Poem In Maya Angelou's 'Harlem Hopscotch'

Harlem Hopscotch was first published in 1969. By scanning over the poem one might think it is a simple, children’s rhyme. When analyzing the poem we can tell that it was meant for a deeper, more advanced level. Dr. Maya Angelou uses the simplicity of the game as a symbol of how easy it is to understand racism. She practices the ideas of poverty, identity and racism. Harlem Hopscotch is a mixture of internal and external conflicts of living life as an African American (Napierkowki and Ruby 92) “One foot down, then hop! It’s hot.” Maya is explaining the rules of this hopscotch game. “Good things for the ones that’s got.” This line is explaining that the wealthy, white people have nothing to worry about. They are never get upset by worrying about where they will sleep tonight, or where their next meal will come from. Angelou makes this line so simple because young children know the truth about being wealthy or poor. “Another jump, now to the left. Everybody for hisself.” The last two lines of the first stanza is self-explanatory. That the people are only looking out for his or her well-being. Angelou made it perfectly clear that no one concerned

Angelou’s popular works; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Harlem Hopscotch and On the Pulse of Morning she uses pride, identity, poverty, racism and violence to show her readers that she survived, she rose above them. She was loved by stars, Angelou was a mentor to Oprah. In 1981, she received a lifetime appointment as Reynolds Professor of Americans of American Studies at Wake Forest University (Merriam Webster). With over 50 honorary doctorate degrees Dr. Maya Angelou became a celebrated poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist (Caged Bird Legacy). Sadly, Dr. Maya Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014. “Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.” –Dr. Maya Angelou