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This poem might be giving the reader a flashback of what it was like to be a caged bird and that could be because it was rescued to now when it is back at home and has it's freedom

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"You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise."

Someone could try and bring someone down, but that doesn't affect them.

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"Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?"

-Someone wants to see them suffer.

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The repetition of the word "rise" means they're still going to be successful no matter what other people do to her.

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" Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise."

-Her past taught her how to be strong. How did she turn this pain into motivation?

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"They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong."

He doesn't care what others see him as.

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"We've learned that quiet isn't always peace"

Silence is louder than ever now

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"we are striving to forge a union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all culture, colors, characters and conditions of man."

Racism is still separating us.

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"We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another, we seek harm to none and harmony for all."

We need more unity, it is the only thing that can fight people seeing us different.

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"We've seen a force that would shatter out nation rather than share it"

Society is trying to divide us over our skin color, but we have to defeat their attempts.

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"We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be."

We can go backwards If we don't demand a change.

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¨You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still,like air, ill rise.¨

This quote is saying that you must stand up and push through no matter how many times you´re brought down.

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"We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice." This means that Just because something seems calm or quiet doesn't necessarily mean it’s peaceful or right. Similarly, what society considers "just" (fair or right) might not always be true justice or morally right.

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¨and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees¨

This is an example of personification since trees cannot sigh.

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: "If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children's birthright"

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¨shoulders falling down like teardrops¨

This is an example of a simile because it used the word like.

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"But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing."-Maya Angelou

This quote has a hopeful but upsetting tone. Even with the birds current situation with being caged and mistreated he sings as though he is free.

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"The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom."

this quote shows on how once before during the Harlem Renaissance black people were seeking for freedom in the north due to the discrimination in the south and people were trying to escape and some were trapped so this event shows the similarity between the two.

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This gives the reader a perspective on two sides, the side that is enslavesd and how they feel and the side of the free person and how they are free

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When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade

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¨you may kill me with your heatfulness but still like air i rise.¨

This quote shows that even when people try to bring her down she stays strong and keeps rising. Its a similie she compates rising to air to show strength and resilience.

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¨The caged bird sings with a fearful trill"The bird represents people who are still in hope for freedom.

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Emmanuel Ramirez-"We learned that quiet isn't always peace"

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Emmanuel Ramirez-"We learned that quiet isn't always peace"

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Even if they didn't say anything or do anything, they would still be judged or mistreated.

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When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light

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"his wings are clipped and his feet are tied"

This quote shows how stuck and their freedom is totally taken. The bird cannot fly with clipped wings or move with tied feet.

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“I am a dark brother” He shows that although blacks and whites are different, they are still the same

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"I too, sing America" means how just like anybody else born in the US, he is still just like them

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"A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing."

This quote shows the sides of of the a free bird which represent white people who have freedom while also showing the perspective of the caged bird which represents black people who don;t have freedom privileges.

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“Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table”

The speaker is hopeful about the future, believing equality and acceptance will come.

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“The free bird leaps.. and dares to claim the sky” represents freedom and opportunity

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“Does my sassiness upset you” this challenges people who feel threatened by her confidence and strength

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“I, too, sing America.” (Line 1): This is a direct allusion to Walt Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing". While Whitman celebrated diverse laborers, he excluded Black people; Hughes’s "too" serves as a "bold correction" to that slight.

“the darker brother” (Line 2): Hughes uses the metaphor of kinship to assert that Black and white Americans are part of the same family. It highlights both a shared heritage and the painful irony of being treated as an outcast within one's own "house".

“eat in the kitchen” (Line 3): A powerful symbol for segregation and social exclusion. It evokes the literal experience of Black domestic workers who were forced into the background while white families entertained.

“When company comes” (Line 4): "Company" symbolizes the dominant white society or formal social norms. The speaker is hidden away to maintain an "appearance of superiority" for outside guests.

“But I laugh” (Line 5): This signals a shift in tone from victimization to resilience. Laughter here is a tool of defiance—it shows that the speaker’s spirit remains unbroken by his exclusion.

“And grow strong.” (Line 7): This represents the development of Black power—social, political, and cultural. The period of "eating in the kitchen" (isolation) is actually a time of internal preparation for future equality.

“Tomorrow / I’ll be at the table” (Lines 8-9): "Tomorrow" doesn't mean the literally next day; it represents a future state of equality. The "table" symbolizes full participation in American democracy.

“Nobody’ll dare” (Line 11): This phrasing indicates a newfound assertiveness. It suggests that equality will not just be granted, but will be so established that it can no longer be challenged.

“And be ashamed—” (Line 17): Hughes calls for restorative justice, not revenge. He believes that once white society recognizes the beauty and contributions of Black Americans, their natural response will be shame for their past actions.

“I, too, am America.” (Line 18): A final, more powerful version of the opening line. The verb shifts from "sing" (participating in a song) to "am" (embodying the identity). The speaker no longer needs to justify his inclusion; he is the country.