Maya Angelou

African Americans in my generation should be ashamed. What did our ancestors fight for? In this generation we use the word nigger as if it is slang and not a word that our ancestors looked down upon. What did Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders fight for? In Maya Angelou’s book Rainbow in the Clouds she discussed that we as African Americans should respect our descendants and behave in a way that they would be proud of. Maya Angelou also expressed how she is proud to be an American and how she is thankful to our troops.

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She was born into a devastating decade, that suffered numerous tragedies. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. She is still living today, yet I believe her legend will never die. Furthermore I will share with you what motivated her and some of her gratifying experiences. How she was effected by society, and what she did about it. Also how the time period she was born into made her the extraordinary woman she is today.

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She was born into a devastating decade, that suffered numerous tragedies. Not only had society shaped her as a woman, she has also shaped our society and influenced many lives. She is still living today, yet I believe her legend will never die. Furthermore I will share with you what motivated her and some of her gratifying experiences. How she was effected by society, and what she did about it. Also how the time period she was born into made her the extraordinary woman she is today.

Maya Angelou’s tumultuous childhood in the South and the struggles that come with being black are the basis for her autobiographies such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Through her rich, insightful literature she is able to record the black experience and ultimately the black struggle. She “[is] always talking about the human condition – about what we can endure, dream fail at and still survive.”(Matzu 23) Angelou’s early life was full of hardships; making her strong and ready to fight for her rights. As a young child she, along with her brother Bailey and their parents, moved from her birth place St. Louis to Long Beach. After her parents struggles there, she and Bailey were shipped off to Stamps, Arkansas; the starting point for

Maya Angelou grew up in the American South and faced a lot of racism, sexism and betrayal. When she was in her 40s, Maya wrote a book about how hard it was and how people treated her because of her ethnicity. Maya Angelou's book has a massive value, since it touches important and meaningful topics such as civil rights, Black Motherhood, independence, importance of family, dignity and self definition, which is why the book became a huge inspiration for many people.

Names such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, E.B. DuBois, and Malcolm X are all brought to mind when discussing the struggles that African Americans have been involved in since the 1800s. All of these people were significant speakers who heavily influenced Americans of all skin colors. Maya Angelou is similar to those great black leaders in the way she influences others. Angelou’s contributions to American literature is superlative. She fought racism, segregation, and sexism without losing her optimism, thus, making her a true woman of inspiration.

sent to join their mother in St. Louis.  By the time the children are in

Maya Angelou was an influential writer that wrote because she felt that she needed to remind humans that they were worth much more which all emphasized the importance of the spoken word and explained the nature of and importance of her education and her love of writing. Maya Angelou, a phenomenal African American woman, overcame hardship to become one of the most influential writers and activist of all time.

The song “Pretty Woman” talks of a guy meeting a beautiful looking female. The song is similar but cannot be compared to the meaning of a poem by Maya Angelou. Her poem Phenomenal Woman, talks about how she is not a “pretty woman,” yet that does not stop the men from looking and wondering about her. Maya Angelou uses imagery, tone, and the title to describe her view of herself compared to the “pretty woman” Imagery in the poem Phenomenal Woman is important. Maya Angelou uses imagery in the poem because the speaker is comparing herself, a regular woman, to the way media suggest woman should look.

Maya reached her breaking point. Her dad was deployed in Syria; her mom was unresponsive most of the time from all of the alcohol she drank to numb the continuous stress she felt worrying about whether or not she would get a phone call notifying her of her husband's death. Her best-friend turned on her for the popular girls at school and her grades were starting to slip. The only thing that kept her sane was drawing. When she drew, she felt free. She felt as if nothing in the world mattered except her colored pencils and sketch book. One misty, eerie night Maya drew herself in great detail. She started with her silky, straight, brown hair that fell a few inches below her shoulders. She then went on to her facial structure. Her defined jawline connected at her chin to make a vague point. Her eyebrows were thin and well-kept, and her nose was as petite as a Boston Terrier. Her lips were small, but plump and resembled the pink hue of the sky at sunset. She took the most time on her deep blue eyes, capturing all of the pain she was feeling for so long. Maya finished her drawing by coloring and shading all of it in making her face look as soft as an airbrush painting. It was her

The common themes and beliefs of differences and similarities are upheld throughout the texts are presented differently but founded on similar thinking in several ways. The author of the poem, Maya Angelou, presents her thinking with the use of repetition and comparison while the author of the speech, Barack Obama, presents his thoughts with the use of an anecdote or short story. These authors use different techniques to identify themes of equality and similarities despite our differences, but have similar thinking.

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou has a feeling of  empowerment, of persistence, perseverance, and triumph. The speaker, which is the author, has a can do attitude. She is stating that no one can destroy her, “You may tread me in the very dirt/ But still, like dust, I'll rise” (3-4). Throughout this poem she gives situations like stated above in which people have or will try to tear her down but she continues to repeat ‘I rise’. Maya states ‘I rise’ ten times giving us a clue that this key terminology to her. She uses these two words to tell a story. A story of pain and hurt but also a story of triumph. Through all that she and other colored people had been though she rose up from the racism. Her story is her being beaten down but having the willpower

In Maya Angelou’s poem “Human Family,” she focused on how everyone perceived families. Many people think that all families are different, but Maya Angelou thought different. She wanted her reader to know that yes everyone is different, but we are all the same in many ways. Maya Angelou mentioned that as humans we all are different, whether it is our skin tone, where we live, and even our social class. She wanted her reader to understand that although we do not look the same or have the same things we still have things in commons as humans.

In ‘Still I Rise’, Maya Angelou uses the language feature of simile and repetition to reveal the determined attitude of the persona. The simile and repetition of the key phrase is used to

In the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, the poet uses word choice poetic devices, simile and metaphor to send her message. The main idea her poem is trying to get across is that no matter what happens, or what is thrown at Maya Angelou, she will always rise. The theme of this poem is really about self respect and confidence. A strong example of a simile is when Maya Angelou writes, ”You may kill me with your hatefulness”(Angelou, # 23). She is saying is that people are saying hateful things about her