Maya Angelou Thesis

Oppressed women have been unjustly held back from achieving full equality for much of human history. A woman no matter neither color nor education faces discrimination on a day to day basis. Barriers that are place in their way to advancing includes: lack of mentoring, lack of opportunities for career development, biased rating and testing system and counterproductive behavior and harassment by colleges (Schaefer, pg 15). In the past, women did not have jobs and were to clean, cook and care for the children, also did not have the right to vote. While the man work long hours to provide for his family and gave orders as the women followed. As time went on and rights were given to women, the men did not like the idea that controlled was being lost. They refused to let women become equal to males. Women are allow to work the same career as males, but will never be paid the same as males. This paper addresses Maya Angelou life and how her writing and public speaking inspired women to overcome discrimination.

I'm going to be analyzing the short story, New Directions, By Maya Angelou. It's a story with a strong theme of courage. A book that reminds us that we can still make a name for ourselves, even if we have to do it alone. I'll be discussing a few of the key elements of the story such as the plot, setting, and mood in this analysis.

Maya Angelou, named at birth, Marguerite Johnson was on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her and her family moved from St. Louis to Stamps, Arkansas, where she was raised growing up. Maya Angelou was an American author, dancer, screenwriter, actress, poet and civil rights activist. Angelou gained a majority of her fame with the memoir she wrote in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This memoir made literary history as being the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. Angelou received many awards and honors throughout her entire career. These awards included two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. Angelou became one of the most legendary and influential

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She rises through all things that come her way and she refuses to back down. Angelou chose at a very young age to be a writer and a role model for many people. She believes that everyone should be treated equally and that the world should come together as a unity. Angelou had many careers but is known mostly for her poetic creations. She has come a long way from where she started and I think anyone can agree with me when I say, she has made us all proud with her accomplishments. Angelou writes poetry to inform and encourage others to carry on through the worst of times. She is a strong, confident, inspirational woman and I am more than honored to be doing my senior paper on her.

Maya Angelou was born April 4, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Johnson, but she later changed it to Maya. She was born in St. Louis, shortly after her birth her family up and move to Arkansaw. Maya grew up there in the rural parts of Arkansaw, and later married to a South African Freedom Fighter. She lived in Cairo with him, there she began her career as editor of the Arab Observer.

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 born on April 28, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey and Vivian Johnson. Her given name was Marguerite Ann Johnson, but she was nicknamed “Maya” by her older brother. Over the course of her life, Angelou had many jobs ranging from a fry cook to a sex worker. She broke through as both an author and poet with her publication of her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. (Wikipedia.com) From that point on, Maya Angelou would become a very prominent figure in American literature.

“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.

So, she moved to Egypt and Ghana for a while to write-freely. Not only did she write, but she excelled at it and being an African American female with knowledge she was bound to encounter discrimination. While she was in Ghana, she met one of the most historical African American activists, Malcolm X, and decided to come back to America to accommodate him build his organization. Sadly, not much time went by when he was assassinated after her return. During her return to America, she was convinced by friends and family to write about her adolescent life, including the trials and tribulations she

I love being an African American woman “We keep on keeping on, don’t we? I’m so grateful. I’m grateful to be party to this party. I’m grateful that you won’t forget me because I won’t forget you. I call on you all the time. I make myself available to you and you know this is so. You can call on me all of the time and I’m there. I always come when you call me. Isn’t it true? The most important thing, I think, is to be present—to be present all the time, all the time to be present. Bring your whole self all the time. Don’t shuck and jive. Bring your whole self.”( Angelou) This only part of what was recited by Miss Maya Angelou in New York City on Oct. 14, 2011, for the Organization of Women Writers of Africa. Words like these are only a sample of Angelou has reflected on to the world.

Singer, writer, dancer, and much more were careers in which Maya Angelou studied throughout her life(Maya Angelou DISCovering Authors). Born in St. Louis in 1928, her and her brother were brought up by her grandmother. Through the course of her life, she moved around quite a bit due to her jobs as well as marriages. Maya Angelou decided to join the civil rights movement as an activist(Maya Angelou UXL). Soon after that, Dr. Martin

Dr. Maya Angelou were born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, MO on April 4, 1928, Maya were childhood name given to her by her brother Bailey. She were a child of a divorced parent raised by her grandmother (whom she called momma) along with her brother in Stamp, Arkansas. A single mother that held many titles to her name that evolve from experience she dealt in her lifetime. To the world, she is an educator, dancer, poets, activist, author and many more. Angelou publishes numerous bestselling book during her career-breaking barrier for African American and women that isn’t expected for a single African woman. Her career had earned her a nomination for Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘For I Diee. She became one of the first African American

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ”- Aristotle This quote is so true for some people especially Maya Angelou. Maya has been through a lot in her life some would not even believe some of the things she has been through. She did not let her dark paths consume her writing was her light.

Eighty Six Years of Inspiration “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” - Maya Angelou. This quote is extremely relevant because if you are not to like something then you need to change it or you need to change how you feel about it.

In America, freed slaves dreamed of freedom and equality for their children after emancipation, but their hopes slowly died due to Jim Crow laws. Their eyes and ears forced them to dismiss from their minds on how their children's lives should be, but their hearts refused. A handful of their children that grew up with false hope of freedom started to write about the effect of the broken promise of emancipation on African Americans. Paul Dunbar was one those children, born to freed slave parents; he experienced first-hand what it meant to have false freedom. Dunbar used the pain and loneliness he endured growing up in the late twentieth century to write many of his poems including “Sympathy.” A generation later, Dunbar would inspire Maya Angelou, an African American poet, to develop a love for literature and language. Maya Angelou even used the last line of “Sympathy” to title her famous book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Despite Angelou being born a generation after Dunbar, Angelou also faced similar oppression and segregation. However, Angelou had a community that protected and made her feel she belonged, despite living in a country full of danger towards African Americans. Both authors explore the ideas of racism, oppression, and freedom as African Americans. Dunbar's poem emphasizes his lonely and powerless fight for freedom, while Angelou, in her story, “Champion of the World” emphasizes the unity of her community and a hero that