| Acknowledgements | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract in Chinese | 第6-9页 |
| Abstract in English | 第9-11页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第15-25页 |
| 1.1 Introduction to Maya Angelou and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | 第15-18页 |
| 1.2 Related Studies on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | 第18-21页 |
| 1.3 Gates and the Theory of Signifyin(g) | 第21-25页 |
| Chapter 2 Signifyin(g) on Language | 第25-39页 |
| 2.1 The Signifying of Naming | 第25-30页 |
| 2.1.1 Inheriting the Tradition of Naming | 第26-27页 |
| 2.1.2 Developing the Tradition of Naming | 第27-30页 |
| 2.2 The Features of Language | 第30-39页 |
| 2.2.1 Use of Black English, Vernacular and other Languages | 第30-33页 |
| 2.2.2 Use of Simile, Innuendo, Symbol, Hyperbole, Aphorism | 第33-36页 |
| 2.2.3 Depiction of Image in Exquisite and Visual Ways | 第36-39页 |
| Chapter 3 Signifyin(g) on imagery | 第39-60页 |
| 3.1 Images in Western Literarture | 第39-51页 |
| 3.1.1 "Mad Women" — Anxiety under Patriarchy and Racialism | 第40-42页 |
| 3.1.2 "Sex"— Bewilderment in the Pursuit of Personality | 第42-45页 |
| 3.1.3 Religious— the Way of Self-salvation | 第45-50页 |
| 3.1.4 "Aphasia"—the Feebleness and Isolation of females | 第50-51页 |
| 3.2 Images in Afro-American Traditional Literature | 第51-60页 |
| 3.2.1 "Store"— the Panorama of the Black's Life | 第52-54页 |
| 3.2.2 "Book and Cinema" — the Pursuit of Freedom and Love | 第54-55页 |
| 3.2.3 "Physical Features"—the Dilemma of Black People | 第55-57页 |
| 3.2.4 "Black Grandmother" —the Evolution of Black Female's Role | 第57-60页 |
| Chapter 4 Signifyin(g) on Text | 第60-71页 |
| 4.1 The Signifyin(g) on Forms | 第60-64页 |
| 4.1.1 Repeating the Tradition of Sacred Music and Blues | 第61-63页 |
| 4.1.2 Using Autobiography as the Narrative Way | 第63-64页 |
| 4.2 The Signifyin(g) on Themes | 第64-71页 |
| 4.2.1 The Subject of Female Bildungsroman | 第65-67页 |
| 4.2.2 The Subject of Racialism and Sexism | 第67-71页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第71-73页 |
| Bibliography | 第73-76页 |
| Papers Published During the Study for M. A. Degree | 第76页 |
