Talk:I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination failed. For older candidates, please check the archive.
Novels
Literature Portal
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Novels, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to narrative novels, novellas, novelettes and short stories on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit one of the articles mentioned below, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and contribute to the general Project discussion to talk over new ideas and suggestions.
B This article has been rated as B-Class.
Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.
A request has been made for this article to be peer reviewed by the Novels WikiProject.
Assessment comments

Contents

[edit] older entries

Is there such a thing as an "autobiographical novel" if so I would like to see a link to the def. in Wikipedia. If not, and I am guessing there is not, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings would best be described as an autobiography. A novel is a work of fiction. If this is not a work of fiction it is not a novel.

here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiographical_novel

Someone reverted an edit that linked this page to the def. of autobiographical novel. Why? Either it is an autobiographical novel (in which case the link should be to autobiographical novel and not biography) or it is not. If it is NOT an autobiographical novel the article should not describe it as such. I am simply being logical.

[edit] Clarification please

May someone please clarify the second plot summary?

Mr. Edward Donleavy, a kind of school superintendent, is the graduation speaker. He tells of the much better opportunities given to the white school in town, and then mentions that some graduates of the black school have managed to become athletes. Mr. Donleavy seems to say that the best black boys can do is to become athletes, and doesn't even mention the girls. Maya is livid, as are most of the people in the; it crushes the celebratory spirit of the ceremony, and reminds them that their lives are already set out for them.

Should a noun follow the bold, italized article? Thanks. --Mayfare 01:25, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Second plot summary

Why the need for two plot summaries? The second in particular seems overly long. Suggest amalgamation. If conflicting views present, these can both be detailed or dealt with in a separate section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 40.252.72.102 (talk) 12:46, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

I agree, the second plot summary is unneccessary. The first one has some problems and could use some editing, but it's adequate. 124.66.16.176 made the addition back in June, and only two edits were made from that IP address. IMO, the second one should be deleted. --Figureskatingfan 06:06, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Explanation for deletions

I deleted the book listed under "Reference" because it looks like it was a cleverly-hidden attempt at spam. User 71.77.1.32, on 5 August 2007 added it to several articles about African American literature, probably to advertise the book, since it was the only edits under that username, and all on the same day. Click here for proof.

I also deleted the "Excerpts" section of this talk page because it was created by someone with a clear agenda, and inapproprate in this setting. --Figureskatingfan 05:43, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I Think That

I think that this is a wonderful story n that i can sort of relate 2 it n sum ways although im conceited n i never though i was ugly n was never raped evrytym i hear this story i can picture myself b n that passion n i can jus amagine how i will feel i wud probably feel the same way u felt


P.S. This was an is the best book i ever read. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.78.59.63 (talk) 04:29, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

I think this is an amazing biography/autobiography. THis opened my eyes about racisim and alot more about how African Americans lived. I definitely recommend to read this.

[edit] Autobiography vs. autobiographical novel

I have changed the genre of this book from autobiographical novel to autobiography because I think there can be a good case made for categorizing it that way. The logic behind it is coming, in some of the additions I intend to make to this article, from the research I've done on MA, her writing style, and influences. I've also changed the category to illustrate the change. --Figureskatingfan (talk) 05:28, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Rape

I'm wondering if this article should have a section, under Themes, about MA's rape. The problem is, however, that the only source I was able to find was from the Lupton book. I hesitate adding the information, since this article is already heavily dependant upon the book. For the time being, I'll keep an eye out for more sources about it. However, my initial thoughts is to put the info in the Identity section. If anyone wants to help, please feel free. --Figureskatingfan (talk) 16:40, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Characters section

I added a new section, "Characters", which I tested out on one of my sandboxes, and then cut-and-pasted into the article. As of today, there's more work to be done on the section, so it's very much a draft at this point. The rest of the article needs to be copyedited, and then it should be ready for another try at FA. --Figureskatingfan (talk) 19:56, 7 June 2008 (UTC)