Still She Rises Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Great writers like Dr. Maya Angelou write about their experiences in life and the obstacles they have overcome. Resilient is a word that can be defined as able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Dr. Maya Angelou has been well known for her novels, poems, and stellar accomplishments. One of her novels, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is about Angelou as a little girl in the 1930s struggling with overcoming many diverse issues. From early childhood to the last years of her life, Maya Angelou has been a true example of a resilient African American woman. From being abandoned …show more content…
She was also often teased about being ugly. A memory that had imprinted on her life the most was when she was brutally raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. At first, she felt like Mr. Freeman truly loved her and that she wasn’t alone anymore. “I didn’t want to admit that I had in fact like his holding me, or that I had liked his smell or the hard heart-beating, so I said nothing”. As a seven year old, Angelou didn’t realize the immorality of Mr. Freeman’s sexually abuse. Angelou was agonized by the guilt of keeping the secret from her mother. Once Angelou’s mother learned of her sexual assault, Angelou’s uncles sought revenge and killed Mr. Freeman. His death made Angelou feel like she had been punished even more. The remorse was so excruciating that Angelou then made herself speechless and refused to talk to anyone. She next went back to Arkansas and spent many years in Kansas without speaking a …show more content…
In 1957, she also released her first album, Miss Calypso. Appearing in an off- Broadway production of The Blacks in 1961, Angelou starred with James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson. In the 1960’s Angelou lived abroad, moved to Egypt then to Ghana, and later worked as freelance writer and an editor. After returning from Ghana, James Baldwin then encouraged Angelou to write about her life experiences. In 1969, Angelou’s efforts and memoirs became successful and published as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Writing this autobiography reminded Angelou not to give into the complications of growing up and to show young people an example of what she overcame. The novel was a personal statement that could relate to anyone who dealt with the same problems. Angelou said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated". I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings made history by being the first nonfiction best seller by an African American woman and the book made Angelou a worldly
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Show MoreAngelou well known as an entertainer was urged by James Baldwin and by the cartoonist Jules fifer and his wife Judy to try her hand at writing an autobiography. After several refuels she agreed the results was a unique series of autobiographical narratives. I know why the caged bird sings is the first of Maya Angelous's five autobiographies. It covers her life form the age of three when her parents send her and her brother bailey to live with their paternal grandmother Annie Henderson in stamps Arkansas until the age of sixteen when she becomes a mother. Annie is the main influence on her childhood.(Lupton 24).during her stay at her grandmothers Maya is raped by her mothers boyfriend Mr. freeman who warns her to be silent or he will kill her brother bailey . after the trial freeman dies after being violent beaten ,presumably by Mayas unless. Maya indeed silent mute she cannot will speak. The silent Maya is returned to momma Henderson though reaming speech less for five years until she recovers her voice through patient help of her grandmother's friend Mrs. bertha flowers.(Lupton 52).
Ms. Angelou left her birth place as a young child after her parents had broken up. Ms. Angelou and her brother were sent to live with her fathers’ Mother in Stamps, Arkansas. Some may call Ms. Angelou’s 1969 autobiography ”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing” her claim to fame, some may call her poetry her occupation, and more over there are still some that would like to call her Freelance writings Maya Angelou’s life’s work. Ms. Angelou was so much more. Ms. Angelou has been known for being a Civil Rights activist, a poet, a philosopher, a teacher, an Award-winning Author, an actress, a screenwriter and the
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography with a particularly unique structure. Most stories would be in chronological order, and each chapter is connected to the next. Angelou decided to take a different route; few chapters in her book are connected. They are written as if she began telling any story that popped in her mind after she finished each
In her autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Angelou encounters many struggles, whether it pertained to others or herself. Throughout her life, Angelou experiences conflicts relating to self love, her weaknesses, and gender roles. Despite these conflicts, numerous female characters influenced Angelou and shaped her into the woman she was. All of these tie in with the gender/feminist literary lense.
In perhaps her most notable work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings “Angelou’s account of her childhood and adolescence chronicles her frequent encounters with racism, sexism, and classism at the same time that she ...
... all audiences can face their personal hardships. No matter the color of your skin or gender, Maya Angelou’s works are timeless testaments to the potential of the human spirit to overcome adversity, and constant reminders that even if the world is against us, we must still rise.
Maya Angelou is one of most well-known poets ever. Her work is a reflection of her hardships during her childhood and her life as an adult. She expressed many of her opinions through her poetry and other writing. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up in the segregated era and worked with civil right activist. The poems she writes are to inspire the lives of others. Till this day, Maya Angelou is still continuing to write inspiring poetry.
The book thus explores a lot of important issues, such as: sexuality and race relations, and shows us how society violated her as a young African American female. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou clearly expresses the physical pain of sexual assault, the mental anguish of not daring to tell, and her guilt and shame for having been raped. Her timidity and fear of telling magnify the brutality of the rape. For more than a year after the rape she lives in self-imposed silence, speaking only very rarely. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou “Quotes”). Maya Angelou is an African American author who wanted the whole world to know who she was. Even though Maya Angelou’s life was full of disappointments and miseries, she still managed to rise above them all to become a successful poet. Racism played a really big role in Maya Angelou’s life. Maya Angelou witnessed slavery when she was very young and wished that someday all men will be free. Maya Angelou had many difficulties, and her family was one of them. None of her marriages worked out, and had a son to raise on her own.
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.
“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).
The early 1930’s a time where segregation was still an issue in the United States it was especially hard for a young African American girl who is trying to grow and become an independent woman. At this time, many young girls like Maya Angelou grew up wishing they were a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes. That was just the start of Angelou's problems though. In the autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou goes into great depth about her tragic childhood, from moving around to different houses, and running away and having a child at the age of 16. This shows how Maya overcame many struggles as a young girl.
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
Throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, racism is a frequent obstacle that non-whites had to overcome. When Maya is young, she doesn’t recognize the racism and discrimination as well as her grandmother does. As Maya gets older, she begins to recognize and take notice to the racism and discrimination towards her and African Americans everywhere. Maya may not recognize the racism and discrimination very well at her young age, but it still affects her outlook on life the same way it would if she had recognized it. The racism and discrimination Maya faced throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life in a positive way.
Maya Angelou is a well acclaimed poet, author, and civil rights activist. Though she passed away in 2014, her work continues to awe and inspire people worldwide. Angelou had written numerous poems, but in this analysis I will be focusing on “Caged Bird,” “Phenomenal Woman,” and finally “Touched by An Angel.” In these works we see her approach issues such as equality, racism, feminism, love and many more issues as well. Angelou is a very skilled poet; though some people find her work too straight forward and little more than common text broken into stanzas. Maya Angelou 's poems are easy to understand; and though I do enjoy her work, I find that how she structures her poems can be confusing