Bantam Books Essays

  • Racism in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    conductor; an unmarried mother; the madam of a San Diego brothel; a prostitute, a showgirl, and an actress (Lichtler, 861927397.html). Her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings argues persuasively that what made Angelou's pursuit of her exceptionally high potential so unconventional -- as well as so inspiring -- was the racism that seemed determined to keep her down. In her book, an autobiography, Angelou paints a vivid picture of a poor black girl who, with her brother Bailey, was sent to live with their

  • Comparing In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tragedy struck both of these women at the age of eight.  Ms. Walker lost her sight in one eye.  Ms. Angelou was raped.  Each described the incident as part of a larger work.  Ms. Walker related her experience in the body of an essay published in her book, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens.  Ms. Angelou told her story as a chapter in her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  Although both wrote about their traumatic experience, the way each depicted the incident was distinct and seemed

  • Maya Angelou: A Source of Humanity

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    director (Shafer). Today, she lectures throughout the US and abroad and has been Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina since 1981. She has published ten best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. At the request of President Clinton, she wrote and delivered a poem at his 1993 presidential inauguration. Maya Angelou, poet, was among the first African-American women to hit the bestsellers

  • Maya Angelou

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    three years her parents divorced, and both Maya and her older brother Bailey, were sent to Stamps, Arkansas. Once in Stamps, the children were cared for by their paternal grandmother, Mrs. Annie Henderson (Neubauer  21). In her first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou tells the story of her childhood.  She also makes the reader keenly aware of her close connection with her grandmother.  Stephen Butterfield says of Caged Bird (in his Black Autobiography in America

  • Race Relations in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    censorship controversy, and the person she became. One of the earliest examples of race relations in the book symbolizes the strict dichotomy of opportunity for black and white children. On the second page, Marguerite explains how she wished that she would wake up in a white world, with blond hair, blue eyes, and she would shudder from the nightmare of being black. Thus, from the beginning of the book, race relations were one of the major themes. Maya Angelou also shows the effect of oppression on

  • hacker crackdown

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Freedom, and Privacy Electronic Afterword to *The Hacker Crackdown,* New Years' Day 1994 Preface to the Electronic Release of *The Hacker Crackdown* January 1, 1994 -- Austin, Texas Hi, I'm Bruce Sterling, the author of this electronic book. Out in the traditional world of print, *The Hacker Crackdown* is ISBN 0-553-08058-X, and is formally catalogued by the Library of Congress as "1. Computer crimes -- United States. 2. Telephone -- United States -- Corrupt practices. 3. Programming

  • Introduction to Antiques and Breakables

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    connotation of "popular" culture. Things that were part of everyday life in a bygone era now fondly remembered. There are thousands of categories, but some examples would include fountain pens, children's lunch boxes, old movie memorabilia and comics books. It can also refer to "limited edition" breakables. Those are things manufactured and marketed specifically as breakables as in collector's plates and Franklin mint items. Really though, breakables are anything that people collect. This could mean

  • Sight Words and Highfrequency Words

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    children’s books is one of the most successful ways for children to learn these important words. Since most first graders are unable to read an entire book indepently, reading to them numerous times a day or week can be beneficial in teaching them sight and high-frequency words. The leading types of books for doing this are predictable books, caption books, and label books. Students learn patterns in context plus vocabulary through reading predictable books. A few examples of predictable books are: If

  • The Problem of Aliteracy

    2237 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” – Mark Twain All children at a young age are taught to read either by their parent or at school. Then after some time the joy of reading books like Dr. Seuss “The Cat in the Hat”, or C.S. Lewis “Chronicles of Narnia,” and J.K Rowling “Harry Potter Series” becomes nothing but a distant memory. So the question that arises is are you aliterate? Unbeknownst to most people they have no idea of the word “aliteracy

  • The Essay 'Staying Awake’' by Ursula Le Guin

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing

  • The Rude and Immature Student

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    One afternoon I was sitting at a study table at the library quietly working on my “World History” homework. All of a sudden another college student slammed his books on to the table. After he placed his books loudly upon the table, he threw down his book bag on to the floor next to the chair. I glanced up at him with a look of disturbance upon my face. He left as quickly as he came, just to return again. I continued working on my homework until he blessed me with his prescience. The very first

  • Scrapbooking

    2415 Words  | 5 Pages

    As I sit on my bed, with nothing to do, my mind is suddenly filled. What can I do with all my JUNK? I search in old dusty boxes, underneath my bed, in my closet and take a look at old picture frames, memories that have been sitting aside for years. What can I do to make it all come together? As I think, look around, and think again, I say quietly to myself, “Why don’t I create a scrapbook?” Scrapbooking is a great way to preserve memories and pass them down in a creative and unique way. When a person

  • Discovering Books

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Richard Selzer / Discuss how reading books changes my life Richard Wright, in his essay “Discovering Books,” explains how reading books changed his outlook on life and eventually his life itself. The first book that widened his horizons was an overtly controversial book by H. L. Mencken. I have a story not so dissimilar from his. Coming out of High School, I had in my possession the perspective that I knew everything. So I started, straight off the bat, working in a variety of menial jobs, which

  • Anaylsis of the Studies in Galaions by Tom Wacaster

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book, Studies in Galatians, by Tom Wacaster was an excellent study and very well put together. I felt he did a great job gathering others together to elaborate on some of the main points from this book. From the beginning, the author let you know, in the introduction a specific direction he was aiming toward even though the introduction seem to be a bit long. However, after I looked at it upon completion of reading, I appreciated it more than when I read it the first time. When you take second

  • My Reasons to Study Literature

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    can make you feel things that people cannot, such as while reading a book the descriptions can be so vivid that you might even feel like you are there, and part of the story. The power of literature is incredible. Lastly, when you read a book or story it can make you feel like you are there, and you will build a connection with that piece of literature, making you feel like you are not alone because you will always have your books to turn to, even if your friends have left you. Literature can improve

  • What Was The Most Important Consequence of the Printing Press?

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    changes life of millions, we learn from it by reading books, magazines, novels and it spread because everyone started using it pretty quickly. To begin, Johannes Gutenberg was born 1395, in Mainz, Germany. He started experimenting with printing by 1438. He obtained backing in 1450 from the financier Johann Fust, whose impatience and other factors led to Gutenberg's loss of his establishment to Fust in 1455. Gutenberg's masterpiece, and the first book ever printed from movable type, is the “Forty-Two-Line”

  • My Favorite Book

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    said, "A book is good company. It is full of conversation without loquacity. It comes to your longing with full instruction, but pursues you never." This statement is full of truth because books are certainly a great source of comfort and entertainment to me. For instance, my most cherished book, 'Looking for Alaska', written by John Green makes me experience overwhelming emotions such as joy and sadness, and it also gives me a nice laugh. The tiny details this book possesses makes the book my all-time

  • My Ideal Bookshelf

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Books have impacted lives for centuries. We receive knowledge from books, and also learn more about ourselves through them. We are often rejuvenated by children’s sprightly picture books and warped by popular novels. Flippant or grievous, these books I have selected for my ideal bookshelf have impacted my life for the better. GoodNight Moon is one of the first books read to me and one of the first books I read myself. This auspicious book was a huge part of my bona fide childhood. The small book

  • Reflection: Advance Writing With Ms. Busby

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the course of Advance Writing at ULL with Ms. Busby, I have accomplished a variety of goals I once thought were unattainable. I have learned different writing techniques, ways to format papers, proper tones to use, and how to find and properly use different sources. This course made me realize a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. It also helped me gain knowledge about the particular field that I am majoring in. I have not only grown as a writer and a student, but as a person as well.

  • Being An Independent Person

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    independent person, you tend to like being alone than in a crowd full of people. But sometimes it creates an empty, dark hole in your heart. You have to find a desire to fill it, or else it would pull you deeper into the darkness. Little did I know books would save my life, and help me become who I am today. Growing up, I was always known as the independent one. It 's not that I was anti-social, I just didn’t have the time or energy for pointless friendships and fake people. So I always kept my eyes