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Paper Title
Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman.
Authors
Pallavi Gogoi
Keywords
Angelou's Experiences, Struggles, Social Inequalities, Role of Family, Convictions and Change
Abstract
The selected autobiographies titled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in My Name unravels Maya Angelou's own life experiences in the broader context of the black community. While these narratives bring to the fore various challenges and struggles experienced by her people, it also opens up the scope of dialogue and change as evident in her own share of literary work combined with socio-political activism. Angelou assumes a critical position while discussing the shaping events in her life and presents an insider's view while bringing her people into the context. Thus, she also highlights the aspects of how black lives uphold resistance, resilience, pride and adaptability through their share of difficulties.
The present paper aims to study the aspects of social and individual identity with regard to the black individual and community in order to locate Angelou's position within the same. It also examines black struggles, as represented in the select autobiographical texts against various systemic social inequalities prevalent in the American society. Further, it analyses the role of family in shaping Angelou's individuality, perspectives and convictions while also highlighting the impact of social inequalities on the quality of black experience and life.
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IJCRT — journal style
"Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman.", IJCRT - International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (www.ijcrt.org), ISSN:2320-2882, Vol.14, Issue 3, page no.a469-a476, March 2026, Available :https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2603062.pdf
APA — 7th edition
Gogoi, P. (2026). Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 14(3), a469-a476. https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
MLA — 9th edition
Gogoi, Pallavi. "Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman." International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, vol. 14, no. 3, 2026, pp. a469-a476, https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313.
Chicago — 17th, bibliography
Gogoi, Pallavi. "Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman." International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts 14, no. 3 (2026): a469-a476. https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313.
Harvard — author–date
Gogoi, P. (2026) 'Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman', International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 14(3), pp. a469-a476. Available at: https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
IEEE — numbered reference
P. Gogoi, "Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman," IJCRT, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. a469-a476, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313.
Vancouver — biomedical
Gogoi P. Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman. IJCRT. 2026 Mar;14(3):a469-a476. doi: 10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
AMA — 11th edition
Gogoi P. Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman. IJCRT. 2026;14(3):a469-a476. doi:10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
BibTeX — Zotero, Mendeley, LaTeX
@article{IJCRT2603062,
author = {Pallavi Gogoi},
title = {Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman.},
journal = {International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {a469-a476},
year = {2026},
month = {March},
issn = {2320-2882},
doi = {10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313},
url = {https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313}
}
RIS — EndNote, RefWorks
TY - JOUR
AU - Gogoi, Pallavi
TI - Struggling and Surviving the Odds: Social Inequalities and the Role of Family as Represented in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman.
T2 - International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts
JA - IJCRT
VL - 14
IS - 3
PY - 2026
SN - 2320-2882
DO - 10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
UR - https://doi.org/10.56975/ijcrt.v14i3.302313
SP - a469-a476
ER -
Issue
Volume 14 Issue 3,
March-2026
Pages : a469-a476
Article Information
- Pages
- a469-a476
- Published
- March 2026
- Registration ID
- IJCRT_302313
- Published Paper ID
- IJCRT2603062
- Research Area
- Medical Science All
- Author Type
- Indian Author
- Location
- Guwahati, Assam, India
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- Published Paper PDF
- https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2603062.pdf
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