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Struggle in Maya Angelou's life
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Maya Angelou
What I Already Knew/ What I want to know “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is a quote from the American poet Maya Angelou. I think this is a great quote because it does not matter if it is a good feeling or a bad feeling people will remember.
I Already Knew that Maya Angelou was a poet that was an African American female. I also knew that she wrote many poems and a speech for one of the presidents. That is about all I know about her. I want to know Maya Angelou. How did her being a female affect the way she wrote? Did she come across problems because she is a female? Did her race have anything to do with her problems she might have? I made a list of the thing I needed to know. From that list, I was able to from
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On the first day, I did not find a whole lot about how gender affected Maya Angelou. I did find all kinds of info on Maya Angelou.
The second day I started back on DISCUS and I found a lot about her rape. Then after that I started to look up Maya Angelou and could not find anything about gender. I finally found an article that said how she had a poem some stuff about gender. Then I thought to myself why am I looking for people talk about her problems when I can look at her own writing.
On the third day I tried to look at her own writing, and I did not really find anything. All I found was poems that I did not really understand. Then I Googled,“Maya Angelou gender problems.” I found an article about feminist and what Maya Angelou thinks about it. The article finally gave me some info about my topic.
What I Discovered Maya Angelou was an American poet. She was born in 1928 and died in 2014. As a result of my research, I discovered that gender affected Maya Angelou by getting sexuality profiled, getting raped, and becoming a
...s of particular importance to women. Angelou's book, although it is meant for a broad audience, is also concerned with conveying the difficulties of being black and a woman in America. Angelou addresses these issues in such a way that they appeal to all her readers for understanding, and also speak to the particular segment of her audience that she represents.
Maya Angelou is one of the well-respected African-American women figures. Maya is a poet, actress, civil right activist, dancer, singer, writer, educator, and a director. Maya’s real name is Marguerite Johnson. Maya was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Maya’s parents divorced when she was three. She was sent to live with her brother and grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. She was very close to her brother Bailey and her brother named her Maya. When she lived in Arkansas, she experienced discrimination towards African-American. At the age of seven Maya was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. “She only told her brother,” but a few days later her uncle has murdered the man who assaulted her. She thought her words have killed
Maya Angelou lived through a time where she was discriminated against for not only her race but also her gender. In her poem “Still I Rise” Angelou sarcastically talks about how no matter what is thrown at her she will rise above it and she will do it with resilience and confidence. Her poem discusses racism and sexism and gives minorities and women a sense of hope to overcome and endure both of those things. Angelou’s self-assurance in the poem makes you believe that you too can overcome whatever obstacle. Although this poem was intended for blacks, and women, and specifically black women, the poem helps build up strong and courageous people no matter what race or gender you are. Maya Angelou in “Still I Rise” uses both pathos and ethos to
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 shows this climb of confidence when she recounts her thoughts as she hears Henry Reed sing the Negro National Anthem. She recounts at even though she had, “Never the words, despite the thousands of times I had sung them. Never thought they had anything to do me.” Angelou found new meaning in the words that she thought she understood long ago. She understood that other Negros had gone through the same feelings that she felt and had come out on top. A final example of Angelou’s renewed faith in her education is apparent when she states that, “The depths had been icy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls.” Angelou is filled with new resolve after the completion of the Anthem. Angelou acquires a new appreciation for her education and a newfound pride in her
The most important discovery evolved from reading astute and diversified women. It sounds dramatic, but it is absolutely true. I have become incredibly angry about what I've been observing in my environment since my eyes were widened by the writers we have encountered, particularly bell hooks, Rich, Schell and the Blitz and Hurlbert book. I've also renewed interest in other writers during this class, like Mackinnon, Paglia, and Elizabeth Wurtzel.As a woman, I feel connected to the movement, and Iím sorry t...
Maya Angelou was one of America’s greatest writers in history. She was known for her many writings and for her part in Civil Rights Movements. Maya Angelou went through many hardships during her childhood, the most prevalent of those, racism over her skin color. This racism affected where she grew up, where she went to school, even where she got a job. “My education and that of my Black associates were quite different from the education of our white schoolmates. In the classroom we all learned past participles, but in the streets and in our homes the Blacks learned to drops s’s from plurals and suffixes from past tense verbs.” (Angelou 221) Maya Angelou was a strong believer in a good education and many of those beliefs were described in her
... all audiences can face their personal hardships. No matter the color of your skin or gender, Maya Angelou’s works are timeless testaments to the potential of the human spirit to overcome adversity, and constant reminders that even if the world is against us, we must still rise.
Mrs. Bertha Flowers taught Angelou reading material, to have pride in who she is, and to speak up. She turned into the amazing woman we all learn about and know of today. I identify in my personal life having someone I looked up to myself so, I can relate. For my future I could see myself doing the same from all the professors I come to meet that I can take with me as time goes by. In reading such I've pondered about how much of an impact one person can make on your
Moore, Lucinda. "A Conversation with Maya Angelou at 75." Smithsonian Magazine. Apr. 2003. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. .
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.
However, understanding the feminist movement is to understand that there has been exclusion of certain groups of women; therefore, leaving out certain issues that those women are still needing to fight for on their own. Women of color had to fight and continue to fight to bring their issues to the attention of mainstream feminists. Latina women’s issues were not being represented in the issues that mainstream feminist were advocating for. Latina feminism includes issues regarding their culture, language, religion, and education and much more. Through the book, Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings, edited by Alma M.Garcia, there is further evidence about the issues that Latina women experience. In the chapter ,“La Femenista,” by Anna NietoGomez, she states that “In order to establish themselves as a legitimate interest group or groups, the Chicana femenista has continually had to justify, clarify and educate people in the political philosophical issues of the Chicana woman” (NietoGomez 87). The fact that Latinas even had to clarify their issues shows that their issues were being ignored or not being considered important. Latinas had to prove that their issues were far different from the mainstream feminist, yet still important. NietoGomez states that, “Philosophical conflicts arose from those who felt that the Chicano movement did not have
illuminated her disparity of being a woman in a man's world. As one reads her
It is about acceptance and appreciation of who we are. It's Self confidence, finding that beauty within regardless of other people's perception. It’s knowing why you were made to be so much more than the average woman. It’s not ego or conceit. She is proud to be Maya Angelou.