1) Summary of Character Traits
a) School smart (Maya is smart. When she moves to San Francisco from Stamps, Arkansas, she is skipped a grade.)
b) Caring sister (she always talks of her devotion to Baily)
c) Determined (she wants to get a job with the streetcar company and she keeps bugging them until they finally give her a job)
d) Proud (she lives with the junkyard kids instead of going back to her father’s; she slaps Dolores for calling her mother a whore)
2) Appearance
a) African American, tall, skinny, small and squinty eyes, big feet, large gap between her front teeth, black hair
3) What The Character Wants
a) Maya wants, ultimately, for her family to be happy. She wants the segregation of blacks to end (she is disgusted when young white girls call her grandmother by her first name).
4) How the Character Changes
a) After being raped, Maya stops talking as much
b) After spending time living in the junkyard, Maya learns tolerance, which will help her through out her life. She matures from a young girl to a mother, as well.
c) Becomes more mature once she gets her job with the street cars
5) Key Statements About the Character
a) “Ritie, don’t worry ‘cause you ain’t pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.” (p.56)
b) “In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldn’t help. … I knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him” (p. 73)
6) Key Actions
a) Father comes to Stamps and takes them to their mother
b) Moves back to Stamps, then to SF
c) Drives home from Mexico
d) Slaps Dolores
e) Stays with the junkyard people
f) Gets pregnant
7) What Others Think Of the Character
a) When they are younger, Baily really looks out for Maya. As they grow up, and after she spends time with her father, they drift apart.
b) Her grandmother loves Maya very much, and knows that she is a very smart girl with a lot of potential.
c) Her mother seems to care much more about her than her father did.
Thesis Statement: Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
Maya Angelo...
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...a car accident, and her father is woken up. After the horrendous trip to Mexico, Maya and her father return home to find his girlfriend enraged. In an outburst, the girlfriend calls Maya’s mother a whore. Maya slaps her, which provokes Dolores, the girlfriend, to attack her. After that situation, Maya goes and lives with children in a junkyard. After living in the junkyard, she returns home to her mother. Later on after that, she gets pregnant.
Although Maya is younger than he is, Baily admires his sister for her academic abilities, among other things.
Maya’s grandmother loves her very much. She instills in her strong beliefs and good morals. She knows Maya is a very smart girl and does the best she can to work Maya to her full potential.
Maya’s mother spends more time with her than her father does. Although both parents love her, the love of her mother is more apparent.
It is her hope that the segregation will end, and the black people will be equal to the white race. The way in which Angelou portrays her life makes the reader feel pity at times, for the way Maya and her family is treated, rage at other when Maya acts badly, and joy when good things happen for their family.
a.) “Stella is my precious little sister. I call her little in spite of the fact she’s somewhat older then I” (55)
The culmination of the novel is when Maya describes her eighth grade graduation. Angelou, her classmates, and parents listen to the condescending and racist manner in which the guest speaker talks. After listening to his insults, Maya realizes "she is the master of her fate" which was expressed in the valedictory address given by her classmate. Maya becomes a single parent at the age of eighteen, bu...
Maya Lin was born on October 5th, 1959 in Athens, Ohio. Her parents immigrated from China to the United States, in 1949 before her birth, and their profession at Ohio University impacted her greatly. Her aunt was the first Chinese Architect and she spent much of her life at home with her older brother. She loved school and studying and had few close friends.Her father was Dean of Arts for Ohio University as well as a ceramics artist, where she was inspired by visits to his ceramics shop. Her mother was a poet along with talents in Asian and English Literature, who taught her prose. These factors, shaping her future, she expressed early interests in art and mathematics. She continued to prove herself as an exemplary student throughout her school career. Soon after high school she was accepted into Yale University, in Connecticut, and forced to choose between her two loves of art and architecture. She chose to major in architecture, but often would sneak into art school for sculpture classes. She was once heard to say, “I love architecture and...
What is happening is an economic phenomenon. When gentrification occurs, it will change the existing situation. Gentrification refers to shifts in an urban community lifestyle, increasing share of wealthier residents and/or businesses and increasing property values7. It also could displace the small businesses and the middle low-income families.
Gentrification is a term that has come to be associated with today’s modern culture. Gentrification is the process whereby wealthier people settle into a struggling neighborhood to evict existing residents. Justin Gomer states in their article that “[t]he most common feature of gentrification is the rise of property prices as well as house rents, thus pushing out poor residents who are unable to cope with the high prices” (Gomer, 2017). Therefore, gentrification is a term that is synonymous with the displacement of the poor communities that have inhabited an area over time, sometimes over several generations, due to arrival of richer new residents. The act of gentrification causes the displacement of lower income
Gentrification brings in money and good investments into poor neighborhood, but the money and investments does not help the old residents; it only helps real estate agents. Gentrification may also make the city safer and cleaner than before but it harms old residents. The idea of gentrification is bad because prices goes up and with prices going up, people are either losing their homes or businesses or both. Gentrification affects old residents and business in a bad way, which causes the old residents to leave because of the rich taking over.
hysterical outbreaks, feelings of immense guilt, and fear of punishment from God.7 In fact, aborted women visit doctors for psychosocial reasons 180% more than other women.8 Abortion may seem like a quick fix at the time, but there can be many and harsh
In other words, that we give him a very large desire to roll boulders up a hill. This, Taylor says, will give the life of Sisyphus true meaning. It will give his life fulfillment and meaning to Sisyphus in a way that giving his actions some objectively valuable or desriable end will not.
Going to college has become a staple in American society. College helps students achieve greater job opportunities, increased salaries, and an awe-inspiring sense of independence. College has even been called “an economic imperative” (Owen and Sawhill 208). In “Colleges Prepare People for Life” by Freeman Hrabowski, Hrabowski argues that college not only prepares students for jobs, but more importantly prepares students for their upcoming journey through life. Hrabowski’s purpose for writing this argument is to dismiss the views of people who believe that college is not worth their time due to expenses, debt, and the fact that students will not be prepared for the outside world. He argues that students who earn a college level degree are more
As a result the two of them had to move across country to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their grandmother. Maya and Bailey were forced to travel to travel across the country by themselves at just three and four years old. The two of them were given two tickets to use the train to travel to Arkansas. However, it was a dangerous and risky thing they did. Kids weren’t typically allowed to travel without their parents, so if they were to get caught who knows what would happen to them. (“Maya Angelou Biography”). “Bailey had to take on the influence of a parent at that very moment. To become my protector and guardian. At such a young age this is the moment I saw him grow up.” (“The Story About Maya Angelou that you have never heard in her own words”). Maya had spent two long nights and three long days on the train. With little to no food or money. Too timid to approach any adult in fear they would be caught alone. After the three grueling days Maya and Bailey walked off the train in Stamps, Arkansas to see their grandmother there waiting for them. Maya felt a sigh of relief. Thinking that everything would finally be okay. She would once again come face to face with extraordinary torment and hardships (“Maya Angelou
Not only does this positive change help a community and city get a fresh start to a wealthier life, but there are also new programs and initiatives that come with the gentrification of a community. Greenblatt also explains how the positives of gentrification turn into negatives along the way. He comments that since so many new wealthy foreigners and young professionals are moving to these urban cities, they are making a positive change, but overtime real estate values will begin to rise to an unimaginable amount. “ The newcomers also are causing real estate values too sore, spoken concerned that people with fewer means are being forced to move to lower cost suburbs, where jobs and social services are scarcer and commutes longer” (Greenblatt 2). Those who cannot afford to live are being forced out of their own home and community. Minorities have two options, both out of their hands, either move into an affordable house or end up on the streets. Neither one of these options suit minorities and their lifestyles. Since there is a huge sacrifice to pay with gentrification, one can only hope that the sacrifice was worth it. Greenblatt uses different gentrification success stories to explain how gentrification can help the community grow and reshape a neighborhood that was once labeled dangerous into a community where everyone wishes to
Both Maya and her brother were sent to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps Arkansas after their parents Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, who was a nurse and Bailey who was a card dealer, had gotten a divorce. During that time while living there, she had experienced much discrimination for growing up as an African-America child. Four years later, they had a surprise and unexpected visit from their father. He sent them back to live with their mother and her new boyfriend who went by the name of Freeman in St. Louis. Maya experienced sexual abuse and was raped by Freemen. The only person that she told was Bailey because she was ashamed to confront the situation to any other adult not knowing if they would’ve believe her or not. It was kept secret until Bailey later told the rest of the family. Freeman was sent to jail for only a day, but four days after his release, he was murdered. It was an unknown fact on who really killed Freeman, but as speculations were growing, it was believed that Maya’s Uncles may have murdered the
There are many adverse effects of abortion on the mother, whether they are physical or psychological. If pregnant women knew about all of the side effects, they would possibly reconsider having an abortion. If the ethics of abortion does not enter a woman’s mind, maybe the side effects of it will. If they do not care about their unborn child, they may care about themselves. If every woman considering an abortion knew what would happen afterward, they would possibly be deterred from their decision.
It is a core American belief that everyone should be able to achieve success regardless of their background. Yet, within the past decade, that has been unattainable for those without a higher education due to the diversity of skills in the workforce. Competition from global workers and the recent technological advances have changed the skills that employers seek and desire. Degrees from college institutions are necessary to demonstrate those skills and create pathways to attaining a sustainable income to support a person’s outcomes to become successful.
Finally, abortion causes psychological trauma.. Many suffer depressed after they abort their child. Some women even kill themselves out of regret. So please think about what you’re doing before doing it. It can cause a lot of pain and suffering to you and the people who love and care about the baby.