Sister Flowers By Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou once said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it”. Perseverance is exactly that: overcoming struggles and not being defeated. There are many different ways to interpret the meaning of the word perseverance. This is the idea that will be explained in this paper. Perseverance is the topic of this essay because it is a main theme that has been explored in the books read by the freshmen English class. Perseverance is an idea that mostly has one definition, but the meaning of the word can be understood many different ways by different people. Perseverance is a universal

Imagery means to use figurative language to compare one object to another object. An example that stood out to me was on lines 60-61,” He slid from their grasp like a rotten banana peel” (Rodriguez). I believe that this is an example of imagery because it is making an image in the reader’s mind comparing how his brother fell to a rotten banana peel. Another example that I would like to point out is on line 35, “ this abdomen of land” (Rodriguez). This line contains imagery because the use of the word abdomen is a metaphor and is comparing the middle of the land to the abdomen of a body. These examples helped clarify the statement and convinced me that this poem has

In the story "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck, imagery is important in the development of his characters. The man who drives the wagon and fixes things is a perfect example of imagery. "His worn black suit was wrinkled and spotted with grease. The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark, and they were full of the

Imagery is used by many writers and this is when the writer uses visually descriptive or figurative language.

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.

The poem “Mothers and Daughters” is written by Pat Mora. Pat Mora is a contemporary award winning writer, who writes for children, youngsters and adults. She was born in El Paso, TX in the year 1942. She attains a title of a Hispanic writer; however, the most of her poems are in English. In her literary work, one can observe the different aspects of the immigrants’ lives such as language issues, family relationships, immigrants’ experiences and cultural differences (1187).

Although there are many different literary techniques used in these two pieces imagery is an element that is depicted in the both of them. Imagery is a literary technique that appeals to the senses of its readers. It gives the reader a visual of what the writer is feeling about what he or she is writing. In the poem, “What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl”, by Smith, (1991), imagery is used to display the writers feelings of being black and not necessary proud of being black, “it’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence”. The writer could be using the word blue as a way to depict the wanting to have beautiful blue eyes like many White women as opposed to the dark brown or black eyes that she probably possessed. Imagery is also seen in the way how the writer explains her encounter with the opposite sex. “It’s finally having a man reach out for you then caving in around his fingers”. It is having a man finally paying attention to you but not knowing that he only wants to control your body.

The author uses imagery to interest the reader in her story that may seem mundane without the imagery. An example of this happening is when Jeannette is going to her new school in Welch it was her first day and the teacher picks on her because she did not have to give the school her records to her not having them as that is happening a tall girl stabs her out of nowhere“I felt something sharp and painful between my shoulder blades and turned around. The tall black girl with the almond eyes was sitting at the desk behind me.

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, is a writer,and she is known for many auto-biographical novels and she also writes poetry and essays. She also loved to study music, dance,and drama. From 1963 to 1966 Angelou was involved in the black civil rights movement. Maya Angelou wrote this specific poem called; “Phenomenal Women”. Angelou has a very creative way of saying things throughout her poem. Angelou talks about a woman in the poem that talks about herself a lot she repeats the phrase“ I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman that's me”( Angelou) therefore Angelou might be this person in her poem. Angelou is trying to show the reader that you need to have more confidence in your own person instead of worrying about others judgment.

First and foremost, Willa Cather and Mary Austin both employ beautiful imagery in their writings to recreate the landscape of the story they are telling, which heightens the understanding and appreciation for their writings. Their use of imagery is specific to appealing to their audience’s visual senses. In My Antonia, for example, Willa Cather describes the landscape at a particular moment by saying, “One afternoon we were having our reading lessons on the warm, grassy bank where the badger lived. It was a day of amber sunlight, but there was a shiver of coming winter in the air. I had seen ice on the little horsepond that morning, and as we went through the garden we found tall asparagus, with its red berries, lying on the ground, a mass of slimy green” (Cather 29). My Antonia has these descriptive passages throughout it, which enables the reader to feel part of the book. Likewise, Mary Austin’s The Land of Little Rain also utilizes imagery: Mary Austin says, “the mountains are steep and the rains are heavy, the pool is

Imagery is a vivid illustration in the mind of the audience. For example on page 3, it says “...Her long hair was streaked with gray, tangled and matted, and her eyes had sunk deep into her sockets, but still reminded me of the mom she’d been when I was a kid, swan-driving off cliffs and painting in the desert and reading Shakespeare aloud.” This quote is explaining how even though her mother is much different then other people’s mothers, Jeannette still sees her as herself. The mother that couldn’t drive very good, the one that like to pant all the time, and the one that love to read Shakespeare

Often authors whom utilizes significant details in their works or novels have the most effect on readers. In the two novels, “The Chronicles of a Death foretold” and “Perfume”, the authors utterly apply great details throughout their novels to keep their readers interested. By doing that, the authors of these novels used imagery. Imagery (visually descriptive or figurative language, used in literary work) is used by the authors applying every aspect that is relevant to the details stated in their novels. Meaning that, the authors precisely uses imagery to have a better effect in the novel.

Alicia Walker’s short story, “The Flowers”, gives a darker side on the realities of life. The author walks through the perspective of Myop, who is a ten-year-old girl, having the time of life. Walker uses words such “light”, “warm”, and “beautiful” to illustrate Myop’s life as innocent in her childhood (par. 2). This shows the Paradise which humans seek to have in their lives. However, Walker talks about how Myop chose her own path, searching for flowers in the woods (par. 4). What Walker describes in this scene is the curiosity of a kid searching for answers, farther than her mother took her in the woods. In the woods, Myop experience the dark truth about life. As she gathers flowers and heads home, she steps in the face of a dead man and

"I'm not modest," she told The Associated Press in 2013. "I have no modesty. Modesty is a learned behavior, but I do pray for humility, because humility comes from the inside out."

Majority of African American women get judged on the day to day basis. When scrolling through social media there will be large amounts of individuals who will bully or even belittle a colored female because of the natural kinks of her hair, her sense of fashion, the full shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem “Still I Rise” by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about embracing females, but it mainly introduces similar life situations that many African American women have experienced. The symbols and point of view that Angelou specifically added in her poem made her readers realize that there are many meanings to this poem.