Research Paper On Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is an iconic figure in civil rights but is also an inspiration to not just African men and women but to all people. When I read “I know why the caged bird sings” I thought she was just another person telling her hardships that she faced as a child and how she has changed but I was mistaken she was more than that. Maya has so many great qualities about her but the one that shined brightest was that she was optimistic. To start off Maya states “our parents had decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and Father shipped us home to his mother.”(1) This example shows how the rug was taken right under her and kept going even when she felt lost on why she was sent off from her parents. To explain further Maya then lived with her grandmother and uncle Willie in Stamps Arkansas where there was segregation all over she didn’t even know how a white person looked like at the time. She then states “I couldn’t understand whites and where they got the right to spend money so lavishly.” “Of course, I knew God was white
Maya and her father set off to Mexico to pick up some things for dinner. Her father got really drunk and she didn’t know what to do, she needed to get them somewhere to sleep. So she took the initiative and made a negative into a positive she drove feeling frightened at first but then realized what is there to be afraid there were some bumps along the way but nonetheless did it by remaining optimistic. Quoting “As I twisted the steering wheel and forced the accelerator to the floor I was controlling Mexico.”(238) Another example of Maya showing optimism was when she decided to get a job to be become a streetcar conductor and the first black lady at that. Maya was told that they weren’t hiring for those positions but later explained in the morning papers she later spoke to the manager remained optimistic and eventually did she became the first black lady streetcar