Still She Rises Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Great writers like Dr. Maya Angelou write about their experiences in life and the obstacles they have overcome. Resilient is a word that can be defined as able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Dr. Maya Angelou has been well known for her novels, poems, and stellar accomplishments. One of her novels, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is about Angelou as a little girl in the 1930s struggling with overcoming many diverse issues. From early childhood to the last years of her life, Maya Angelou has been a true example of a resilient African American woman. From being abandoned …show more content…
She was also often teased about being ugly. A memory that had imprinted on her life the most was when she was brutally raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. At first, she felt like Mr. Freeman truly loved her and that she wasn’t alone anymore. “I didn’t want to admit that I had in fact like his holding me, or that I had liked his smell or the hard heart-beating, so I said nothing”. As a seven year old, Angelou didn’t realize the immorality of Mr. Freeman’s sexually abuse. Angelou was agonized by the guilt of keeping the secret from her mother. Once Angelou’s mother learned of her sexual assault, Angelou’s uncles sought revenge and killed Mr. Freeman. His death made Angelou feel like she had been punished even more. The remorse was so excruciating that Angelou then made herself speechless and refused to talk to anyone. She next went back to Arkansas and spent many years in Kansas without speaking a …show more content…
In 1957, she also released her first album, Miss Calypso. Appearing in an off- Broadway production of The Blacks in 1961, Angelou starred with James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson. In the 1960’s Angelou lived abroad, moved to Egypt then to Ghana, and later worked as freelance writer and an editor. After returning from Ghana, James Baldwin then encouraged Angelou to write about her life experiences. In 1969, Angelou’s efforts and memoirs became successful and published as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Writing this autobiography reminded Angelou not to give into the complications of growing up and to show young people an example of what she overcame. The novel was a personal statement that could relate to anyone who dealt with the same problems. Angelou said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated". I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings made history by being the first nonfiction best seller by an African American woman and the book made Angelou a worldly
Angelou well known as an entertainer was urged by James Baldwin and by the cartoonist Jules fifer and his wife Judy to try her hand at writing an autobiography. After several refuels she agreed the results was a unique series of autobiographical narratives. I know why the caged bird sings is the first of Maya Angelous's five autobiographies. It covers her life form the age of three when her parents send her and her brother bailey to live with their paternal grandmother Annie Henderson in stamps Arkansas until the age of sixteen when she becomes a mother. Annie is the main influence on her childhood.(Lupton 24).during her stay at her grandmothers Maya is raped by her mothers boyfriend Mr. freeman who warns her to be silent or he will kill her brother bailey . after the trial freeman dies after being violent beaten ,presumably by Mayas unless. Maya indeed silent mute she cannot will speak. The silent Maya is returned to momma Henderson though reaming speech less for five years until she recovers her voice through patient help of her grandmother's friend Mrs. bertha flowers.(Lupton 52).
Angelou’s writings reflect who she was. We must learn who we are.
In 1944, Angelou had a child with a man with whom she had a previous relationship and then in 1952, Angelou married Anastasios Angelopulos, a Greek sailor. Following her marriage, Angelou starred in a few off-Broadway productions before moving to Egypt and later Ghana in the 1960s. Angelou returned to the United States in the late 1960s and was strongly encouraged by friends and family to document her life experiences through literature. In 1969, Angelou published the memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, making literary history as the first non-fiction best seller by an African American woman. Following the publishing of her novel, Angelou continued to share her experiences through her literary
In Angelou's first novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she examines how a bird (soul) that is caged (unfree) would still sing. I was curious about this and my main question after reading the story is how Angelou came to such a hopeful worldview despite her many horrific life experiences (poverty, racism, assassinations, divorce, etc.).
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography with a particularly unique structure. Most stories would be in chronological order, and each chapter is connected to the next. Angelou decided to take a different route; few chapters in her book are connected. They are written as if she began telling any story that popped in her mind after she finished each
In her first autobiography, Maya Angelou tells about her childhood through her graduation through, “Graduation”, from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” when she is about to graduate. She starts as an excited graduate because she was finally going to receive her diploma, a reward for all her academic accomplishments. On the day of her graduation finally comes, that happiness turns into doubt about her future as she believes that black people will be nothing more than potential athletes or servants to white people. It wasn’t until Henry Reed started to sing the Negro National Anthem that she felt on top of the world again. Throughout her graduation she felt excited to disappointed, until Henry Reed sang and made her feel better.
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.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1969.
Marguerite Ann Johnson more commonly known today as “Maya Angelou is an American author and poet” (absolute astronomy, web). She was a key component in the civil rights movement and worked alongside figureheads Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In the course of her lifetime she has held several different occupations some of which being a “poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Angelou has received over 50 honorary degress, and is a professor of American studies at Wake Forest University.” (Maya Angelou official website) In 1969 one of Angelou’s most notable works I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published. This semi biographical work caused her to gain fame “as a spokesperson for the black community and more specifically black women.” (starglimpse, web)
In Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman”, audiences are drawn to the bold confidence and power of the female speaker. In this poem, Maya Angelou creates the image of a woman whose confidence is not hindered or threatened by imperfections and flaws. In many analyses of this work, audiences connect this poem to the expression of Maya Angelou’s individualism and self-love after having faced many personal struggles throughout her life. In a review found in the Virginia Quarterly Review, a critic states “Its theme [“Phenomenal Woman”]- the power and depth of women- echos her own personal history […]”. This theme of power is one that transcends this poem and is seen throughout many of Angelou’s works. Additionally, Angelou’s reflection on her own life through this poem is evident in the way in which she defines this power. Rather than emphasizing perfection and ideali...
Maya Angelou is one amazing civil rights activist with prolific amount of short stories and poems she has written from personal experience and perspective. In Maya Angelou poem Still I Rise she is given us a piece of her perspective in slavery and how she overcame those cruel days. Slavery was a huge process of the struggle in life and how little to no freedom they had but how brave they were in overcoming it and had enough courage to move on from that life after finally being free.
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
The book thus explores a lot of important issues, such as: sexuality and race relations, and shows us how society violated her as a young African American female. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou clearly expresses the physical pain of sexual assault, the mental anguish of not daring to tell, and her guilt and shame for having been raped. Her timidity and fear of telling magnify the brutality of the rape. For more than a year after the rape she lives in self-imposed silence, speaking only very rarely. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism.
Maya Angelou is a well acclaimed poet, author, and civil rights activist. Though she passed away in 2014, her work continues to awe and inspire people worldwide. Angelou had written numerous poems, but in this analysis I will be focusing on “Caged Bird,” “Phenomenal Woman,” and finally “Touched by An Angel.” In these works we see her approach issues such as equality, racism, feminism, love and many more issues as well. Angelou is a very skilled poet; though some people find her work too straight forward and little more than common text broken into stanzas. Maya Angelou 's poems are easy to understand; and though I do enjoy her work, I find that how she structures her poems can be confusing