In some ways, we are all trapped within our own reality. This reality is subject to our own socio-economic and political context. Where we are born and what time period we were born into we have no choice but we do we do have the choice to challenge our contextual bonds. Today I will be comparing a poem by a prolific 20th-century writer, Maya Angelou called Caged Bird to Yellow Wallpaper, a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who was an American novelist, humanist, and feminist in the late 800s. Both texts discuss the theme of entrapment through their own personal experiences. Angelou discusses the emancipation of African Americans from a primarily white-dominant culture, and Gilman discusses the personal entrapment of a woman driven mad by the patriarchal society of the early 20th Century. Angelou lived during the height of the civil rights movement and was an activist for cha
nge. She wrote Caged Bird to represent the oppressive nature of American society in the 50s and 60s. Gilman was an advocate during the Feminist Movement in America and published a book called Women and Economics in 898. This was not well received during a time when women had very few rights and no systemic power. Life is a constant struggle between the boundaries that society places upon us and our own free will, and the importance of challenging these expectations for a more just society is the universal theme that will be discussed during this presentation. These two texts are examples of society placing unjust boundaries around individuals, and they also demonstrate that societal norms should constantly be challenged to improve society. People of any age and background can relate to both of these points, which makes the overall theme of these texts timeless and relevant in todays society.