Maya Angelou Research Paper

Throughout life each individual goes through experiences both bad and good that help shape who they are and will become. These experiences often teach us our values and beliefs systems. We take these learned values and apply them to how we view the world around us. Maya Angelou is a great example of a woman who through her trials and tribulations became a better person willing to fight for what she believed to be right. Maya Angelou uses the literary device of theme to portray what she has learned through her life experiences. Her poetry places a magnifying glass on her life experiences in the pursuit that the reader will learn from them without having to experience it themselves. Born on April 4, 1928, stability was unfortunately was not a luxury Marguerite Ann Johnson would experience. At the young age of just three, her parents would divorce and she would be sent to live

Her grandmother would become her a mother figure for her until she was sent back to live in St. Louis. This move forced her to leave the little stability she had. Moving back in with her mother would foster a tragic experience for her that would forever change who she was. Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend but being only a child was too scared to testify against him allowing him to be released. Her family took justice into their own hands by beating her rapists to death. Contrary to what many would think, Maya Angelou was not relieved that her attacker was killed but rather felt guilty that her speaking up was the cause of his death. This guilt causes her to become mute and would eventually foster her love for poetry (INSERT CITATION---THIS IS FROM THE FIRST SOURCE) Realizing that St. Louis was not the best environment for Angelou and her brother, their mother sent them back to live with their grandmother, Annie Henderson. Henderson