; and the

white town dentist’s refusal to operate on Marguerite’s rotting tooth, even when

Momma reminds him of a loan he owed her.

Finally, when even her brother Bailey is disturbed by the discovery of the

corpse of a black man whom some white men took pleasure in seeing, Momma

decides to move the family to permanently live with their mother in San

Francisco, California for their mental well-being.

 19

Marguerite, now more frequently called “Maya”, enters adolescence, but

not without awkwardness. She becomes worried that she might be a lesbian

(which she equates with being a hermaphrodite), and initiates sexual intercourse

with a teenage boy she knows only vaguely to dispel this fear. The encounter

cause her to become pregnant which she hides from her family until in her eighth

month of pregnancy to be able to graduate from high school. Maya gives birth to a

beautiful baby boy and begins her trek to adulthood by accepting her role as a

mother to her newborn son.

B. Analysis of Main Characters

1. Maya Angelou (Marguerite Ann Johnson)

Maya Angelou-named Ann Johnson at birth at birth-writes about her

experience growing up as a black girl in the rural south and in the cities of St.

Louis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Haunted by her displacement from her

biological parent and her sense that she is ugly, Maya often isolates herself,

escaping into her reading. Angelou’s autobiography traces the start of her

development into an independent, wise, and compassionate woman.

At the beginning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya is a

Precocious young girl suffering not just from the typical traumas associated with

being black and female in America, but also from the trauma of this placement.

Smart and imaginative, optimist and strong, like in page 268 paragraph of I know

Why the Caged Bird Sings:

 20

I would have the job. I would be a conductorette and sling a full money
changer from my belt. I would.

Maya nevertheless feels that people judge her unfairly due to her ungainly

appearance. Feeling misunderstood, she fantasizes that she is a blond-haired, blue-

eyed girl trapped in a “black ugly dream” and will soon wake up and reveal her

true self. Maya describes her social and familial displacement as “unnecessary

insult” on top of the general difficulties associated with growing up as a black girl

in the segregated American South. The South presents Maya with three

tremendous impediments: white prejudice, black powerlessness, and female

subjugation. In addition to these broad societal obstacles, Maya endures many

personal traumas in her lifetimes as well. Her presents abandon and her need for

physical affection lead to further struggles. Five years later, she must live

unknown city where she seeks comfort in Mr. Freeman, who molests and rapes

her. At age ten, having already witnessed callous whites mistreating the people

she loves most, such as woman, Maya begins to experience racism directly. Mrs.

Cullinan tries to rename and demean her, and the racist, white dentist Dr. Lincolns

says he would rather stick his hand in a dog’s mouth than treat Maya’s problem.

2. Bailey Johnson

Maya’s older brother by one year, Bailey is the most important person in

Maya’s life throughout her childhood. When moved around from place to place,

Bailey and Maya depend on each other to achieve some semblance of stability and

continuity in their lives. Unlike Maya, Bailey is graceful, attractive, outgoing, and

charming, and many consider him the jewel of his family. Bailey uses his skills
 21

and status to protect Maya. With his charms, he defends her against criticism and

insults. Bailey and Maya share not just in tragedies but also in private jokes and a

love of language and poetry.

One of the most striking differences between Maya and Bailey is their

ability to confront racism. Bailey explains to Maya early on that when he senses

the negative effects of racism, he essentially puts his soul to sleep so that he can

forget the incident. Maya, however, learns to resist racism actively. Bailey and

Maya grow further apart as they go through adolescence, and Bailey continues to

withdraw deeper into himself. Even so, Maya continues to confide in him, asking

for advice about her pregnancy. He continues to show his love for her as well,

replying quickly to his sister and giving caring advice.

The return to Stamps from St. Louis traumatizes Bailey, and though he

never blames his sister, he remains tormented by his longing for his mother. He

expresses his longing through moodiness, sarcasm, and a bold assertion of his

independence. In Stamps, he finds outlets for his longing for maternal affection by

watching the white movie star who looks like Vivian and by playing “Momma

and Papa” with Joyce, his buxom girlfriend who is four years his senior. In San

Francisco, Bailey tries to win his mother’s approval by imitating the people she

befriends—he becomes the pimp-like boyfriend of a white prostitute. Bailey

moves out at age sixteen and gets a job on the Southern Pacific Railroad,

explaining that he and Vivian have come to an understanding with each other and

that he has grown wise beyond his years.

 22

“ sister, I`ll have two cans of sardines.”

“I`m gonna work so fast todey, I`m gonna make you look like standing
still”.

3. Annie Henderson (Momma)

Maya and Bailey’s paternal grandmother, Momma raises them for most of

their childhood. She owns the only store in the black section of Stamps, Arkansas,

and it serves as the central gathering place for the black community. She has

owned the store for about twenty-five years, starting it as a mobile lunch counter

and eventually building the store in the heart of the black community. Not

knowing that Momma was black, a judge once subpoenaed her as “Mrs.

Henderson,” which cemented her elevated status in the mind of the black

community.

Similarly, Momma is the moral center of the family and especially of

Maya’s life. Momma raises the children according to stern Christian values and

strict rules. She is defined by an unshakable faith in God, her loyalty to her

community, and a deep love for everything she touches. Despite the affection she

feels for her grandchildren, she cares more about their well-being than her own

needs, extracting them from the Stamps community when the racist pressures

begin to affect Bailey negatively.

While in Stamps, Momma teaches Maya how to conduct herself around

white people. She chooses her words, emotions, and battles carefully, especially

when race plays a role. Momma considers herself a realist regarding race

relations. She stands up for herself but believes that white people cannot be
 23

spoken to without risking one’s life. When three nasty poor white children mock

Momma from the yard one afternoon, Maya watches furiously, but Momma

maintains her dignity by not even acknowledging their taunts. Though stern and

not given to emotional or affectionate displays, Momma conveys the depth of her

love for Maya and Bailey throughout the book.

From the analysis above, the writer conclude that Maya is a Precocious

young girl suffering not just from the typical traumas associated with being black

and female in America, but also from the trauma of this placement, and she

endures many personal traumas in her lifetimes as well. But as she grows up, all

problems she felt become the power to rise up and motivate her to be the powerful

woman.

C. Analysis of Plot

The author may present a story’s events in strict chronological order with

the event that actually occurred first presented in the sequence in which it took

place. Many sequences are possible as the writer manipulates events to create

interest, suspense, confusion, wonder, or other effects.

1. Exposition

The novel follows Marguerite’s (later called My, or Maya, by her brother)

young life and the struggles she undergoes in the racist South. Abandoned by their

parents at an early age, she and her older brother, Bailey, live with their
 24

grandmother “Momma”, and her crippled uncle in stamps, Arkansas, where her

grandmother operates a general store.

If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her
displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary
insult. (Angelou, p.4).

This vivid assertion ends the opening section of I Know Why the Caged

Bird Sings. Although this section, which acts as a prologue, mostly emphasizes

the point of view of Maya at five or six years old, this statement clearly comes

from Angelou’s adult voice. Looking back on her childhood experience, Maya

notes that she not only fell victim to a hostile, racist, and sexist society, but to

other social forces as well including the displacement she feel her from family and

her peers. Maya feels displaced primarily because when she was three years old,

her parents sent her away to live with her grandmother. This early separation, as

well as subsequent ones, leaves her feeling rootless for most of her childhood.

Angelou’s autobiography likens the experience of growing up as a black girl in

the segregated American South to having a razor at one’s throat. Her constant

awareness of her own displacement-the fact that she differed from other children

in appearance and that she did not have a sense of belonging associated with

anyone or anyplace-becomes the “unnecessary insult” that she must deal with at

such a young age. Over the course of the work, Maya details numerous negative

effects of such displacement, including her susceptibility to Mr. Freeman’s sexual

molestation.
 25

Many of the problems marguerite encounters in her childhood stem from

the prejudices of her white neighbors who treat her family at the best with cool

respect and, at the worst, blatant contempt. Furthermore, despite the fact that

Momma is wealthier than most of the white neighbors’ children hassle them in

silently, one girl even revealing her pubic hair to Momma. These events, along

with Marguerite’s feelings of inferiority to other white and black children, despite

her above-average intelligence, cause her to initially start out as a self-conscious

and short-tempered girl.

Marguerite, now more frequently called “Maya”, enters adolescence, but

not without awkwardness. She becomes worried that she might be a lesbian

(which she equates with being a hermaphrodite), and initiates sexual intercourse

with a teenage boy she knows only vaguely to dispel this fear. The encounter

causes her to become pregnant which she hides from her family until in her eight

month of pregnancy to be able to graduate from high school. Maya gives birth to a

beautiful baby boy and begins her trek to adulthood by accepting her role as a

mother to her newborn son.

A young black girl named Maya stands in front of her church congregation

on Easter, unable to finish reciting a poem. She wears an unflattering altered

taffeta dress that, she notes, is probably a secondhand dress form a white woman,

and she fantasizes that one day she will wake up out of her “black ugly dream”

and be white and blond instead of a large, unattractive African American girl.
 26

After being humiliated in front of everyone and tripped by another child, she ends

up running out of church peeing, crying, and laughing all the same time.

2. Rising Action

A turning point in the novel occurs when Marguerite and Bailey’s father

unexpectedly appears at their home to send them to live with their mother in St.

Louis. While there, Marguerite, only eight years old at that time, is raped by her

mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman, which traumatizes her Mr. Freeman is later

murdered after escaping jail time, which further burdens her with guilt and causes

her to withdraw from all other people except for her brother. Even after moving

back to Stamps, Marguerite remains reclusive until she meets the amiable Bertha

Flowers who supplies her with books to encourage her love of reading, and coaxes

her out of her shell.

As Marguerite grows up, she experiences many other instances of racism,

including an old white woman who shortens her name to “Mary”, hence reducing

her name to a more common one; white speakers at a graduation ceremony who

disparage the black audience by implying their limited job opportunities; and the

white town dentist’s refusal to operate on Marguerite’s rotting tooth, even when

Momma reminds him of a loan he owed her.

Finally, when ever her brother bailey is disturbed by the discovery of the

corpse of a black man whom some white men took pleasure in seeing, Momma

decides to move the family to permanently live with their mother in San

Francisco, California for their mental well-being.

 27

“My race groaned. It was our people falling. It was another lynching, yet another
Black man hanging on a tree. One more woman ambushed and raped. This might
be the end of the world. If Joe lost we were back in slavery and beyond help. It
would all be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings. Only
a little higher than the apes.” (Angelou,p.135).

During the annual summer firs fry, women show off their baking and men

fish in the nearby pond. Music and the noises of children’s games fill the air.

Maya wanders into secluded clearing to sit on a tree and stare at the sky. Louise

Kendrick’s, a pretty girl of the some age, comes upon her. At first shy toward

each other, they soon hold hands and spin around while looking at the sky. They

become best friends and spend hours trying to learn the complicated “Tut”

language because it is even more esoteric than pig Latin.

While in the seventh grade, Maya receives a note form an eighth-grader,

Tommy Valdon, asking her to be his valentine. She shows it to Louise, and Louise

explains that valentines mean love. Maya says aloud, “Not ever again.” She does

not explain what she means to Louise. They tear the note into tiny pieces and

throw it into the wind. The day before Valentines Day, Maya’s teacher call the

children by name and reads aloud cards sent to them from the eight-grade class.

Tommy sends another letter to Maya, stating that he saw Maya and her friend tear

up his note, but he does not think she meant to hurt his feelings. He signs the note

with his initials. When Maya decides to throw caution to the wind and flirt with

him, Tommy’s crush has already begun to wane.

It was a nice letter and Tommy had beautiful penmanship. I was sorry I tore up
the first. His statement that whether I answered him or not would
 28

Not influence his affection reassured me. He couldn’t be after you know-what if he
talked like that. I told Louise that the next time he came to the Store I was going to
say something extra nice to him. Unfortunately the situation was so wonderful to
me that each time I saw Tommy I melted in delicious giggles and was unable to
form a coherent sentence. After awhile he stopped including me in his general
glances. (Angelou, p 145-146).

3. Climax

After returning home, Maya overhears an argument between Dolores and

Big Bailey. Dolores feels that Maya has come between them. Big Bailey leaves

the house in a huff, leaving Dolores sobbing alone. Maya approaches Dolores and

tells her that she never meant to come between them. Maya feels strong and

honorable doing her good dead, but Dolores rebuffs Maya’s peaceful gesture and

insults her, calling her mother, Vivian, a whore. Furious, Maya tells Dolores she

is going to slap her and then does so. Dolores retaliates and Maya realizes that

Dolores has stabbed her with scissors. Bleeding, Maya runs out of the house and

locks herself in her father’s car. Big bailey hears Dolores screaming and returns to

investigate. He takes Dolores inside the house, where a woman bandages Maya’s

wound. Afterward, he drivers her to the home of another friend, where she spends

the night. Big Bailey visits her at noon the next day and gives her some money,

promising to return later that evening. Dreading having to face her father’s

friends. Maya packs some food and leaves. She cannot return to Vivian, however,

because she would never be able to hide her wound. Telling Vivian would only

precipitate trouble between Vivian an Big Bailey, and Maya guiltily remembers

Mr. Freeman’s death all too clearly.

 29

My father come down the steps in a few and angrily slammed into the car. He sat
in a corner of blood and I gave no warning. He must have pondering what to do
with me when he felt the damp on his trousers. ( Angelou, p. 247)

After leaving Big Bailey’s friends’ house, Maya spends the night in a car

in a junkyard. When she wakes, a group of black, Mexican, and white homeless

teenagers stand outside laughing at her through the windows. They tell her she can

stay as long as she follows the rules: people of the opposite sex cannot sleep

together, stealing is forbidden because it attracts police attention, and everyone

works, committing their earnings to the community. Maya stays and her partner

wind second prize during her last weekend. Maya learns to appreciate diversity

and tolerance fully that month, something that influences her the rest of the life,

she notes in retrospect. At the end of the summer, Maya calls Vivian and asks her

to pay her airfare to San Francisco. The group accepts the news of her impending

with detachment, although everyone wishes her well.

Now that I was out free, I set thinking of my future. The obvious solution to my
homelessness concerned me only briefly. (Angelou, p. 250)

4. Falling Action

I would have the job. I would be a conductorette and sling a full money changer
from my belt. I would. (Angelou, p. 268)

Maya decides to take a semester off from school and work. For weeks, she

persists in trying to get a job as a streetcar conductor despite racist hiring policies.

She finally succeeds in becoming the first black person to work on the San

Francisco streetcars. When she returns to school, she feels out of place among her

classmates. American black women, she says, must not only face the common
 30

problems associated with adolescence, but also racism and sexism. Therefore, it

does not surprise her that black women who survive these conflicts possess strong

characters.

The black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common
forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of
masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and black lack of power. The fact that
the adult American Negro Female emerges a formidable character is often met
with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. (Angelouu, p.272)

The well of Loneliness (a classic work of 1920s lesbian fiction by

Radcliffe Hall) is Maya’s first introduction lesbianism. She does not really

understand what lesbian is, and she begins to fear that she is turning into one

because she confuses lesbianism with being a hermaphrodite. She not that she has

a deep voice, underdeveloped breasts and hips, and no under-arm hair. She

resolves to ask Vivian about a strange growth on her vagina. Vivian explains that

the changes are perfectly normal.

Vivian’s answer relieves Maya, but she still has unanswered fears about

whether she might be a lesbian. Maya decides to get a boy friend to settle the

matter once and for all. However, all of her male acquaintances busily chase light-

skinned, straight-haired girls. Maya casually and frankly propositions one Of two

handsome brothers who live near, but their unromantic, unsatisfying encounter

does not relieve her anxieties about being an abnormal girl. Three weeks later, she

discovers that she is pregnant.

Maya accept full responsibility for her pregnancy. She writes to bailey for

advice, and he tells her to keep a secret. Vivian oppose abortions, and he fears she
 31

would make Maya quit school. Maya throws herself into school and confesses

after graduating that she is eight month pregnant. Vivian and Daddy clidell calmly

accept Maya’s impending, unwed motherhood without condemnation.

Maya gives birth to a son. She is fascinated by the baby and afraid to touch

him. Vivian finally makes Maya sleep with her three week-old son. Fearing that

she will crush him, Maya attempts unsuccessfully to stay awake all night. Vivian

makes her later to show how the baby lies, resting comfortably into the crook of

her arm. Vivian tells Maya that she does not have to worry about doing the right

place, she will do the right thing regardless. Maya peacefully returns to sleep next

to her son.

From all analysis above, the writer can conclude that plot denotes the way

in which events are arranged in a work of literature.

 32

CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Conclusion

Based on this study, the writer concluded that Novel of I know why the
caged bird sings, that presented the autobiography at the early years of author
Maya Angelou’s life, description about racial discrimination, particularly, based
in about her experience persisted since her age was seventeen, either the provoked
to Maya herself or to black community at large.
This novel has a valuable point that describes the story based on Maya’s
experiences. This novel also has a meaningful intrinsic elements consists of plot,
setting, character and theme.

Based on the intrinsic elements analysis, the point of view of this novel describes

that Maya Angelou speaks in the first person as she recounts her childhood. She

writes both from a child’s point of view and from her perspective as an adult. The

setting of time is 1930s–1950s, and the setting of place consists of Stamps,

Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Oakland, California; San Francisco, California.

The major conflict in this novel consists of the time when Maya Angelou coming

of age as a southern black girl, confronting racism, sexism, violence and

loneliness. From rising action side, this novel describes about the condition of

Maya when her parents’ divorce, so that Maya and Bailey are sent to Stamps and

they move in with their mother in St. Louis, and so move to San Francisco to live

with Vivian. Finally, Maya spends the summer with her father. In climax, this

novel stated the condition of Maya when she runs away from her father,
 33

displaying her first true act of self-reliance and independence after a lifelong

struggle with feelings of inferiority and displacement; here, she displaces herself

intentionally, leading to important lessons she learns about humanity while in the

junkyard community. Some of falling action elements are talking about Maya’s

condition when Maya lives for a month in the junkyard with a group of homeless

teenagers, she becomes San Francisco’s first black streetcar conductor; she also

becomes pregnant that made her in loneliness. The writer concluded from

character element of the novel that Maya is a Precocious young girl suffering not

just from the typical traumas associated with being black and female in America,

but also from the trauma of this placement, and she endures many personal

traumas in her lifetimes as well. But as she grows up, all problems she felt

become the power to rise up and motivate her to be the powerful woman.

Suggestion

This study suggest that for understanding a novel is needed to know about

the condition of Black American society at the twentieth century portrayed in

story of novel I know why the caged bird sings. This is the humble study about

intrinsic elements analysis from the writer. It might be useful for the writer

specially and also the next researcher at the same analysis. The writer suggest for

the next researcher in order to analyze the novel deeper and more perfect. It might

be useful also for the institution of UIN as the treasure of knowledge.

 34

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