In "Caged Bird," Maya Angelou uses the metaphors in her poems to contrast the characteristics of a caged and free bird. In my perspective, a caged bird is more of a person that is timid and afraid to do things. They do not have
any confidence or courage to try something new. Instead of
seeking their dreams, a caged bird would only wish that they could do something and would not make an effort to accomplish their goals.
An example of this characteristic is when the author writes "a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams." The quote further proves the idea that the caged bird only has dreams, but it is unable to fulfill them because of their lack of courage. On the other hand, the free bird is the complete opposite. It takes risks, is adventurous, and has the courage to try new things. The writer portrays the free birds as more of a daredevil. The writer says that the free bird "dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky." Angelou is trying to say that the free bird does what ever it wants, and it is willing to any challenge, even fly to the sun. The free bird is ready to take risks and is able to accomplish its goals because of the positive attitude. . As one can see, the two birds are like two whole different worlds.
Because of my attributes and personality, I would say that I am more like the free bird. This is because I like to be adventurous and try new things. A situation that shows this trait is when I went swimming with my friends two years ago. We were all enjoying ourselves while having splash fights and playing Water Polo, until the neighborhood bully came. He told one of my friends and I to jump off the fifty-foot high diving board or else we will receive the beating of our life that we will never forget.