Racial Discrimination on the Poem Caged Bird (Essay Sample)

Racial Discrimination
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Racial Discrimination
Mary Angelou employs metaphor of a besieged bird struggling to flee from its elements inside a prison tale; the ''caged bird” denotes Angelou's captivity ensuing from racial discrimination and oppression. The caged bird needs to be free and sings for freedom. While reading this artwork, a recurrent sad feeling of the oppressed bird images rings on our head throughout the poem as she powerfully explores efforts to become liberated and free from manacles of racism and cruelty. Published in 1969, clearly portrays Angelou's young ages approximately from ages three to sixteen when racism was predominant, mainly in South America, where she was getting raised by then (Khaled, 2015). A poem that features Marguerite Johnson ("Maya"), Annie Henderson ("Momma"), Bailey Johnson Jr., Uncle Willie, Vivian Baxter Johnson ("Mother Dear"),Bailey Johnson Sr., Mr. Freeman, and Mrs. Bertha Flowers as the main characters portray the real events the Black-Americans faced as a result of racial discrimination resulting in their oppressions.
Whites are described as the dominants who are racist and oppress the black community in America as portrayed in the poem. They oppress the black community, according to the author. They get freed even when they commit serious offenses; for example, Mr. Freeman, a white man gets released from prison after raping Maya. This is a sure bet that dominants (whites) are above the law, and they can commit whatever evil without getting punished (Suryati, 2018). A character by the name of dentist Lincoln's refusal to treat Maya's toothache, despite his arrears to Momma is an indication that blacks have no right to healthcare. The degree of great hate for blacks reveals much more when this character states that he was willing to put his hands in a dog’s mouth rather than in a nigger’s (black’s) mouth. Momma responds to Lincoln’s behavior with passivity as Maya is appalled and dreams up an intricate fantasy regarding Momma menacing the racist dentist. Blacks are considered not to have the right to naming. Maya’s employer Mrs. Viola Cullinan persists in calling her Mary or Margaret names that do not impress her. Mary quits her job as she is sick of her boss insistent on calling her the name she does not like whites are famous for calling blacks all the names they want and like, according to the poem (Oktaviany, 2018). Mr. Donleavy believes blacks should not participate in education and thinks they should join in athletics like blacks should not have to education but only whites.
The less dominant on the other hand are the oppressed (blacks). They are considered as the less privileged, according to the author. They face severe oppression and racism from the whites, who are the dominants. They are raped and no serious actions are taken, for example the case of Maya, who is taken advantage of and raped by Mr. Freeman. Blacks are perceived as a community that has no court rights (Risedal Olsson, 2020). No justice should be given to them. They should be objects for use and has no right to be advocated for. They have no right to education as described by Mr. Donleavy, who believes blacks are only good in athletes. It is believed that blacks should depend on whites when they seek jobs (Chaima& Asma, 2017). For instance, Maya is an employee of Mrs. Viola Cullinan, who misuses her name. They have no right to medical healthcare as Dentist Lincoln refuses to treat Maya's toothache and considers treating a dog's toothache than that of blacks.
In my view, the relationship between blacks and whites regarding this poem portrays terrible relationships among the two racial groups. Every ethnic group feels that they are superior to the other (Davis, 2015). Blacks feel that they have the right to be treated the same way as they are humans the same as the whites. On the other hand, whites feel blacks are inferior, should be mistreated, and have no right to anything. The relationship between these two groups has brought abo