Dr. Maya Angelou's Rainbow In The Cloud

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri (1928) as Marguerite Johnson; however she grew up in Stamps, Arkansas where her grandmother ran a general store. Angelou has acted and written several plays, poems, and a six-part autobiography “I Know Why the caged Bird Sings” making her one of this country’s foremost black writers. In this story Angelou tells about how her grandmother (momma) triumphs over a pack of taunting neighborhood children. I feel very strongly about this particular piece given the time set and the way black people were treated by the whites, and how without harsh words or threats some black people overcame the taunting and cruelties of the whites.

Maya Angelou’s use of symbolism in the book is used to describe her displacement in society and how difficult it is to find self-identity, revealing the form of being a “Caged bird.” Maya is a caged bird because she is aware of the displacement of blacks in America and the entitlement and freedom of whites. “if growing up is as painful for the southern girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat” (Angelou 4). Angelou is aware because of the color of her skin, she is living in a society that does not want her or anyone who looks like her. With her awareness Angelou, “...escapes stasis to become a subject in the perpetual process of forming and emerging. It is a dynamic subjectivity that emerges out

In an excerpt from her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings called “Graduation,” Maya Angelou narrates the anticipation surrounding graduation in her small town of Stamps, Alabama. Angelou effectively contrives noteworthy differences between paragraphs 1 through 5 and 6 through 10 through the use of emotional and descriptive diction, powerfully bold comparisons, and a shift in perspective in order to instill pride and dignity in Angelou and her race despite the era’s highlighted social injustices which she endures.

Graduation is a ceremony that almost every single person is familiar with, thus building the connection of the reader. Graduation is an important transition in one’s life. It represents an accomplishment and signifies moving on to something better, more important and the pathway to use one’s knowledge to achieve one’s life goals. It calls for a celebration along with a grand commencement among family, friends, and peers. Maya Angelou’s, “Graduation”, is about a young African American girl, who is excited and proud of her academic achievements. She strives to bring the reader into her world, while looking forward to her grand commencement. There is no doubt that Maya Angelou is a fantastic writer and by her standards, “Graduation” is an amazing piece of writing and what Angelou does best is evoke feelings and empathy from her readers. By relating to them and detailing her emotions for everyone to see, she emphasizes her sense of being wronged Angelou’s graduation was a pivotal moment in her life. She led the readers through her graduation as if they are sitting alongside her. Angelou’s method of telling her story is through imagery; Angelou describes the graduates, “Like travelers with exotic destinations on their minds…”(pg10) “everyone said I looked like a sunbeam.” (Pg. 13) These give the readers a true picture of what was going on and imagery vision of how broadly the kids were

Maya Angelou is a leading literary voice of the African-American community. She writes of the triumph of the human spirit over hardship and adversity. “Her style captures the ca-dences and aspirations of African American women whose strength she celebrates.” (Library of Chattanooga State, n. d.) Maya has paved the way for children who has had a damaged

Maya Angelou was one of the best successors in the world mostly known as an author, actress, screenwriter, dancer and poet. Maya had a difficult childhood. Her parents split up when she was still young, and her and her older brother Bailey, were sent to live with their grandmother, Anne Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas. During the years she lived there she was very much discriminated in Arkansas . At age 7 she had very difficult times. During a visit with her mother she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend and this event ended up in pretty bad situation because of this her uncles had to kill her mother’s boyfriend. This experience traumatized Maya and she stopped talking.

In Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she recounts her early years as a young girl growing up in Stamps, Arkansas who faces displacement, trauma, and prejudice. It is through her character and artistic expression that she is able to overcome the trauma of her childhood and evolve into the distinguished and

When one looks into Maya Angelou’s life, they can easily be overwhelmed by her countless

Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928 in the famous city of St. Louis Missouri. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, to Vivian Baxter and Bailey Johnson. Angelou also enjoyed a close relationship with her brother, Bailey, who gave her the name Maya. Angelou faced a severely traumatic experience when she was just seven-and-a-half years old. During one of her visits to her mother in St. Louis, a boyfriend of Angelou’s mother raped her. When her mother’s brothers found out about the rape, they killed the man responsible. Believing that she had caused the man’s death by speaking his name, Angelou refused to speak for five years following these traumatic events” (Williamson1). After graduating at the top of her

Maya Angelou grew up in a small, segregated town in the deep South where she had to learn to deal with racial hatred. Angelou was originally born as Marguerite Johnson in Saint Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. When Angelou was three and her older brother, Bailey, was four, her parents sent them off to live with their father’s mother in the rural town of Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou’s parents were never truly happy around one another. So, her father “decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and [he]shipped Maya and Bailey home to his mother” (Angelou 6) Angelou does not remember most of her trip, but once they reached the deep South, things started to look up. “Negro passengers, who always traveled with loaded lunch boxes, felt sorry for ‘the poor little motherless darlings’ and plied Maya and her brother with cold fried chicken and potato salad” (Angelou 6). Throughout all of her work, Angelou

Marguerite Annie Johnson, best known as Maya Angelou was greatly known and has carried many talents. Being a poet, author, teacher, mother dancer, and plenty more has made Maya the Phenomenal woman she had become. Maya Angelou’s poems express her everyday experiences and the struggles she had overcome. Although Maya Angelou was faced with many difficult situations she never let the past events affect her future. Being eager to learn allowed her to pursue her education, shaped her career choices and motivated her to write

April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri one of the most famous poets and civil rights activists was born, Marguerite Annie Johnson (Maya Angelou). Angelou was raised by her Grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas, along with her brother Bailey and Uncle Willie, until Bailey got of lynching age then the siblings were sent to live with their parents. During this time, Angelou was sexually assaulted by her stepfather and as a reaction she became mute; to fill her new found free time she fell in love with William Shakespeare and writers of Standardized English. After she gave birth to her son, at the early age of 18, Angelou returned to finish high school then as her raise to fame as both a poet and civil rights activist boomed she was confronted with many great opportunities she got to speak, write, and fight for civil rights alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" for the president, and later in her life write her memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” up until she died on May 28, 2014. Maya Angelou’s poetry brings to life her culture and past experiences to show the reality of the best and worst cases in life and guides the readers to embrace and overcome similar affairs.

Maya Angelou was born at her home in St. Louis, Missouri, as Marguerite Annie Johnson. She was born on April 4, 1928, and her parents were Vivian Baxter, a nurse, and Bailey Johnson Sr., a dietitian in the navy. Angelou also had an older brother named Bailey Jr. After their parents were divorced, they were sent to live in Stamps, Arkansas, with their grandmother (Skinner). When Maya was younger, she attended public school, and her teachers encouraged her to study music, dance, and drama privately ( “Angelou, Maya: Introduction”).

Maya Angelou was born in 1928 In St. Louis, Missouri. In her lifetime, Angelou received over fifty honorary doctorate degrees and went on to become a celebrated American poet, memoirist, educator, actress, and civil rights activist. On January 20, 1993, Angelou read a poem at the inauguration of former President Bill Clinton. This poem is packed with powerful meaning and its true purpose was reminding us that in difficult times or times of change, it is compulsory that we remained unified as a country. Angelou opens the poem with the line, “A Rock, A River, A Tree”.

We watched a video of Maya Angelou discussing how people have had an effect her life. She shares with us that as she has had difficulties in her life. She talks about how there have been people that have been “rainbows” in her clouds. The clouds being her difficulties, and the rainbows being the people that have helped her in some way. These rainbows stayed with her and helped her be her best rainbow for others. I was very moved by this video. Maya Angelou has obviously risen above the negativity and encourages everyone to do the same.