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Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Caged Bird) is based on her life in the early ages. This autobiographical novel is the first volume of her five-volume autobiography. She was forty-one when the book was published in 1970. At the same time, it was also nominated for a National Book Award (McPherson 21). Caged Bird truly reflects the essence of Angelou’s struggle to overcome the restrictions that were placed upon her in a hostile environment. The book deals with issues of racism, rape, drinking, homosexuality, and teenage pregnancy. Angelou writes with a twist of lyrical imagery along with a touch of realism (Moore 50). She was an entertainer before she wrote the book. James Baldwin and the cartoonist Jules Feiffer urged Angelou to try to write an autobiography, despite