Question

explain the theme of freedom in “Caged Bird.” Be sure to cite examples from the text in your response

Answer 1

This poem is an attempt to compare the drastically different lives of people with different opportunities. Considerably its date of release, it’s assumed to comment on racism and discrimination. The birds are metaphors. The caged bird represents somebody limited, trapped and can only dream of freedom while the free bird can do whatever it wants and it didn’t have to give freedom a second thought. In line 1 and 2, the poem reads “The free bird leaps on the back of the wind” telling us it has the power to do what it wants without consequences. In lines 15-18 the poem says “The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still”, which means the caged bird cannot enjoy what the free bird can, so all it can do is dream. The birds in this poem do not have equal opportunities, much like how our society was in the past.

Answer 2

This poem just tell about the lives of different people and how they cope up with different opportunities. The date of its release talks about discrimination and racism.The caged birds represents that they are those people who seek for freedom while the free birds represent those who do not  need freedom at all. Example:“The free bird leaps on the back of the wind” “The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still”