Maya Angelou By Maya Angelou Analysis

Throughout the events in the memoir, Maya Angelou develops numerous character traits at a young age. Most kids don't experience what Maya has until later in life. This is only one reason why Maya is the person she has developed to be. She learned such

As an African American in Arkansas she experienced racial discrimination. When Maya Angelou was 7 she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend than as vengeance for sexual assault, her uncle killed the boyfriend. The result of this traumatizing experience, Angelou stopped talking went back to Arkansas and spent years as a virtual mute. She moved to San Francisco, California during world war ll. When she moved there she won a scholarship to study at the California Labor School in dance and acting.

As Maya faces the difficulties in her life, the symbols in her novel are revealed. As she grows up, Maya learns to love where she is. She is living with her grandma and her brother Bailey inside the back of the store that her grandmother owns. Her grandmother is the only black lady in the town of Stamps to own a store. Maya spends much time inside working at the store with her grandmother. Symbolism is introduced within the store. The store is one of her favorite place to be. She describes it as “an unopened present from a stranger. Opening the front doors was pulling the ribbon off the unexpected gift” (16). Maya loved being inside the store and around the store. The store becomes her home and her safe

Maya’s upbringing as a child is very parallel to Taylor’s because she is raised by her grandma, whom she calls Momma, without an affective paternal figure in her life. As a child, Maya sees that her grandma successfully raised her and her brother on her own. Momma owns a shop in their town called, The Store and she runs it generally by herself. She makes an effort to protect Maya and Bailey from being mistreated in society because when the dentist refuses to attend to Maya’s needs, Momma tells the dentist, “I wouldn’t go press on you like this for myself but I can’t take No. Not for my grandbaby” (Caged Bird 189). Momma asserts her power in demanding service for her granddaughter and shows Maya that she is strong and possesses the power to be successful in society and overpower a male in some circumstances. Maya watches her grandma in this situation and instantly categorizes her as a powerful woman and looks up to her even more now. Maya visualizes her Momma as a form of a hero because, “Momma had obliterated the evil white man” (Caged Bird 191), because she stood up to the white dentist that is seen as evil in her family’s eyes. Maya then realizes that Momma is one of the more powerful black women in society that is able to stand up to the white race when the blacks are mistreated. Maya can then exert her

Maya grew up in harsh circumstances, her young father and mother decided to go separate ways at a very young age, leaving Maya and her brother, Bailey, were forced to live with their grandma on their father’s side. During her youth at age 7, Maya was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Thus, as vengeance, Maya’s uncles took the boyfriend’s life. Maya was traumatized by the experience and went into an age of silence, she moved back to Arkansas and spent years without talking. At the time of world war 2, she moved to San Francisco

Her childhood, young adulthood, and her adult career life and beliefs all shaped her voice. Maya Angelou once said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” This attitude towards life and learning inspired people of all races and genders to take action

In Stamps, Arkansas, there is a small black community where everyone knows each other, especially Maya’s grandma, “Momma”. Throughout Maya’s childhood living in Stamps, she will see many things a child her age shouldn’t see, and that isn’t appropriate for her eyes. These scenes Maya begins to see, begin to put ideas in her head that she can’t help to think about, which a little girl definitely shouldn’t be doing. ““Now this ain’t gonna hurt you much. You liked it before, didn’t you?” I didn’t want to admit that I had in fact liked his holding me or that I had liked his smell or the heard heart beating, so I said nothing,” (78). Maya is raped by Mr. Freeman as a child and this taking place just makes everything worse. Maya’s innocence is stolen and because she is such a little girl she doesn’t begin to notice it but she eventually will as she gets older. Maya does not know what to think at this age and does not want to tell anyone so this forms another cage in her childhood. At the age of 8, Maya has been changed forever with her innocence taken. “Then there was pain. A breaking and entering when the senses are torn apart. The act of rape on an eight-year old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can’t. The child gives because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot,” (65). Maya is now an adult and is thoroughly thinking about what

Annie Henderson is Maya’s grandmother. Maya describes her in the subjective of her childhood, “People spoke of Momma as a good-looking woman and some, who remembered her youth, said she used to be right pretty. I saw only her power and strength (Angelou, 2009, p.46).” Yolanda Manora’s (2005) analysis of the novel suggests that Angelou’s portrayal of Momma

The brilliant Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson to Bailey and Vivian Johnson, graced the earth on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to the split of her parents when she was a young girl, Angelou and her brother, Bailey, moved to Stamp, Arkansas, where they resided with their grandmother. While living in Arkansas, Angelou experienced racial discrimination and was tragically raped by her mother’s boyfriend, who her uncles eventually murdered for his crime, at the tender age of seven. Following the traumatic experience, Angelou became mute for a complete five years, where she ultimately developed a love for language. Thenceforth, the future author attended George Washington High School in San Francisco, California, where she received lessons in dance and drama at the California Labor School. While still attending high school, Angelou gave birth to her child, a son named Guy, in 1944, at the mere age of seventeen. After graduation, the new mom attended the University of Ghana, which led her to relocate to the countries of Ghana and Egypt while in Africa. Upon returning to the United States, the ambitious poet partook in temporary jobs of shake dancing, fry cooking, a mechanic

Impudent, powhitetrash, and dirty are just a few words that Maya’s grandmother uses to describe girls who do not respect their elders. Cleaning their bodies, and whipping the dust from their feet are a few examples of Maya’s unforgettable memories as a child, she referred to them as “burning reminders” (Angelou). She never understood why she had to follow her grandmother’s rules, but little does she know that that moment would foreshadow a major event in her life. Her mother’s story impacted her life greatly because as a young girl she did not comprehend why her mom would tolerate little girls who called her vicious names, but her mother taught her a lesson greater then that, “Lay hands on the sick and afflicted” (Angelou). Angelou’s quoted

(54) Vivian makes Maya’s life with enjoyable, let her contact more with her own culture, and offers her opportunities she would never have experienced in Stamps, which broadens her horizon. When Maya was afraid of touching her baby and always worried about if she did something wrong, her mother said, “See, you don’t have to think about doing the right thing. If you’re for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.” (246). These simple words comfort Maya immediately, providing confidence and reassurance to her to take care of her own child.

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Spoken by Maya Angelou, an esteemed African American poet and international icon of contemporary poetry, no words have better described the troubling future of our society than this quote။aside from those spoken in Martin Luther King’s legendary speech, of course. Although many would like to believe that the world is a lot different now than a century ago in terms of acceptance of the things that make us unique and divergent, it is sad to see that we really have not changed much. I will agree that, yes, the methods in which we deal with our prejudices have become a lot more civil. However, that does not mean our unseen prejudices do not affect the way we interact with others. While we may not notice how our preconceptions lead us to treat certain people better than others, our subtlest biases can become detrimental to our growth as accepting human beings. I myself have had a few experiences where I felt like I was not accepted because I was black and muslim.

Maya Angelou's parental grandmother, Annie Henderson, is one of the major female figures who sweep away rigid gender restrictions and the wrong impression of women within a male-dominated society. Mrs. Henderson goes against the stereotypical woman characteristics both physically and mentally. In the America male-dominated society during the 1930's, the beauty standard created by men idealized women to have a petite, slim figure and a soft voice. However, Mrs. Henderson goes against this gender stereotype. She is a tall woman who has a deep voice, and large, rough hands. On the other hand, women during this time period were arbitrarily assigned characteristics to be weak, over-emotional, and submissive. Mrs. Henderson is opposed to all of these

Maya Angelou describes what her life with her grandmother is like while constantly being discriminated against her race. She then found her father, and he leaves Maya and Bailey off to their mother’s house. There, the mother’s boyfriend rapes Maya. After suffering from psychological shock, Maya then moves back to her grandmother’s. As a teenager Maya gets nervous about her sexual identity and tries to discover it. Through these harsh times, the naïve and softhearted Maya grows to become a strong, independent woman.

Maya is very comfortable with Bailey because they are much alike. Maya feels comfortable asking Bailey for opinions about what could or should be done about a situation, and therefore she trusts Bailey with all of her honest feelings of love, hate, fear, etc. Bailey give Marguerite confidence that she doesn't have herself to survive their childhood. Annie Henderson has a great influence on Maya as a role model. She teaches her to have self-respect, calmness, and how to survive a world where white people are dominant. She shows her how blacks can be victories with white people. in the book Annie faces a problem where three young white girls come to Annie's store to try and provoke her to get a reaction out of her, but she keeps her calm and still respects the little girls. She tells Maya to "lay hands on the sick and afflicted", Maya knew her grandmother had won(Angelou33). "Whatever the contest had been out front, [she] knew Momma had won(Angelou33). Another powerful figure in the leading characters life is Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who gained Maya's trust. Mrs. Flowers is the first person to help Maya with her silence after being raped. She made Marguerite proud to be black and earns her respect by making her feel important. Mrs. Flowers is able to bring back the old Maya and her out of her silence. All these characters help Maya throughout her childhood and influences her personality.