I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Forgive and Forget

529 Words3 Pages
Forgive and Forget It is very important for every human being to forgive him or herself because if you live, you will make mistakes- it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say “Well, if I’d know better I’d have done better,” that’s all. (Interview) Maya Angelou, author of the novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, describes the act of forgiveness in this interview with In Context magazine, issue #43, as well as many other pieces advice. In Angelou’s memoir, she suffered many tragedies, and she tells of them in her book. The story begins during her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, and as the story progresses, she goes through many experiences. These are the situations that influence the advice she gives in her interview with Linda Wolf. A major point she emphasizes in her novel is the need to forgive yourself, and to continuously rise above your challenges. Angelou’s advice from the interview could be applied to many different situations that occurred in her life and memoir. Throughout Maya Angelou’s entire childhood, she hated how she looked, and her entire being. In chapter 4, she tells of her playmates calling her “shit color” and having a “head of black steel wool”, while Bailey was “small, graceful, and [...] lauded for his velvet-black skin,” (17). Angelou continuously compares herself to her older brother, Bailey. But as she grows older, she realizes that “everybody is worth everything” (interview). Angelou forgives herself for not loving herself, and begins to gain self-respect. She explains that “the real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself” (interview). Throughout the novel, Angelou depicts tragedy after tragedy. She is raped, bullied, and suffers from low self-esteem. Yet, she rises up. She gets through these challenges, and thrives. In I Know Why the Caged Sings, she

More about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings-Forgive and Forget

Open Document