Frida Kahlo And Maya Angelou Comparison

The Comparison of Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo

Professor Cain

English Comp II

By: Nikia Millin

Fall Semester 2014

The comparison of Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo

The two remarkable women I have been writing about in the past research papers are Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo. Both women are famous today because of what they did in life. Both Angelou which was a writer and Kahlo which was an artist, told a story about their life through their work. That was their way to ease their pain.

Maya Angelou was one of the great voices of great literature. As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, civil rights activist, producer and director, she shared her great wisdom to others. “Within the rhythm of her poetry and elegances of her prose lies Angelou’s unique power helped readers of every organization span the lines of race and Angelou captivated audiences through the vigor and sheer beauty of her words and lyrics”. (Global Renaissance women, 2014).

Angelou had been writing poetry since a young girl which eventually became popular.

At the age eight she was assaulted and raped by her mother’s boyfriend. She then stayed humbled to herself and began writing poems and books about her life and what she had been going through. Maya had written plenty of books and poems. The following are some of her work:

• Just give me a cool drink of water ‘fore I die (1971)

• Oh pray my wings are going to fit me well (1975)

• And still I rise (1976), which was mad into an off- Broadway production in 1979.

• Shaker, why don’t you sing (1983)

• Life doesn’t frighten me

(1993)
At the age sixty- four, she was the first women to be asked to speak, and the second poet to be notice after being compared to Robert Frost and John F. Kennedy in 1961. The poem reflected as a theme that was very much similar to all of Angelou’s published writing. This is basically saying that most human beings are more alike than different, and that a message of hope and inclusion is a very inspiring dream. Maya Angelou’s voice speaks of education and equality. She is very inspirational to many people, so her works were very well taken by many people around. She was a representation for American nation in the twenty- first century. According to Angelou’s poetry, it had a jazzy rhythms with short lyrics to make more people interested. It became very popular among young people, but her heavy use of words had some people not interested. As being an accomplished poet and dramatist, Angelou expressed that she is “not afraid of the ties between past and present. I cherished them, rather. Its vulnerability… it’s allowing oneself to be hypnotized”. (Global Renaissances Women, 2014). It was a sad day when it was announced May 28, 2014 that Maya Angelou had died. Before that she had been very sick, looking frail and having heart problems. She also cancelled scheduled appearances. Due to the fact she was not in good health. She was remembered for a woman who pushed for justice, education and equality. Maya Angelou’s writing told a story about her life. That was her way to ease her pain.
Frida Kahlo was a famous artist in Mexico who was best known for her self portraits. She became interested in art after this terrible accident she had got into as a teenager. The art she did was based on the pain and sadness she had been through in her life. To ease her pain painting was her way to express her feelings and emotions. It was a diary of her life.
When Frida was a little girl she wanted to become a doctor. Becoming an artist was her least interest. In 1925 on September 17th, Frida and her boyfriend at the time got into a bus accident heading home from school. Frida had been injured very badly to where she suffered a broken pelvic and other severe injuries that left her unable to have children. Her being in the hospital for months, she had lost interest in becoming a doctor. Her mother then bought her an easel where she started painting to entertain herself.
One of the portraits that caught eye and was one of the best art she had done was “The Broken Column”. It was a portrait of her after the accident that showed the pain of an iron handrail piercing her abdomen and uterus. It just showed so much detail in the painting, her with a split torso and the rail representing her spine after the 35 surgeries she had. I feel it was amazing for a person to just kind of learn to draw/paint and when they showed their art you felt the pain they had been through. Another portrait that was very interesting was her painting she called “Henry Ford Hospital”. When the accident had happen, she was told she would not be able to have any children but she was able to get pregnant a couple of times but would miscarried. So this portrait expressed the pain and emotion she was going through at the time. It was her laying in the hospital bed with no clothes on bleeding. Me being a mother I can sympathize what Frida was going through. The thought of having your child being ripped from you and the pain emotions you feel is unbearable. Frida also had paintings that told a story about her life as a wife to another artist who she was influenced by, Diego Rivera. She painted pictures of her being unhappy with the love and how he wanted her to be. Frida, I felt was so unhappy and upset with the miscarriages because she always wanted children when she got older with her husband. The pain she experienced really bothered her that she couldn’t have children but her husband Diego had kids with a women he once was married to.
Frida Kahlo was considered an important artist to me because she wasn’t ashamed to express her pain and emotions to people. She painted a lot of portraits of herself showing everyone in the world what she was going through. After painting over 300 paintings and sharing the pain she was coping with Frida died in 1954. Still till this day no one knows exactly what happened. They later found a book but to her was a diary were she wrote a note and it was dated a couple of days before she died, it stated “I hope the exit is joyful- and I hope never to return” (Frida Kahlo). After being in so much pain throughout most of her life, Frida did not want to live anymore. Frida’s portraits expressed all the pain she coped with throughout life and wasn’t afraid to share what she had been through. Her easiest way to ease the pain was painting.
Both women Maya Angelou who was a writer and Frida Kahlo which was an artist, had something in common. They both had been through so much in life. They both expressed their pain through their work. Angelou writing books and poetry and Kahlo painting self-portraits was the only way they could ease their pain. Either one was ashamed to show what they had been through. Look at it as the diary of their life. Both are remember today as remarkable women who never lived in fear. This is the comparison of Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo.

References
angelou, m. (2014, june 19). caged bird legacy. Retrieved from www.mayaangelou.com: www.mayaangelou.com
Foundation, P. (2014, july 21). www.PoetryFoundation.org. Retrieved from www.poetryfoundation.org: www.poetryfoundation.org
johnson, s. (2008, january 1). frida kahlo fans. Retrieved from www.fridakahlofans.com: www.fridakahlofans.com
www.biography.com. (2015, january 9). www.biography.com. Retrieved from www.biography.com: www.biography.com