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Ariana dream was to become the first black woman in history to win a gold medal in Olympics Boxing. Ariana grew up in the rough streets of Newark. She had a passion for boxing, but her parents were strong Catholics and didn’t approve of her boxing because it wasn’t lady like and they were afraid of her getting injuries. Also, Ariana struggled in school with trying to make friends, knowing that she was awkward and shy. Along having trouble with friends, she also had trouble with boys because many boys thought about her as being cocky and a showoff. Her parents tried convincing her to quit, but Ariana refused. She got injured by dislocating her shoulder and she thought twice about joining boxing again. Lastly, she was skeptical about
Beals became much more than a student; she stood morally and intellectually erect in the presence of a battle for her race, freedom, dignity and ultimately her life. By her willingness, her consistent toughness, and her goal to destroy racism, the warrior inside of Beals can be seen as a landmark in the fight against race in the nineteen sixties. The battle for integration, which Beals fought, impacted her and developed her character. She not only battles with her surroundings, but who she is and what she wants. Beals learns not to cry or show weakness, she learns she is a warrior, but she also learns that it requires sacrifice and the mantra "warriors don't cry" becomes a cry for the parts of her life she has surrendered.
This movie has been reworked from Maya Angelou’s best selling novel and the story takes place in a bigoted town in Stamps, Arkansas where Maya and her brother, Bailey, grow up with their grandmother and uncle. The Angelous were African Americans, they had to deal with racism from the infamous Ku Klux Klan and the other Caucasians in town. Despite disdain from the Caucasians, Maya also has familial problems. She travels back and forth between her mother’s and grandmother’s house not being able to situate herself in either’s home. However, Maya perseveres. She begins school and excels in academics. The turning point of the movie is when Maya is sexually assaulted, consequently, she withdraws into total silence. It is with the help of her kind teacher that Maya is mentally restored to herself: enthusiastic, joyful and bright. She makes an emotional valedictory speech at her graduation where she expressed her feelings and emotions towards her friends, fellow classmates, teachers and life at Stamps. Her eventful time from her youth to her graduation serve to teach a person to define themselves, not for others to define a person.
How White people assumed they were better than Indians and tried to bully a young boy under the US Reservation. Alexie was bullied by his classmates, teammates, and teachers since he was young because he was an Indian. Even though Alexie didn’t come from a good background, he found the right path and didn’t let his hands down. He had two ways to go to, either become a better, educated and strong person, either be like his brother Steven that was following a bad path, where Alexie chose to become a better and educated person. I believe that Alexie learned how to get stronger, and stand up for himself in the hard moments of his life by many struggles that he passed through. He overcame all his struggles and rose above them
“ Whatever brings you down, will eventually make you stronger”( Alex Morgan). Alexandra Patricia Morgan was born in Diamond Bar, California on July 2, 1989. When she was a little girl, Alexandra was given the nickname of Alex and (baby horse because she was fast), which was used throughout her whole life (Fishman, Jon 10). Ever since a young age, Alex has been very competitive. For example, when Alex was about three years old, she would sit in the corner playing Monopoly by herself so that she could get better and win when she played against her siblings, even though she didn’t know how to play (Becoming Alex Morgan). With Alex and her competitive attitude, she was very athletic and always wanted to be the best at everything (Becoming Alex Morgan). At around the age of eight, Alex wanted to go to the Olympics one day for the sport of soccer which she began the really progress at (Fishman, Jon 11). At the age of fourteen, Alex got serious about soccer and went from playing AYSO, Recreational soccer meaning it was
In her novel, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings';, Maya states “The black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and the lack of black power';. Fortunately Maya was able to move beyond the crossfire, proving that she overcomes opposition that her status throws her way.
At just six months old Franklin’s mother D.A. enrolled the two of them into and “mommy and me” swim class. While babies cried and wailed around them, Franklin grinned under the water (Miller 15-16). She was always meant to be a swimmer from the very beginning, and she put great deal of hard work and dedication into making it a lifestyle for herself. Her hard work and dedication made her an excellent swimmer, athlete and an all around good person. By looking at Missy Franklin’s background, accomplishments, and society’s views of her, others can understand why Missy lives as a strong and positive force in the sports world to this day.
But according to Dilley-Knoles in “Making the Grade: Academic Success in Today’s Athlete,” he seems to believe the total opposite. He points out “attention has not always been solely about games and competitions” apparently the “spotlight” has recently been “redirected to academics (Dilley-Knoles). Today, athletes wanting to participate in athletics have to meet specific criteria before being on a team of some sort in high-school (Dilley-Knoles). Knoles explains how over the last few years, the National Collegiate Athletic (NCAA) has created certain standards for academic performance for those students who are in sports (Dilley-Knoles). Certain programs have been created to reward sport teams that do well academically, and penalizing those that don’t (Dilley-Knoles). Although Gabby Douglass was the first women of color “of any nationality and the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history” to become the “Individual All-Around Champion,” I believe the photo shows that athletics was more important than academics (Mike). The young girl below her suggests that she’s more focused on school because she might have not had the same opportunity as Gabby did. Athletes, similar to Gabby, find the pursuit of athletics to be “lucrative” which is something that society values through money (Kannan). In “Which is more important, sports or academics, and how can the choice are
“My race groaned it was our people falling. it was another lynching, yet another black man hung on a tree. One more women ambushed and raped…” she uses hyperboles to show the readers how devastating it would be to the black community if joe lost that fight. In doing so she also gives background on the setting, and how blacks were treated during that point in time. Angelou doesn’t state it word for word, but she finally leaves room for the readers to infer why that particular fight was so important and why the mood was so tense at the start of the story. Another hyperbole shed light on a major conflict, Person Vs Society. “If joe lost we were back in slavery, beyond help. It would all be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings.” The fight was a symbol for hope, hope that all inferior views on the black community would disappear. Right before the radio announcers reveal that Joe won, Angelou starts to write in fragments, “we didn’t breathe we didn’t hope. we waited.” it was used to draw out the last feel of apprehension. in the conclusion of Champion of the World Maya Angelou strategically picks out vocabulary words like “Champion of the World, some black boy…” to prove what a shock it was to everyone, it reinforces her symbol of hope by saying if he won then anyone else can triumph. However Angelou ends the narrative with “it wouldn’t do for a black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road on an night when joe louis had proved that we were the strongest people in the world.” to reinstate that no matter what they believed, the fight still didn’t end the racial
The novel’s young protagonist first loses her sense of self during early childhood as a result of her constant self-comparison to White people. In this autobiography, Angelou refers to herself by her full name, Marguerite Ann Johnson. Maya (in the novel Marguerite Johnson) first shows her discontent of her skin when she puts on her silk Easter dress hoping to resemble a movie star and “look like one of the sweet little white girls who were everybody’s dream of what was right in the world” (Angelou 2). To her, the vision of this magnificent movie star would only
For some individuals the predisposition to achieve is higher, this is often based on culture and ethnicity, for example, the character Derek. Derek is a young African American male living in the poorer area of Chicago. Although he is expected to get involved in criminal activities such as drive-bys, like is once friend Malaki; he chooses a different route, by pursuing a career that will carry him far beyond his current socioeconomic status and cultural expectations. Alternatively, Sarah destined for a more promising future based on her culture and ethnicity, however she had to endure many obstacle to achievement. Stuck with guilt, Sara no longer wanted to achieve the goal set out and worked so hard for as a young child. At first she procrastinated by avoiding any opportunities and even quitting dance. Anytime she was face with her goal, in the situation when Derek realized that she is an amazing ballerina and the event of her mother’s death driving to her ballet recital, she would begin to cry, feel anxious and avoid conversation. Nevertheless by the end of the movie, she began to gain interest and seek out ballet class but still felt the need to protect her self-worth by avoiding opportunities’ for failure such as not wanting to audition for Julliard because of doubt and lack of self-efficacy.
Graduation by Maya Angelou really touches on the fact that discrimination towards blacks in the hundred or so years following the end of the civil war was an endless and relentless torture that had to be endured even at an event as innocent and important as an 8th grade graduation. To hear the superintendent go in front of the school and talk about white accomplishments made Maya feel insignificant even though she had n...
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.
It is hard to believe women still have to struggle in today’s day and age. Women today in a world prominently dominated by males in the sports world face a double standard in the pro sports world. Women have been fighting for centuries in order to achieve the same success and respect that men do in this world. Women in sports are often seen as a different; their consider being in-women like. They have to work twice as hard in order for them to achieve what there seeking, which is mainly equality. Despite all the progress double standard does exist for women, they are constantly judged for their actions on and off the field.
Before collage, Toni went to all integrated schools. In elementary school, Toni was the only person in her class that could read (2). Because she attended all intergraded schools, she was friends with many of her white school mates and didn’t encounter discrimination until she started dating (1). She was very dedicated to her...
Did you ever know how a dancer’s life can be? Dancing can be used to impress others and to express their personal feelings. The dance room in my high school still resides as my special place that has brought back many good memories from the past because it has taught me how to relieve my stress from challenging courses that I have taken during my sophomore year in high school. Even Though, Reyna does not dance it could relate to the way on how she tries to defend herself on what other people around abuela Evila neighborhood had called her an “orphan” because the way she dressed and her hair had lice for someone who hasn’t taken a shower in a while. Although, some people may argue that dancing has nothing to do with stress relief it’s all for impression and being defensive to someone who criticize will hurt you more in terms of showing weakness.