黃桂南

【Abstract】A Song Flung Up to Heaven can be viewed as one part of a bildungsroman， which encourages all people in adversity to rise. Moreover， its implied readers include all Americans. This paper is devoted to exploring the meaning of this autobiography and its narrative techniques.

【Key words】autobiography； bildungsroman； narrative techniques

Introduction

As one of autobiographical works， A Song Flung Up to Heaven was authored by Maya Angelou， who is acclaimed as “one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman” . According to Encyclopedia of World Biography， she is a versatile woman and continues spreading her legendary wisdom， being “a prolific poet， educator， historian， best-selling author， playwright， civil-rights activist， stage and screen performer， producer and director”.

Western critics think highly of Angelous serial autobiography， including A Song Flung Up to Heaven. They generally analyze it in terms of patriarchal oppression， or feminist consciousness； additionally， they think the implied readers of it are white Americans and black Americans. However， this autobiography can be viewed as one part of a bildungsroman in a broader sense which encourages all people in adversity to rise. Its implied readers include not mere black people but also white people， Spanish-speaking Americans and Asian Americans. Thus， this paper is devoted to exploring the meaning of this autobiography on the one hand； and on the other it analyzes its narrative techniques.

1. Why an autobiography

“autobiography may be understood as a recollective/ narrative act in which the writer， from a certain point of his life—the present—looks back over the events of that life and recounts them in such a way as to show that past history has led to this present state of being” （Olney 47）. It is one of traditions for African Americans to choose autobiography as their creation form. As William L. Andrews argues， “Autobiography holds a position of priority， many would say preeminence， among the narrative traditions of black America. It was the eighteenth-century slave narrator who first sang the African-American ‘long black song into print” （197）. Through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries， the common theme of black autobiographies is either appealing anti-slavery or pursuing the equality plus freedom， and they combine to prove the vitality and variety of that irrepressible strain of freedom.endprint

In addition， more and more black autobiographies are revived in recent years and have begun drawing increasing attention of critics and commentators alike. As a literary tradition， those African American autobiographies can partly， if not totally， mirror the history of African American life. Additionally， “The number and importance of novels that read like or are titled autobiographies in African-American literature confirm a recent black critics contention that ‘ours is an extraordinary self-reflexive tradition” （Andrews 197）. Xu categorizes the African Americans autobiographies into four stages： （1） initiation and growth of slave narratives （around 1760s till 1865）； （2） gradual maturity （roughly from1865 till 1910s）； （3） stable development （ranging from1910s to 1960s）； （4） revival and boom （1960s till now）. （Xu，2005： 6-7）

Maya Angelou is one of representatives belonging to the booming period of African American autobiographies. She inherits the tradition of slave narratives， and adds her own elements to them.

2. A bildungsroman

The narrator “I” becomes mature in the political and ideological sense after painful growing-up in the previous autobiographies. Through pains-taking efforts to deal with all sorts of adversities， the narrator finally succeeds and gets accepted by general public.

A bildungsroman is a novel whose principal subject is the moral， psychological， and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character. The narrator sheds much ink to depict how “I” survive all hardships and realize my dreams in the process of physical and mental struggle. Therefore， to some extent， this autobiography fits in this type.

2.1

Through her personal experience， the narrator shows the world a successful female image that awakes from former nightmares， consistently strives for excellence， and never gives way to difficulty.

Suffering one disaster after another， two unsuccessful marriages even drive “me” to the verge of collapse. However， with a strong will， I successfully go through them and survive. Most importantly， it is worth mentioning that each difficulty adds a valuable lesson to my life and it is difficulties that make me stronger in will and determination.

When mentioning “my” African lover， “He was a powerful West African who had swept into my life with the urgency of a Southern hurricane. He uprooted my well-planted ideas and blew down all my firmly held beliefs about decorum.”（Maya 6） “I” had given my word and my body， but I had never given my soul； nothing can deprive “me” of freedom.endprint

To earn bread， “I” go to a nightclub for singing. But meanwhile sons intractability does bother “me” and the failure of second marriage leaves “me” in languishment and gloom. Yet， I reenter real life and begin working on stage plays.

Actually， the inspiration of the autobiography goes not to all people， be they old or young， male or female. That is， the implied readers go beyond the class and gender.

2.2

Proofs can also be found from the text outside the autobiography. According to Xu， in autobiography， the focus of narratology shifts from the text itself to the real world outside the text， and its research lays emphasis on not only “how to tell stories” but also on “why to tell stories this way”. The answer to the latter lies in the factors outside the text. Thus the text and the real world are interrelated and mutually referred to （47）. After conducting a research on some relevant interviews， I find some clues to support my point.

In “Maya Angelou Interview： Americas Renaissance Woman”， Angelou repeatedly mentions the virtue of courage. “Courage is the most important of all the virtues， …Courage would be the first of his many wondrous and wonderful qualities that I would list. … But it is only with courage that you can be persistently and insistently kind and generous and fair.” （Maya Angelou Interview 1997） In understanding Angelous meaning， here courage should by valued most by all men and women regardless of skin color or class.

“So that even as he was assassinated， he was planning a March on Washington， called the ‘Poor People's March， in which he had encouraged African Americans， …until something was done for the poor.” （Maya Angelou Interview 1997） Here， Angelou thinks highly of Martin King for his intelligence， leadership and humanity.“Poor People's March”shall involve all people.

3. Narrative techniques

3.1 Poetic elements to avoid dullness in narration

Besides keeping traditions， she upgrades her autobiographies by adding something new to them. She is shrewdly skillful in weaving poetic elements into autobiographical prose in her writing. The titles “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “A Song Flung Up to Heaven” are borrowed from Paul Laurence Dunbar Sympathy.

And her writing arguably lives up to these poetic and inspiring titles. It echoes one critics comment， “Dr. Angelou captivates her audiences lyrically with vigor， fire and perception. She has the unique ability to shatter the opaque prisms of class between reader and subject throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies.”endprint

The narrator weaves poetic elements into autobiographical prose. They are easy to read with musical rhythm. By using parallel structure， readers may be profoundly struck by their powerfulness in conveying the authors true feeling. Moreover proper change in narrative can avoid the dullness of plain story-telling.

3.2 Narrative space saved for others incidents

Although it is an autobiography， in addition to describing “my” life， the narrator also portrays others life in order to present readers with a panoramic picture of America. In chapter eight， “I” describe the life of those who needed medical attention or collected supplemented food stamps.

Thus， within the body of the autobiography， there is a hidden collective biography of many other people under the same system. While reading others incidents， readers also get to know other information and facts about the situation. These incidents are depicted by the narrator， which adds to the authenticity of the autobiography. No matter whose incidents are recounted in the text， they serve one single purpose—to present readers with a panoramic picture of America.

Conclusion

This autobiography can be viewed as one part of a bildungsroman in a broader sense which encourages all people in adversity to rise. And it embraces a broader audience. Within the body of the autobiography， there is a hidden collective biography of many other people under the same system. They serve the same end by presenting a panorama of American society.

References：

[1]Andrews，William L.20th-Century Autobiography：Introduction.Black American Literature Forum，Vol.24，No.2，20th-Century Autobiography.（Summer，1990），pp.197-201.July 5，2008.< http：//links.jstor.org>.

[2]Angelou，Maya.A Song Flung Up to Heaven.Random House， Inc.2002.

[3]James，Olney.I Was Born：Slave Narratives，Their Status as Autobiography and as Literature.Callaloo，No.20.（Winter，1984）： 46-73.4 July，2008..

[4]Xu Dejin.Autobiographical Narratology[J].Foreign Literature.Vol.3 2004.44-51---.Contemporary African American Autobiography Studies：Retrospect and Prospect[J].Journal of Jingmen Technical College.Vol.20.No.2，2005[My translation].

Online Resources

[1]An Interview with Maya Angelou by David Frost.July 03，2008..

[2]Dr.Maya Angelou.Speakers Bureau，In.2000 – 2008.July 4，2008..

[3]Maya Angelou.July 03，2008..

[4]Maya Angelou Biography.2005-2006 Thomson Gale.July 03，2008.< http：//www.bookrags.com/biography/maya-angelou/ >

[5]Maya Angelou Interview：Americas Renaissance Woman.January 22，1997.July 03，2008..

作者簡(jiǎn)介：孫志軍（1981.11-），男，山東人，碩士，講師，研究方向：英語(yǔ)文學(xué)，商務(wù)英語(yǔ)。