Symbolism In Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

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Maya Angelou was a poet who was born in 1928 and passed away in 2014. The Poem “Still I Rise” can have a different meaning depending on who is reading it. To Maya Angelou it symbolizes her strength and courage to stand up to everyone who tried to bring her down and showed racism toward her in life. To others reading, it reveals the ability of humans being able to get past feeling hurt while delivering a sarcastic response for everyone who treated the writer poorly. “Still I Rise” shows how Maya used every day poetry writing to address the theme of racial discrimination. The poem depicts a person who has the ability to stay positive throughout her life in order to always move forward.
The narrator is a woman which is expressed in multiple …show more content…

One commonly used word is “you”. By opening up the first stanza as well as others with this pronoun it makes it seem as if it is referring directly to the reader as if sometimes anyone can hurt others in their own ways. In some lines where the pronoun is used the tone changes; it may seem as if what is being said is very serious whereas others seem to be more comical. In stanza one a serious tone is expressed and in the following stanza in doesn’t seem as serious and more easy going. By using more serious stanzas such as 1 and 3 the narrator is expressing the issue at hand and being able to overcome and difficulties that come her way. Two comical stanzas are 2 and 5 which reveal the confidence she has and how it makes others feel. The title of the poem “Still I Rise” is used frequently as well. The repetition of this word shows the strength it takes to overcome the things life throws at her. It also emphasizes the message for staying strong no matter how tough things are and not to let anything stand in the …show more content…

“Oil wells” (7), “gold mines (19), and diamonds (27) are all things that have a lot of worth and are listed in an order of increasing value. This could symbolize how the self-confidence Maya had throughout her life grew as she got older. Since all of these items are hidden inside the Earth and must be discovered. This could be compared to the characteristics people possess that are hidden at first until you get to know someone. “Sassiness” (5) and “sexiness” (25) are two things that can be hidden in places such as a “living room” (8) or “meeting of my thighs” (28).
The poem “Still I Rise” helps deliver a message for people inflict racism on others and for the people who suffer from it. It also helps with gender discrimination females sometimes receive. The poem explained how people may not always take others seriously and hear what they have to say. In order to be seen for who a person really is it takes dedication and bravery. There is always a way to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward no matter how hard it may

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