Find the perfect quote to float your boat. Shmoop breaks down key quotations from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Race Quotes
I was really white and because a cruel fairy stepmother, who was understandably jealous of my beauty, had turned me into a too-big Negro girl, with nappy black hair, broad feet and a space between...
Change Quotes
Moving from the house where the family was centered meant absolutely nothing to me. It was simply a small pattern in the grand design of our lives. (10.30)
Appearance Quotes
When I was described by our playmates as being s*** color, he was lauded for his velvet-black skin. His hair fell down in black curls, and my head was covered with black steel wool. And yet he love...
Identity Quotes
Horatio Alger was the greatest writer in the world. His heroes were always good, always won, and were always boys. (12.24)
Love Quotes
In later years I asked her if she loved me and she brushed me off with: "God is love. Just worry about whether you're being a good girl, then He will love you." (9.6)
Sexuality and Sexual Identity Quotes
Because of the kinds of news we filched from those hushed conversations, I was convinced that whenever Reverend Thomas came and Momma sent us to the back room they were going to discuss whitefolks...
Religion Quotes
"Our Father, thank you for letting me see this New Day. Thank you that you didn't allow the bed I lay on last night to be my cooling board, nor my blanket my winding sheet. Guide my feet this day a...
Literature and Writing Quotes
As quickly as I understood that I had not reached my home, I sneaked away to Robin Hood's forest and the caves of Alley Oop where all reality was unreal and even that changed every day. (11.1)