Empowerment is the act of giving power or authority to; to enable or permit (“The Definition” 1). Black empowerment in my opinion is the uplifting of African Americans to achieve a greater purpose in life, while enhancing the black community as a whole. Black empowerment can be achieved in many ways, such as influences from musical artists as well as popular actors and actresses. They become major influences based on their celebrity status. Numerous people in our society disregard the influence that literature impacts our culture, especially in earlier time periods. A reason for this is possibly because of the emphasis on education during that time because African Americans wanted to overcome the stereotypes of not being as educated as whites. …show more content…
The speaker in Angelou’s poem is the confident black woman that many of us, even outside of the black race, aspire to be. She represents classiness by the nature and smoothness of her words and representing strength by using an assertive attitude throughout the poem. She asks several rhetorical questions of the reader that carry great meaning. The speaker asks if her “sassiness” causes an upset to the reader, yet answers her own question with a reference to the way she walks, which is so full of confidence one may think “oil wells...[are] in [her] living room”(“Still” 2). This stanza shows that she is self-assured of herself and needs any other options besides her own. Mentioning the idea of “oil wells” in her house shows that she may not literally be rich, but she is rich in spirit. She also asks if “[her] haughtiness offend[s]” the reader, which is her acknowledging her arrogance, yet she does not try and hide this fact because she believes she has good reason to be that way. The speaker in the poem shows resilience by using violent verbs with actions that are not harmful, thus demonstrating an untouchable demeanor. Phrases “shoot me” with “words”, “cut me” with “eyes”, and “kill me” with “hatefulness” represent the speakers disregard to what others think of her because, “like air, [she’ll] rise”(“Still” 6). This represents a great amount of strength
A lot of factors went into deciding which words to use in the book. Since the author was targeting to bring awareness to a well know issue or oppression and racial injustice, she decided to use a powerful tone to get her point across. For example, Maya is describing Mr. Steward, who is a sheriff during the time, and called him “bitter”. (Pg. 17) Angelou is using these strong, descriptive words on purpose to show how traumatic and hurtful this time was and to reflect how African Americans felt. In addition to this, the use of diction is also used to build a reliability. If the author wrote in a more laid back manner, the writing would not be nearly as effective and many individuals would not trust her statements because she would sound less educated. Angelou sets herself up for success by saying “Other than that they were different, to be dreaded, and in that dread was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for and the ragged against the well dressed.” (Pg. 25) This statement reflects what Angelou's experience was during segregation. Using words like “dreaded” and “hostility of the powerless” build a solid backbone of reliability for her book and Maya gains the reader's
She did not complain about her childhood, racism, divorce, losing her friends, or rejection. She has overcome all the obstacles with courage; that is another lesson we can learn. In her poem, she says, “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!” Angelou knew who she was. She learned not to live according to people’s opinions.
This phrase demonstrates her confidence and feeling of superiority to those around her because she has to be bold and unforgiving to be taken seriously or even noticed. When Angelou states “like air, I’ll rise” (24) from “a past that’s rooted in pain” (31), she is depicting that although she and her people have suffered in the past, there is nothing that can hinder her from rising now. This feeling of invincibility and pride is what allows her to fight racism and overcome hate. When a people are oppressed, they must muster up all of the courage, confidence, and ego they can obtain to pursuit
In Maya Angelou’s third book of poetry And Still I Rise, the personal struggles of the African American Woman are brought to life through poetic works. With inspirations drawn from personal journeys of Maya Angelou herself, powerful poems praise, celebrate, and empathize with the feminine colored experience. Angelou’s writing sheds glaring light on themes of feminine power, beauty, and perseverance, raising the African American Woman to a pedestal that demands respect and adoration. For Angelou’s audience, the everyday woman is presented equipped with all the necessities to thrive and shine in the face of adversity. In Maya Angelou’s works “Phenomenal Woman”, “Woman Work”, and “Still I Rise”, audiences are able to connect to the strength and virtue of the woman that is brought to life through the praising of femininity, and through its power to make an impact on society.
This poem is Maya Angelou speaking to the audience as she explains the problems she has overcome such as; racism, sexism, bullying and other problems in her life that she has managed to move on from.This poem is set in a first person narrative, Angelou explains to the audience about the good and bad times within her life, presented in a graceful way. By the poem being set in first person narrative, this allows the audience to connect to the poet on a deeper level because the tone of the poem is more intense throughout, making it more real for the audience. This genre of poetry is lyric poetry, relating to Angelou’s feelings and thoughts throughout the poem, addressing the audience directly.
Maya Angelou lived through a time where she was discriminated against for not only her race but also her gender. In her poem “Still I Rise” Angelou sarcastically talks about how no matter what is thrown at her she will rise above it and she will do it with resilience and confidence. Her poem discusses racism and sexism and gives minorities and women a sense of hope to overcome and endure both of those things. Angelou’s self-assurance in the poem makes you believe that you too can overcome whatever obstacle. Although this poem was intended for blacks, and women, and specifically black women, the poem helps build up strong and courageous people no matter what race or gender you are. Maya Angelou in “Still I Rise” uses both pathos and ethos to
One reason blacks should rise above their oppression is so they can better themselves and in turn make a better life for their next generation, just as their ancestors tried to do. ? Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave? says Angelou is taking the lessons learned from their ancestors and dreaming and hoping to rise above slavery. They felt that if they rose above slavery, their children and grandchildren would not have to partake in torture and pain.
Maya Angelou describes the situation, feelings and descriptions of a person (probably herself) who does not need people to try and lift her up. Maya shows us within the poem that all those oppressed in general are strong. Within the poem we are shown some of the feelings and thoughts people have displayed against her, but in reality she won’t let them get her down. Maya’s moral opulence allows her to rise above where her ancestors fell to slavery; carrying herself as a strong woman. Her ancestors dream was to have a life in society without the fear of what might happen to them (slavery). The author herself is portrayed in the...
She says “Champion of the world. A black boy… He was the strongest man in the world”. At the end of her story, she adds “It would not do for a black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road on a night when Joe Louis had proud that we were the strongest people in the world”. It means that by employing the irony device Angelou wants to tangibly convey her readers the fact that how African Americans are vulnerable: able to become world champions but not able to walk a country road at night, which can be considered as sarcasm. In addition, Angelou attempts to illustrate how the outcome of the fight influences the pride of her race. In order to bring this meaning to life, she tries to show that the assumption of African Americans in the store is “If Joe lost we were back in slavery…” and there was an ideological belief about the fight outcome among those people, “God Himself hated us”. Every sentence written in the opening paragraphs create a clear picture of an event of crucial importance for the people of Stamps, Arkansas who come across as an extended family sticking together to listen to the only radio for miles . With the help of these sentences, she clearly contributes to her readers to see how poor and deprived these people are. She uses the strategy of building up suspense in her account
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.
didn't work for me was "I am the dream and hope of the slave" this is
This poem, like “Caged Bird” is also unstructured verse, and sporadic rhyme; this is very common of Maya Angelou 's work. This poem is extremely blunt in it 's working making it very easy to understand. “Phenomenal Woman” is all about being proud of who you are. What makes you special and noticeable is not the world 's standards of what you should look like but the confidence that you live by. The poem is almost like a list of characteristics that make the speaker a real woman. Some of the things that make her a real woman is “the reach of my arms” “The stride of my step” “ The sun of my smile” just to name a few. The speaker is obviously extremely confident in herself. I believe that Angelou is trying to express that she is so phenomenally woman because of how she expresses and views herself and does not let other people define her. The poem expresses that you are beautiful based on how you see yourself, not how the world sees you, and that your success is all in your confidence. This is expressed in some of the language she uses. “Now you understand-Just why my head’s not bowed.” “When you see me passing-It ought to make you proud.” She is just being wholly herself and that greatly contributes to her amazing success. She says how the pretty people ask her why guys always fall over her and she even states that the guys themselves do not understand why they are so drawn to her. “Men themselves have wondered-What they see in me.” “When I try to
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".
Her use of repetition, imagery and alliteration all helped the reader set the theme for her poem. The theme she tries to establish is of it is not how a woman looks or what she does that makes her phenomenal, but how she carries herself and her inner mystery. It 's about confidence in oneself. Maya Angelou had a very hard upbringing, poverty, a rape at a young age. She was a victim of discrimination, abuse by men, even turning to prostitution. She rebounded by finding the confidence and self-worth in herself. This poem is about how even though you may not be a classic beauty your beauty lies in you and is exuded in being confident and the ability to believe in yourself. It is about acceptance and appreciation who we are.It 's Self confidence, finding that beauty within regardless of other people 's perception. It 's knowing why you were made to be so much more than the average woman. It 's not ego or conceit. She is proud to be Maya Angelou.In a time where black women were not considered beautiful by any
Empowerment can vary from person to person. A broad perspective of empowerment that the majority of people can relate too is based on setting goals and achieving them. A person needs to take control of their own goals they have set and do everything possible to achieve them. This also means that you need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses so that your goals will be more attainable. While most of these goals can be personal, they can also be applied to a career setting.