RJ Escuadro

Archetypal Literary Theory Analysis on “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

Hi readers! This is my second blog post about the novel “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, I highly suggest you read the first blog post first before reading this one. Thank you!

Image result for i know why the caged bird sings — Book Cover

After finishing the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou , it is clear that Archetypal literary theory can be applied and analyzed through this autobiography. Archetypes are significant throughout the novel with characters and symbols.

Archetypal Characters

The Great Mother and Mentor

The “Great Mother” and the “Mentor” of this autobiography is Annie Henderson or Momma. She plays the maternal figure of her grand kids, who holds motherly characteristics of wisdom, love, loyalty. Momma in the book mentions, “I saw only her power and strength.”, she is strict and is very religious (Angelou 46). Momma raises her grand kids, Maya and Bailey, this way because she loves and wants both of them to grow up to be their best version of themselves. Momma’s mentorship towards Maya has helped her deal with racism at such a young age that prepared her later in life.

Image result for fairy godmother — Fairy godmother in the story “Cinderella”

Momma’s character is similar to other archetypal characters such as the Fairy Godmother from “Cinderella”. The character plays the role of the “Great Mother” and the “Mentor”. Both Momma and the Fairy Godmother have similar intentions of raising their kids as best as possible guiding them through any obstacles.

The Villain

Related image — Villain like Disney’s Maleficent

In this novel, a villain character is portrayed by Mr. Freeman. He is the boyfriend of Maya and Bailey’s mother, Vivian. Maya and Bailey moved to St. Louis to be with their mother. One night when Vivian wasn’t home, Mr. Freeman had raped Maya when she was just 8 years old, “I could feel the evilness flowing through my body…”, it was the worst nightmare for Maya (Angelou 86). Maya felt so overwhelmed and angry, to a point where she took a vow of silence, muting herself for nearly 5 years.

Image result for bob ewell — The character Bob Ewell from “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Mr. Freeman’s character is similar to another archetypal villain figure which is Bob Ewell from “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Mayella Ewell was raped and framed it on an innocent man, Tom Robinson. Later on, the truth was told and that Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell raped her. This left Mayella feeling hopeless, ashamed, angry just like Maya.

Archetypal Symbols:

The color, black

The autobiography is set in the Era of Jim Crow
Laws, where there were extreme segregation and racial discrimination towards people of color. Maya says, “It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense.”, it is evident that during this time black people or people of color are described as being dirty and were treated like garbage by the white people. Overall, throughout the book, the color black symbolizes extreme segregation and racial discrimination.

Hero’s Journey

The concept of Hero’s Journey is well connected to this story. It begins with a “call of adventure”, when Maya and her brother, Bailey, was being abandoned by their divorced parents, leaving them to live with Momma in Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Maya deals with challenging obstacles of racism, however, she survives with the help of a “mentor”, Momma. Later on, the siblings depart Stamps to St. Louis and face harder obstacles with their new family, trying to fit into a new environment. Maya faces an “abyss of death” after getting raped by Mr. Freeman. Further, in the story, Maya’s “transforms” into a new and improved individual, where she overcomes racism and trauma. Finally, Maya and Bailey “returns” back to Stamps to Momma’s house.

Final Thoughts

I really love this book, and I cannot stress it enough how great this book is. It changed my outlook on life, really appreciating my family and friends around me. If you have been wondering what book to read next, please read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2009. Print.

“12 Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know.” Reedsy, 10 May 2019, blog.reedsy.com/12-common-character-archetypes-every-writer-should-already-know/.

“Color Archetypes.” STUDYBLUE, http://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/color-archetypes/deck/7307763.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 1 Nov. 1993, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13214.I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings.

“Maya Angelou.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 10 July 2019, http://www.biography.com/writer/maya-angelou.

“The Hero’s Journey.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheHerosJourney.Urofsky, Melvin I.

“Jim Crow Law.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Aug. 2018, http://www.britannica.com/event/Jim-Crow-law.

Adnan Syed’s Innocent!

Image result for adnan syed — Adnan Syed

I want to inform the readers about the basic principles of criminal law before I give my personal opinion about this murder case of Adnan Syed. So, one of the basic principles of criminal law is presumption of innocence , “any person charged with an effect is – to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal ” (Presumption of innocence).
I kept this principle in mind throughout my analysis of this case, and I am very confident in believing Adnan is innocent. Let me tell you why.

Image result for asia mcclain — Asia Mclain

In Asia McClain’s testimony, she mentions “…Adnan came in. He sat at the table. And we weren’t really close friends or anything like that, but we knew each other. And we chatted or whatever. I know school let out around 2:15. So it was probably around 2:30” (Koenig). After what Asia said, I initially thought she could just possibly be lying just to protect Adnan. The judge denied Adnan’s petition to bring Asia to the court because Asia’s letter did not state the exact time and her statement could be just a lie for the sake of Adnan. I wonder why Asia would go this far and lie for someone who she’s not really close friends with? After many years, Asia’s affidavit remains the same. Since something significant happened that day, where her boyfriend picked her up late and that was the very first snowfall of the year, it is evident that she remembers and is confident that she talked with Adnan at the library during the estimated time when Hae disappeared.

Image result for asia letter serial — Asia Mclain’s first letter to Adnan back in 1999

Another reason would be with Jay’s testimony against Adnan. In my opinion, Jay’s testimony is simply not enough to convict Adnan to life in prison. They were all statements, no physical evidence supporting his testimony. Jay says,”(Adnand) opens the trunk. And all I can see is Hae’s lips are all blue, and she’s pretzeled up in the back of the trunk. And she’s dead” (Koenig). Also, Jay mentions, “Adnan told me that I had to take him back to school because he needed to be seen there” (Koenig). It makes me wonder as to why wouldn’t Jay just report to the police after dropping Adnan back to school?

confused michael buble GIF by bubly — Me questioning Jay’s testimony

Upon further research, new evidence was discovered of Hae Min Lee’s autopsy report. According to the evidence, Hae had frontal lividity, which means Hae was laying flat and facing down for over 12 hours. This piece of evidence completely contradicts Jay Wilds’s testimony, where he mentioned that he found Hae “pretzeled up in the back of the trunk” for which Hae was in Adnan’s trunk and should have lividity on her right side. The timeline that Jay says is very suspicious since it doesn’t match actual forensic evidence. It proves how Jay’s testimony should have been furthered investigated before prosecuting Adnan Syed.

New evidence is revealed that can prove Adnan’s innocence.

All in all, Asia Mclain’s testimony outweighs Jay Wild’s testimony since Jay’s testimony is inconsistent and new evidence that was revealed many years later contradicts his statements. Accusing a person as guilty without clear physical evidence is seen as completely biased for the public.
Adnan Syed is innocent unless the State of Maryland can provide credible evidence to prove that he is guilty for the murder of Hae Min Lee.

Works Cited

Charterpedia, and Department of Justice. “Section 11(d) – Presumption of Innocence.” Charterpedia, 17 June 2019, http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art11d.html.

“EvidenceProf Blog: The Undisclosed Podcast, Skin Slippage, and the Likely Back/Right Burial of Hae Min Lee.” Law Professor Blogs Network, lawprofessors.typepad.com/evidenceprof/2015/04/at-both-of-the-trials-of-adnan-syed-for-murdering-hae-min-lee-assistant-medical-examiner-margarita-korell-gave-testimony-ind.html.

“Livor Mortis Provides Crucial Evidence for Investigators.” In Public Safety, 19 Mar. 2019, inpublicsafety.com/2019/01/livor-mortis-provides-crucial-evidence-for-investigators/.McDonell-Parry, Amelia, and Amelia McDonell-Parry.

“’Serial’: How Adnan Syed Could Win His Retrial.” Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/serial-how-adnan-syed-could-win-his-retrial-121253/.

“Season One.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one.

A closer look of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

After reading a chunk of the novel, I must say, WOW! “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is an amazing read.

This autobiography is set in two small Southern towns in America, Stamps, Arkansas and St. Louis, Missouri. Maya grew up in Stamps with her grandmother and his brother, Bailey, then had to move to St. Louis, Missouri with her parents. Throughout the story, it covers a lot of very serious themes like sexual, racism and segregation, that Maya Angelou has experienced when she was young.

When I read this autobiography, it just saddens me. How did Maya deal with sexual assault, racism at such a young age? How can someone just take a child’s innocence away? How cruel can humans get?

sad the emperors new groove GIF — Me after a racist encounter

In my own personal experience, when I moved here to Canada back in the spring of 2013, I experienced racism for the first time ever. A peer of mine told me some racist statements about being Asian, which they thought it was funny. Being a newcomer to a country full of opportunities and freedom, then greeted with a racist welcome, just destroyed me when I was a child. I didn’t talk to anyone about my experience for a long time. Thankfully, that kid who said racist comments to me became a good friend of mine.

“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, 6)
Quote about what growing black in the 60’s in America for Maya

The purpose of this autobiography is an attempt to expose racial discrimination and sexual assault. The fact that this book has been published around 50 years ago, although we have improved as a society, racial discrimination and sexual assault are still prominent to this day.

Literary devices are commonly used in this writing. For example, symbolism in the title of the book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. Before reading the novel, I was confused as to what the title meant, but after reading a chunk of the book, I understood what the title symbolizes. The bird symbolizes freedom, while the cage symbolizes oppression.

Last time I read a novel was last year’s online English class, and since then I haven’t read a book for pleasure. While reading this book, I learned a few things about myself. I learned how I get distracted easily while reading a book, I sometimes catch myself going off track and have to re-read a page since I just read without understanding. However, after a few chapters and turning off all distractions, I was in focus mode. As a visual learner, every time the book is describing something, I visualize like I am in that setting, really using my senses to enhance my time while reading the book. I really love that feeling and for that reason, I value books more.

Overall, I love this book so far! 5 stars! So I highly recommend you guys to listen to the audio book, it’s narrated by the author, Maya Angelou herself and you can tell right away when she narrates, it comes from her heart.

This post will be one of the two blogs I will be posting. Stay tuned for the second one!

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House. 2015.

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. CNIB, 2001.“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey: 9780345514400: Gateway.”

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey: 9780345514400: Gateway – Amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.ca/Know-Why-Caged-Bird-Sings/dp/0345514408/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2JHT5V1LXJ6KS&keywords=i know why the caged bird sings&qid=1562819081&s=gateway&sprefix=i know,aps,193&sr=8-1.

Literary Devices. “Symbol.” Literary Devices, 19 Dec. 2018, literary-devices.com/content/symbol/.“Literary Devices and Literary Terms.” Literary Devices, literarydevices.net/literary-devices/.“The Visual Learner.” PRIDE Reading Program, 21 Sept. 2018, pridereadingprogram.com/the-visual-learner/.

“The Visual Learner.” PRIDE Reading Program, 21 Sept. 2018, pridereadingprogram.com/the-visual-learner/.

“You’re Getting a Free Audiobook.” Audible.com, http://www.audible.ca/pd/I-Know-Why-the-Caged-Bird-Sings-Audiobook/B071F5R896?qid=1562821940&sr=1-1&pf_rd_p=65c74350-6dfb-47fa-85fd-1459a4762abd&pf_rd_r=S8HT7MCP5YF44HWH7WHX&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1.

Adnan, a star student or a murderer? Episode 1 of Serial “The Alibi” Review

Serial Podcast Logo

After listening to the first episode of serial, “The Alibi”, I craved for more! It was a very interesting podcast. In my experience, I occasionally listen to podcasts for pleasure. So when given an assignment which entails listening to a podcast, I was ecstatic. I love murder mysteries or unsolved mysteries, however, I typically consume that kind of content on a different medium, like on Netflix or YouTube . With many different types of podcasts I’ve listened to , so far the first episode of Serial “The Alibi” was incomparable.

A little background about the first episode of serial, “The alibi”. A high school day of the year 1999, a student named Hae Min Lee, disappeared after school and was found a month later in a forest. Her boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested and later sentenced to prison for life. Only one witness had a case against Adnan, his best friend Jay. Which he testified that Adnan had allegedly asked him to bury Hae Min Lee’s dead body. However, Adnan had a clean record and was well-liked by the school and community. Many believe in Adnan and many don’t.

This method of investigative journalism is brilliant. I think that this investigative format is really depending on the listener whether they like it or not. Although, many people might dislike it, this podcast ties in aspects that there are a lot of individuals who can relate it to. Asking questions to the listeners, using a tone that evokes emotions ,which put journalism on a level that other formats can’t easily do. It is harder to carry out emotions through reading than to actually hear the suffering, misery, pain in a podcast.

The team behind — Sarah Koenig (center), behind is Serial Podcast team.

Consuming this type of content through a podcast isn’t really ideal for me. However, this podcast is an exception. The way the host, Sarah Koenig, narrated the text very effectively. With reading a text, I wouldn’t be able to consume the content without moving around, cooking, or any motion. Reading requires you stay still.

Shamim Syed and her son, Yusef Syed — Adnan Syed’s Family

The serial podcast became very popular in no time. However, it had a negative impact Adnan’s family. The host mentions; “They told me about Adnan Syed… when he was arrested for murder, so many people who know him were stunned” (Koenig). Adnan’s family are devastated after hearing the news. I personally can’t imagine how they felt after knowing what Adnan had been through when he was asleep and taken straight to jail. This kind of memories would be impossible to forget because it is very upsetting to the family. The fact that the public knows about this case, can make it worse for the family because people will keep discussing it and nothing else to talk about other than Adnan’s case.

Memories can either be forgotten or not. The host of the podcast starts with a discussion about the challenges of memory and I think that I remember memories quite well. I tend to have a strong visual memory, especially the ones that are significant to remember. I sometimes journal about my day, and writing my memories on paper helps me remember my experiences. When I was listening to the podcast, I wonder what if Adnan had remembered the day when Hae was murdered. Adnan’s memory is the only thing that could help him get out of prison.

The big question ultimately is, did Adnan kill Min Hae Lee?

Works Cited

“About Season One.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one/about.

“Investigative Journalism.” UNESCO, 7 June 2018, en.unesco.org/investigative-journalism.

“Season One.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one.

Vincent, Alice. “Murder Mystery Podcast Serial Breaks Download Records.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 19Nov.2014,www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11239805/Murder-mystery-podcast-Serial-breaks-download-records.html.

University-level English, should it be required to get into a university program?

When applying to Ontario universities, almost every university program requires a grade 12 university-level English credit. Should grade 12 university-level English be a requirement for entry into all university programs?

As a student who is trying his best to pursue his dreams and hoping to make it into a university program, I believe grade 12 university-level English should be mandatory for entry into all university programs.

Image result for canada multiculturalism — Canada and Multiculturism

The country I live in, Canada, is very diverse in terms of cultures and ethnicity. Every province and territory (except Quebec) prominently speaks and writes in English. Some individuals in the country may know multiple languages other English, but English is the best way to communicate with the rest of the country/world.

Image result for effective communication — Effective communication is key to success

Effective communication is key to success, English courses will help me get better at communication through the different mechanisms of writing skills. It allows individuals to effectively convey their thoughts and ideas whether it’s through writing or by conversing.

In university, writing is the key skill to success. I will need to take a lot of notes from lectures, and need to be efficient as to what I write, only noting the most important points. The ability to create detailed and organized notes is essential.

University program that I’m interested in.

On a more personal choice, I plan on applying for the Health Science program at McMaster University. Since it’s a science program, it will definitely have a lot of written labs, research papers, etc. to submit. This means that taking grade 12 university-level English is vital to get more practice so that I can be better with my writing and communication skills.

As a current student in this English course, writing about this topic has helped me understand the importance of taking this course. However, plenty of students may believe that taking this course (which entails a lot of reading and analyzing a book, poems, literacy, etc.) may be useless in the future.
Which I completely disagree with, in the future when I become an independent adult looking for a job, writing resumes and answering interview questions, for the most part, will be unavoidable. According to a research, it mentions, “The findings indicate that employers value communication skills” which highlights that good communication is one of the top skills that managers look for in employees ( Lim, Lee, Yap, Ling, 2016).

Paul Meyer once brilliantly said, “Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success”, the foundation of success in any area of life is communication (Meyer).

Why not take this English course that will enrich and sets me for the future?

In conclusion, I highly advise that grade 12 University-level English is most definitely a must for entry into all university programs due to the benefits and transferable skills learned in this course.

Lots of transferable skills are learned in English courses

https://ischool.syr.edu/infospace/2018/03/19/transferable-skills-career-growth/

– Works Cited –

“How English Became the Global Language.” EF English Live, 22 Jan. 2019, englishlive.ef.com/blog/english-in-the-real-world/english-became-global-language/.

Lim, Yet-Mee, et al. “Employability Skills, Personal Qualities, and Early Employment Problems of Entry-Level Auditors: Perspectives from Employers, Lecturers, Auditors, and Students.” Journal of Education for Business, vol. 91, no. 4, 2016, pp. 185–192., doi:10.1080/08832323.2016.1153998.

Oteify, Rania. “Effective Communication Is Key to Success.” Gulf News – No.1 in UAE and Dubai for Breaking News, Opinion and Lifestyle, Gulf News, 1 Nov. 2018, gulfnews.com/how-to/employment/effective-communication-is-key-to-success-1.2105207.

Welcome to my ENG4U blog!

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

About Me

Hello!

My name is RJ Escuadro and this is my ENG4U blog!

I will be in grade 12 attending Sir Frederick Banting S.S in the fall. I was part of band, choir, badminton team and vice-president of student council.

I hope you will get to know me better by reading my blogs!

Thank you for visiting my blog!