“Ain’t Nothin’ to It but to Do It”: The Process of Constructing an Identity as a Marginalized Subject in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the process of identity construction of a marginalized subject in autobiography. For this purpose Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is studied taking into consideration gender and race as crucial aspects. A fluid approach of construction is proposed to move towards the goal of constructing a sense of identity that embraces the different positions the self may take. Through the analysis of this paper, the hidden ideologies of language are also analyzed as they represent the biggest challenge for the protagonist due to her belonging to the margins of discourse. This study shows that the construction of a sense of self is by no means easy and a marginalized subject may go beyond the hidden ideologies present in language to achieve it. Such task might be possible if the individual takes hold of language as a weapon to defend herself and refuses to be silenced.