In the short stories discussed, Maya Angelou speaks about incidents which occurred in her life which shows insight into black American contemporary culture. This essay discusses the techniques Maya Angelou used, how it makes the reader feel and explain how they represent contemporary black American culture. It first discusses ‘Incident in the Yard followed by an analysis of Names.
There is religious theme running throughout Incident in the Yard. The religious language at the beginning and at the end; “Thou shall not be dirty” and “thou shall not be impudent” are household rules which are described in the same way as the 10 commandments. This provides background context that they are a religious family and shows the morality of the family and
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They had to wash their “faces, arms, neck, legs and feet” routinely, and in the same order. Even if the water was “ice cold” they had to do it regardless as they would get into trouble if they did not. This was clearly practised in a strict manner as “momma was famous for pulling the quilts off” after we had fallen asleep to examine our feet and she would “wake up the offender” if they were not clean “clean enough”. They needed to be clean for God, as momma preached “cleanliness is next to Godliness” it was even taught that the “impudent child” would be “detested by God”. This is significant as it shows being clean was a way of life in black American culture and cleanliness was used as an element of being religious. The strictness of momma also shows how the serious religious beliefs were followed in that era. This represents black American culture and the respect they had for God and how they treated themselves for …show more content…
“poor Mrs Cullinan.” “Thats too long.” This is tone. She feels sorry for Mrs Cullinan that she hasn’t got any children. But by the end of the story she ends up hating her because she changes her name for her convenience. She changes it com Margaret to Mary. For Maya is was the worst feeling it was an insult to her person. This shows the reader the respect that white pole had for black people. It shows the racism in black American culture at the time.
Mrs Cullinan shows her true face when Maya breaks her plates. “that clumsy nigger.” “That little black nigger” This is irony. She calls herself a liberal which means she is suppose t be respectful but she is very quick to insult Maya. After the plates were broken her true face comes out. This shows the reader that Mrs Cullinan is racist.
In conclusion living at that time would have been very hard. If you were black you would get insulted and treated differently just because of your skin colour. If didn 't matter if you had lmd or had more omen than the white people, you were still beneath them. In a way the were better than the white people they had respect manners and good hygiene. They could even go outside without being mocked or being made fun of. The issue of racsism has been going on for centuries and it should stop as we are all
...eir lifehave felt and seen themselves as just that. That’s why as the author grew up in his southerncommunity, which use to in slave the Black’s “Separate Pasts” helps you see a different waywithout using the sense I violence but using words to promote change in one’s mind set. Hedescribed the tension between both communities very well. The way the book was writing in firstperson really helped readers see that these thoughts , and worries and compassion was really felttowards this situation that was going on at the time with different societies. The fact that theMcLaurin was a white person changed the views, that yeah he was considered a superior beingbut to him he saw it different he used words to try to change his peers views and traditionalways. McLaurin try to remove the concept of fear so that both communities could see them selfas people and as equal races.
...ism and segregation, it is what will keep any society form reaching is maximum potential. But fear was not evident in those who challenged the issue, Betty Jo, Street, Jerry, and Miss Carrie. They challenged the issue in different ways, whether it was by just simply living or it was a calculated attempt to change the perspective of a individual. McLurin illustrated the views of the reality that was segregation in the South, in the town of Wade, and how it was a sort of status quo for the town. The memories of his childhood and young adulthood, the people he encountered, those individuals each held a key in how they impacted the thoughts that the young McLurin had about this issue, and maybe helping unlock a way to challenge the issue and make the future generation aware of the dark stain on society, allowing for more growth and maximum potential in the coming years.
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.
No matter what Julian or any one else says, she will not relinquish those practices. She glorifies the fact that her grandfather was a plantation owner with one hundred slaves and dismisses the plights of blacks by saying, "They should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence". It is clear that his mother has difficulty dealing with the changes of today’s current society. Evidence that times have change is given by the fact that the colored woman sitting on the bus was wearing the same hat Julian’s mother was wearing. This indicates that not only white women of statue now wear big hats. Julian’s mother is put in her place when the woman with the big hat refuses her charity of a penny to her little boy. Julian has a lot to offer to his mother in how the new world is changing, and his mother can teach him the history racism.
Eventually she decided to go to work. She had her mind set on becoming a streetcar driver. Even though her mother warned her that they didn’t hire coloreds, she was determined just as well. When she went to apply for the job, the white receptionist put great effort into discouraging her, mainly because she was black. However, this did not discourage Maya. She was even more determined to get the job, and swore “I would have the job. I would a conductorette and sling a full money changer from my belt.'; (pg 268, line 3)
...board table next to the nickelodeon...” (O'Connor 967), a “Jukebox” (Pickering fn.4, 967) which were popular in the nineteen fifties. Another example that lets the reader the know that the story takes place during the nineteen fifties is when the family sees a black child without any jeans on, and the grandmother says, “Little niggers in the country don't have things like we do” (O'Connor 965). The setting relates to the central idea because the story takes place in a time where society rejected religious and social value changes due to the lack of understanding and the unknown outcome of the changes.
“Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture”(www.mayaangelou.com, 2014).
In “My Brother Bailey and Kay Francis,” a snippet from autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, author Maya Angelou and her brother Bailey face the challenges of segregation and the abandonment of their parents while growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. Their sense of identity is tarnished through incidents of racial discrimination and the historical conditions of this time period and location further depict the tone of this story. Throughout their lives, racism towards blacks during this time period is evermore present and is the main cause of Angelou and Bailey’s struggle to find security in their identity.
She disapproves of Twyla’s placement with Roberta in the orphanage. Also, Twyla describes her and Roberta as “salt and pepper.” Twyla being the salt and Roberta being pepper. Twyla being the narrator introduces herself first (salt) and Roberta being the second person, she introduces her second (pepper). You never say “ pepper and salt” it’s always “salt and pepper. Twyla’s mother tries to shake Roberta’s mother’s hand but Roberta’s mother refuses to shake it. This could be because her pride is too great. Roberta’s mother probably knows about the racial remarks and does not want Twyla to get the benefit of the doubt. Roberta mother is also a very religious women, Twyla mother is a “dancer” so maybe that is another reason why she does not want to shake her hand. However, Roberta and Twyla could be either race in all honesty because Toni Morrison challenges the readers views of racism. It all depends on your perspective towards the stereotypes and racism itself. What you believe is what you think. For example, I believed Roberta is the African American but many students in my class could debate about how Twyla is the African American. Toni Morrison could be trying to tell us that there isn’t really a difference between the different races like we grow to believe there are. Throughout the whole short story I was questioning what was the race of Roberta and Twyla, debating whether I was
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
Aside from the mother’s race and gender, her lack of education also plays a role in the hardships in her life. Hughes makes her limited education apparent in his use of her vernacular. Words like “ain’t” and “I’se” (MS lines 4, 9) symbolize the fact that Mother is from a Black background and she does not have sufficient education. These limitations, however, do not keep her from persevering and keeping a positive paradigm. She wants her son to realize that, though they may not have the best education or a more advantageous skin color, they must strive to overcome these hardships to reach their higher potential.
In her first autobiography, Maya Angelou tells about her childhood through her graduation through, “Graduation”, from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” when she is about to graduate. She starts as an excited graduate because she was finally going to receive her diploma, a reward for all her academic accomplishments. On the day of her graduation finally comes, that happiness turns into doubt about her future as she believes that black people will be nothing more than potential athletes or servants to white people. It wasn’t until Henry Reed started to sing the Negro National Anthem that she felt on top of the world again. Throughout her graduation she felt excited to disappointed, until Henry Reed sang and made her feel better.
In doing this she is listing off things that the Daughter should be acting out upon. “Don 't squat down to play marbles—you are not a boy, you know” (Kincaid 68). The mother is demonstrating how the daughter should act in the presences of boys and explain she is not one. As a girl she must act proper and not play the ways boys do. Boys are aggressive and dirty as seen by society; a girl like she is supposed to be kind and proper. Then the mother explains in one section on how to do housework and chores; a woman’s job. “This is how you iron your father’s khaki shirt so it doesn’t have a crease; this is how you iron your father’s khaki pants so they don’t have a crease” (Kincaid 67). Kincaid writes that the mother is instructing the daughter on how to do her father’s clothing. This shows that the father; a man does not iron his own clothes but that it is a woman’s job. This can connect to Judy Brady’s work “I Want a Wife” which is about a woman who is listing all the things women do for their husband. Like Kincaid she brings up the same chores of housework and tending to clothing. “A wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended,
...e in the face of sexism, racism, and discrimination in the book. Through hate, discrimination, sexism, racism, and all else, Maya triumphs and brings hope to not only her, but to the black race as a whole. She brings hope that all blacks are capable and having persistence and dedication pays off in the end. She recognizes injustices, and instead of letting it impact her life negatively, she makes positive impacts on her life through the injustices.