Comparing Maya Angelou's Graduation and Liliana Heker's The Stolen Party
Maya Angelou's "Graduation" and Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" share a common theme. Each author demonstrates through young girls that life's experiences, especially as a child, teach important lessons. Although Angelou's "Graduation" and Heker's "The Stolen Party" share a distinct resemblance, they also differ.
The main similarity is that Margaret from "Graduation" and Rosaura from "The Stolen Party" are both excited about a day that they consider special or important. Margaret's big day revolves around her graduation from the eighth grade at the Lafayette County Training School. Margaret and her entire family are so proud of her accomplishments and achievements. Margaret felt high aspirations for the future and high hopes of all her goals being attainable. Margaret brags:
My work alone had awarded me a top place and I was going to be one of the first called in the graduating ceremonies. On the classroom blackboard, as well as on the bulletin board in the auditorium, there were blue stars and white stars and red stars. No absences, no tardiness, and my academic work was among the best of the year. I could say the preamble to the Constitution even faster than Bailey. (572)
Rosaura's big day revolves around a birthday party she was invited to by Luciana. Luciana is the daughter of Senora Ines. Senora Ines is a lady Rosaura's mother cleans for in the afternoons. Despite her mother's initial wishes, Rosaura was determined to attend Luciana's birthday party. Heker writes, "She wanted to go to that party more than anything else in the world. 'I'll die if I don't go' she [Rosaura] whispered" (614). Margaret and Ro...
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...ade this little girl come to life with words. Margaret was so natural, so life-like, so truthful. Heker's "The Stolen Party" is a work of fiction and is told in third person. Although Rosaura seems realistic and believable, her character was not as fully revealed as Margaret's.
Margaret and Rosaura were both young girls living in environments where certain things or people were not accepted. Through childhood experiences both girls have learned substantial lessons about themselves and the way others view them that should remain with them the rest of their lives.
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. "Graduation." Literature for Composition. 4th Ed. Sylvan Barnet et al. New York HarperCollins, 1996. 570-578.
Hecker, Liliana. "The Stolen Party." Literature for Composition. 4th Ed. Sylvan Barnet et al. New York HarperCollins, 1996. 613-616.
Jack London whose birth name is John Griffin was known for his fiction adventurous novels. Although he was a sailor, gold prospector, rancher and served his country in the Army he still have yet served the time in the wilderness of Alaska. Jack London wrote ‘’The Call of the Wild’’ as if he lived it before. His words jump at you so viciously you had no choice to swallow, savor, and meditate on your life just like Chris McCandless. In the book ways of reading page 429 the dark knight of the soul by Richard E. Miller said that Jon Krakauer wrote about how Jack London actually persuade Chris McCandless that he could possibly escape the bonds of the corporatized world and reach a space of greater calm.
Throughout history, America has produced some of the greatest writers to walk the earth. Novels, poems, plays, and short stories have captivated the American public. No one was better at enchanting his audience than John Cheever. John Cheever wrote many short stories throughout his life. He has been presented with many awards for his works. Cheever was a master of spinning tales about suburban life and other situations he experienced. Some of his most popuar works included “The Swimmer”, “O Youth and Beauty!”, and “The Enormous Radio”. His works were well received by the public and he achieved great fame during his lifetime. However, he also lived a life of hardship and scandal. Even after his death in 1982, Cheever is remembered as one of the greatest writers in American history.
This term paper was written to shine a little light on one of America’s extraordinary women, Maya Angelou.
Irony plays a considerable part in “The Stolen Party.” There are many examples that Liliana Heker shows. One of which being how instead of Rosaura receiving a gift at the end of the party, as all of the other kids did, she recieved money. Prior to finishing the story , the reader assumes that Rosaura was welcomed at the party and considered one of the kids, this leads the reader to believe that she will receive a gift resembling a gift similar to what the other children were given . Rosaura was given money rather than a toy was because she was just thought as the maid’s daughter and she was just paid for the work she was doing for the party. Another example of irony includes how throughout the whole party Rosaura was unknowingly put to work,
One of the main ways the author delivers this concept is through the use of foreshadowing. Upon her presence of the party, Rosaura is confronted with many tasks of serving. For example,"Rosaura [enjoys].....immensely" when she is asked to "help pass the cake around". The protagonist's treatment is evident as she is the only asked in this one of many tasks to serve the kids. Moreover her role is
New viewpoints are often built on individuals in different situations, resulting in various endings. In the short story “The Stolen Party” written by Liliana Heker, it demonstrates the impact that a new perspective has on certain individuals, developing both a negative and positive view, here shown by the protagonist, Rosaura, through her relationships with family and friends.
In “The Stolen Party”, the author gives depth and essence to the story by creating a comparison between the monkey and Rosaura.They both are naive and innocent characters. This is best shown when Luciana gives her birthday invitation to Rosaura, but her gullible nature fails to recognize her true intentions for the invitation. The author uses the monkey as a symbol to emphasize Rosaura's social gap at the party as both Rosaura and the monkey are used for the same purposes. When Rosaura first encounters the monkey it is “inside its cage” creating a visible barrier between the monkey and the magician which the it can not break through; all the monkey can do is obey orders of the magician. In like manner, Rosaura is the “maid’s daughter,” who
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In “The Stolen Party”, Rosaura is invited to her friend Luciana’s birthday party. Rosaura’s mom is the maid of Luciana and her family, and the two girls became friends because as her mom would work
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