1. Introduction
2. Table of contents
3. The story
4. The story
5. The author
6. The title
7. Round characters
8. Flat characters
9. Character development
10. Themes
11. Genre - perspective - time sequence
12. Time - place - style
13. My opinion
14. The end
S1:
Introduction:
I am looking forward to tell you about the book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. My
goal today is to help you understand this book, even though you didn’t read it. I
would like to start with a quote by Maya Angelou, who is the main character and
author of this book. "Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has
not solved one yet.” After this presentation I hope you understand why I chose this
quote.
S2:
Table of contents:
First, I’d like to give you a brief outline of my presentation. To start with, I
will explain the story. Then I will mention something about the author, title,
characters, themes, genre and perspective. I will move on to when and where the
story takes place and the style. After that, I will talk about the creative
assignment I did. And finally, I am going to give you my own opinion.
Slide 3 & 4:
The storyline:
The story starts when Maya is three years old and she and her brother Bailey were
sent away by their divorced parents to their grandmothers house in Stamps. She and
Uncle Willie own the local store there and the children enjoy a (sort of) secure
childhood. Yet, life is difficult for black people at a time where there was a lot
of racism. A year later, their dad suddenly shows up and takes them to their
mothers home in St. Louis. There Maya gets raped at eight years old by her mothers
boyfriend. After this traumatic experience Maya and Bailey return to Stamps. When
Maya is thirteen, her grandmother takes her and Bailey to San Fransico, where their
mother now lives. There Maya runs away and lives in a junkyard. After a while she
returns. The book ends with Maya getting pregnant at 16.
S5:
The author:
Maya Angelou was born in the US in 1928. Her original name was Marguerite Johnson,
but she later changed it to Maya Angelou. She had a broad career, but became most
famous as a writer, poet and civil rights activist. Most people know her from her
series of autobiographies, of which my book is the first one. She passed away in
2014.
S6:
The title:
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a metaphor for the African Americans that were
opressed by the white Americans. In the book you read this very clearly in the part