Maya Angelou Response Essay

This act of persistence is evident through this quotation “she neither marched up to the stage like a conquering Amazon, nor did she look in the audience for Baily’s nod of approval.” This quotation depicts how even after being belittled by her White oppressors, she stood up for the black community, for her own education, and for the ideals of equality and freedom. Furthermore, her not looking at Baily for reassurance demonstrates her independence and her coming of age, an independence that is transgressive in the eyes of society, she is now able to affirm her own choices. Even though, in the beginning of the essay, she is shown to have an aversion to her own skin color as she has internalized all a lot of hatred that she faces, in this quotation it is clear that now she marches for herself and her whole community. Moreover, even though she is only sixteen, her enduring and unyielding battle against racial injustice and educational inequality is a testament to her indefatigable spirit. This is evident in this quotation “We were on top again. As always, again…. I was a proud member of the wonderful, beautiful Negro race.” This quotation demonstrates persistence as Angelou goes on to appreciate her race and realizes that they could be on top even after being continuously discouraged because of her skin color. She now referred to herself as a part of the wonderful, beautiful race, coming to terms with her own

Throughout life we go through many stepping stones, Maya Angelou's autobiographical essay "Graduation", was about more than just moving on to another grade. The unexpected events that occurred during the ceremony enabled her to graduate from the views of a child to the more experienced and sometimes disenchanting views of an adult. Upon reading the story there is an initial feeling of excitement and hope which was quickly tarnished with the abrupt awareness of human prejudices. The author vividly illustrates a rainbow of significant mood changes she undergoes throughout the story.

The audience of this poem are the people who want to learn about how America was during segregation. Teachers have taught us what they have been told to teach. However, Angelou has lived through this time and has experienced segregation. She is a credible

As Angelou’s essay continues, she writes how she had the opportunity to work in Mrs. Viola Cullinan's kitchen, a white and wealthy woman from Virginia. Angelou was generally curious as Mrs. Cullinan showed her the differences in silverware and plates, but as she continues to write she still seemed jealous. She seemed jealous to the point she was bothered that Mrs. Cullinan could

Angelou begins the excerpt narrating the “graduation epidemic” surrounding the town in the third person. Starting with paragraph 6, Angelou shifts to a first-person narrative, which provides an informative insight into her personal experiences regarding her graduation. This shift in perspective marks important stylistic differences: initially Angelou focuses on conveying the experiences of the class as a whole, whereas after paragraph 6 she focuses on her own experiences, through which several contrasts can be drawn. Rhetorically, these contrasts signify that identical rhetorical strategies will have completely different connotations. For example, Angelou’s classmates whose “future[s] rode heavily on their shoulders,” emulate not Angelou, as “youth and social approval allied themselves with [her] and [she] trammeled memories of slights and insults.” Without the shift in perspective, no contrasts could be drawn between paragraphs 1 through 5 and 6 through

    Angelou utilizes metaphors to prove to her readers that she is determined and willing to end the conflict of racial segregation in America. She describes the past slavery and the harsh terms that her ancestors used to go through, but now in the current situation of America, she can come, “out of the huts of history’s shame /I rise” (29-30). The audience is reminded of the fact that slavery is now in the past, and Angelou does this in order to rhetorically ask the audience ‘why America overcame slavery. ’ She describes herself emerging from a ‘hut of history’s shame’ as she is referring to the huts that slaves used to be kept in, as well as proving to be the generation that puts an end the shameful segregation in America, ‘I rise.’ The relation of rising from a slave hut into the world reveals the statement being made that Angelou will no longer accept the African American’s current treatment. She goes further on the topic of America’s history of slavery and

The thoughts and/or opinions of others often have to be overlooked or else they’ll ruin every happy moment that is to come. In Maya Angelou's story, Graduation, she discusses her eighth-grade graduation. Maya describes how she feels after listening to someone else opinion on her and the rest of African Americans of her graduating class at that time. This person's opinion had a huge impact on Maya herself, and the crowd. No one ever wants to feel wretched on the most memorable day of their life but this is exactly what took place on the day of Maya’s graduation.

“Graduation Day” illustrates Maya Angelou’s experience on her graduation day. All of Angelou’s feelings, reasoning, and thoughts of her graduation day are depicted between the pages of her short story. Her text covers multiple different aspects of a segregated community’s lifestyle and explains their decisions on coping with their limitations. The power of words impacts the community in several ways during Angelou’s story. Because words impact and shape people, they influence individuals into themselves.

In 1940, the United States approached the eightieth-year anniversary of the abolition of slavery; however, the social oppression of African American citizens steadily increased. Despite being free for decades, they were still leagues below the white people who owned their ancestors. African American author Maya Angelou recollects on her experience of graduation from the eighth grade in her 1940 piece “Graduation Day.” The narrative not only highlights the importance of the narrator's graduation, but also the expectations of Angelou’s community due to their persecution and separation. Perseverance through separation and persecution forges dignity in an individual.

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, the current poet laureate of the United States, has become for many people an exemplary role model. She read an original poem at the inauguration of President Clinton; she has also appeared on the television show "Touched by an Angel," and there read another poem of her own composition; she lectures widely, inspiring young people to aim high in life. Yet this is an unlikely beginning for a woman who, by the age of thirty, had been San Francisco's first black streetcar conductor; an unmarried mother; the madam of a San Diego brothel; a prostitute, a showgirl, and an actress (Lichtler, 861927397.html). Her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings argues persuasively

“You have tried to destroy me and although I perish daily I shall not be moved,” (Angelou, 2014), says Maya Angelou in her Commencement speech to the 1992 Spelman College graduates. Poet and award-winning author, Maya Angelou, is most well known for her poetry, essay collection, and memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou happened to be the first black female cable car conductor who later started a career in theatre and music (Maya Angelou: Poet and Historian, n.d.). Once her acting and musical career began to take off, Angelou began touring with productions and released her first album Miss Calypso (Maya Angelou Fast Facts, 2017). Later, Angelou earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play Look Away and an Emmy Award nomination for the work she performed in the television mini-series Roots (Maya Angelou: Poet, Civil Rights Activist, Author, Activist, 2017). Angelou was also the first African American woman to have her screenplay produced (Maya Angelou: Poet, Civil Rights Activist, Author, Activist, 2017). Out of the number of poetry collections Angelou published, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die happened to be her most famous collection that was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize (Maya Angelou: Poet, Civil Rights Activist, Author, Activist, 2017). The focus of this paper is to critique Angelou’s credibility, sincerity, and appeal to her whole audience in her delivery during the Spelman Commencement Address in 1992.

Blacks in the United States have had to persistently fight against torture, racism, and segregation and still do. For years, in the United States people of color were not given the same rights as white men. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., “Graduation” by Maya Angelou and “A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X, the authors discuss their experiences and fight against inequality. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou were just a few of the hundreds of thousands of blacks who restlessly fought for civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou showed that in the face of adversity to persevere you must always remain strong and steadfast if you wish to succeed. Even with Malcolm X and Maya

Maya Angelou employs similes to demonstrate how she will not hurt because of others’ opinions about her. In the first stanza, she says, “You may trod me in the very dirt, / But still, like dust, I'll rise” to make her oppressors know she is confident with herself (3-4). Angelou utilizes a simile to compare herself to dirt and then dust, the dirt represents how her oppressors include her in the lowest class,which has no power, while the dust symbolizes her potential. With this comparison, Angelou makes the reader know she is a strong person and cannot be put down easily, she does not care what others think about her. Maya also mentions, “Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines/Diggin’ in my own backyard”(19). This simile compares her laugh to gold mines. Gold mines usually represent being rich or having a lot of money, so here Angelou says she doesn't need to be rich to be happy because of what she has is enough.

In Maya Angelou's Essay `Graduation' the use of language as a navigational tool is very evident, as it leads from emotion to emotion on the occasion of the author's graduation from eighth grade. Over the course of the work, Angelou displays 3 major emotions simply based from the language she uses; excitement, disappointment and finally, redemption