Still I Rise Themes

Two of the readings that stuck out to me the most this semester included A Good Man and Still I Rise. Both of these references exemplified living out both your own moral values as well as the Core Values that are encouraged by Marywood University. Some of the common themes that stood out in both of these readings was that of empowerment and respect. The two stories encouraged these themes in both personal and outgoing ways for others.

In A Good Man, Mark Shriver told the impeccable life story of his father, Sargent Shriver. An amazing father, husband, and friend, Shriver had incorporated faith, hope, and love into all aspects of his life. He was well known for his contributions to the Peace Corps, as founder, as well as well respected politician. Among many things that Sargent Shriver was known for and displayed, both empowerment and respect were particularly recurring themes throughout the book. (Shriver, 2012)

Still I Rise, written by Maya Angelou, was an inspiring poem about overcoming hardships and always looking forward to the future. The poem was centralized

about the phrase “I’ll rise”, which was repeated about ten times to further show its significance. (Angelou, 2001) A general idea that the poem demonstrated was that people can be judgmental of your actions, but at the end of the day, you have to do what you believe in to support your morals.
Empowerment, one of the core values of Marywood University, was shown in A Good Man and Still I Rise.

For Sargent Shriver to be able to do all the things that his job description and family expectations entailed, he had to be very empowered in himself. He carried his central values that he believed in into his everyday life. Sargent Shriver was empowered through his work in the Peace Corps, and by the countless people that looked up to him as the incredible man he was. (Shriver, 2012) Still I Rise, in comparison, was also an obvious depiction of empowerment no matter what the author, Maya, questioned; whether it be upsetting or offending another person, that she would still “rise” from it. (Angelou, 2001) This shows that she believes in herself and that her morals are important to her and would stand up for them. Empowerment was a key part of both stories to be able to better convey their

messages.
Respect is another theme that is characterized by both readings. However, respect is depicted in a different way for each of them. In Still I Rise, the idea of respect is centered around yourself. Self- respect is important in the poem because it was what encourages the motivation being able to overcome difficult situations. On the other hand, A Good Man shows respect by how remarkable Sargent Shriver’s respect towards others was. No matter who the person was, Shriver treated everyone how he would want to be treated. A Good Man also shows respect in the way that Shriver cared for the things that he acted as a leader in. Finally, everyone called Shriver “a good man” because of their upmost respect they had for him and his actions.
Overall, respect and empowerment are essential themes in both readings that incorporate ideas and principles that would better personal lives as individuals and have a strong impact on the people around them.