Francine Prose’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Reade” is an argument against
the reading lists in many American high schools. In one section of the essay, she
specifically mentions Maya Angelou and the passage from question 8. See the
paragraph that begins at the end of the second page and continues in the first column
on the third page. What is your initial response to this argument?
Respond to ONE of these questions:
1. Do you agree with Prose’s overall argument about the texts assigned in school?
2. Do you agree with her criticism of Angelou’s writing?
Explain your thinking in a well-developed, well-supported paragraph. You may bring in
examples from your own experience, etc.