Lucy Dunn
Racism , Intersectionality and Protest in Maya Angelou ’ s ‘ Junkie Monkey Reel ’ and ‘ Caged Bird .’
English Literature student LUCY DUNN examines the significance of implicit protest in literature through the means of poetic devices , linguistic sounds and expressions of personal experience . Lucy focuses on the poetry of Maya Angelou , exploring her critiques and resistance to oppressive racial and patriarchal structures as well as how critics have often overlooked the impact of the implicit protest of her work .
Within the poetry of Maya Angelou , the suffering of black communities in America is presented through a lens that criticises and exposes the impact of racism and intersectionality , as seen in her poems ‘ Junkie Monkey Reel ’ and ‘ Caged Bird .’ Angelou ’ s activism is demonstrated by her writing ; although this may seem like implicit resistance , it certainly becomes a form of overt protest when examined . This essay will explore the ways in which Angelou has utilised language , structure , and poetic devices , with emphasis on sound , as protest . Angelou herself was left mute for some years as a child , triggered by a horrific experience , and this is especially significant when considering her poetry as overt protest . Through her writing , she has revealed these abhorrent experiences , as will be discussed . It was through reading literature that she refound her voice , and through poetry that she was able to
18 vociferously protest against oppressive structures in spite of her vastly marginalised position . While Angelou is critical even towards the privileged within oppressed groups who for instance neglect the intersectional struggles of black women , she nonetheless shows empathy towards them . By doing so , she establishes a space for a community of shared pain and resistance to flourish . There is certainly something attractive within her method of protest that criticises the oppressors yet offers sanction to the oppressed .
In ‘ Junkie Monkey Reel ’, Angelou works to expose and critique the impact of racism on black Americans . She does this by using the effect of drugs as a metaphor for the effect of racism . The title ‘ Junkie Monkey ’ itself creates a rhyme , which intertwines the two images : a drug addict and a monkey . As Joe R