Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and the Story of My Life by Helen Keller Compare and Contrast

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“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” “The Story Of My Life” Compare and Contrast Helen Keller and Maya Angelou were both women that faced extreme hardships in life. Both were born with attributes that set them behind in life, and both became successful only after hard work and perseverance. In Keller’s and Angelou’s books, “The Story Of My Life,” and “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” respectively, they chronicle the hardships that they have suffered, as well as what they had to do to go beyond their setbacks and become successful. That is the majority of what the two stories have in common, however, and things such as the writing styles and the the type of examples both authors used to illustrate their points are what establish both books as individual and original in their own right. While the book genre and general themes are the same, many things such as writing style and use of rhetoric make the two books very different. With that in mind, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is overall more effective in it’s ability to inform the reader of Angelou’s life mainly because by using a more passionate yet informal tone, Angelou was able to more effectively connect with her audience. One big similarity that both books had in common was the point of view of the author. They both used a first person point of view. This is significant because since the books are explanations of the events in the authors’ lives, the use of first person point of view makes it a lot easier for the writers to connect with the audience. Also, the diction of both books is not very complex. Another similarity between these two books can be found in the themes of each book. As stated in the introduction, both books tell of a woman who, after being born with something that set them behind in life, used their own intelligence and perseverance to ultimately become successful. In Keller’s case,

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