As an illustrious poet, writer, activist, and educator, Nikki Giovanni conjoins her life experiences and tenacity for a brighter future and intertwines them to create her astonishing work. Giovanni is an African American proponent for civil rights and equality which is illuminated in her poem “Woman.” The girl in the poem possesses pertinacious qualities that are similar to Giovanni’s. The piece itself highlights the worth of women and their equality to men since women are not required to be submissive to them, the process of searching for true identity, and the power one has to make a difference in oneself.
The first stanza begins with the metaphor “she wanted to be a blade / of grass amid the fields” (1-2) which compares the girl’s desire to grow as a person to the growth of grass but also introduces her longing for individuality. It becomes apparent that the boy in her life is not supportive and “he wouldn’t agree to be the dandelion” (3-4) or provide a stable foundation for their relationship like a dandelion lacking coherence with grass. The second stanza opens with t...
...ntion of memories sweeping past, making it seem that the grass is bent by the memories like it is from wind. The grass here is a metaphor for the people, this is clear in the last line, “then learns to again to stand.” No matter what happens it always gets back up.
She draws a picture of her equality to men by expressing her strength and hard-working efforts as she “ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me.” Again, following this statement, “Ain’t I a woman?” She rhythmically continues this pattern, making a claim to her equality she feels with males and then following it with the powerful question “Ain’t I a woman?”.
The poem, “Nikki-rosa” written by Nikki Giovanni, an African American poet, who was born in 1943. During the sixties, she emerged as a black poet whose militancy during the civil rights movement made her immensely popular. In 1968, she published the poem “Nikki-rosa”. In the poem “Nikki-rosa”, she uses her childhood as the basis of this story. Nikki-rosa communicates through her childhood memories, the belief that white people and black people have fundamentally different ideas about wealth and happiness. That white people and black people see their personal life experiences differently. Wealth for black people is love, family, and togetherness; not tangible items. The sense of community and acceptance was more valuable than having even an private toilet. White people see “black wealth” as a hard life and focus on the things that she didn't have, i.e., toilet, bathtub., etc.
“We write because believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained,”—Nikki Giovanni a famous award winning poet, best known to write poems that range from love and friendship to the Civil Rights Movement. Nikki Giovanni has many well-known and famous poems. Nikki Giovanni’s life of a high spirited black woman living in the 1960s has influenced her poetry.
Throughout history women have learned to find a voice against men through writing. Writing has been a medium where women have learned to speak their minds and allow their ideas to be broadcasted to the world. Women have used writing to discuss issues, such as discrimination, inequality, sexual frustrations, and many more that they have dealt with. In the poem, “A Loyal Woman’s No”, written by Lucy Larcom. She gives power to women to say no to men. Her poem discusses the issues that many women face. They face issues of men taking advantage of them, men objectifying them and using them. However, Larcom’s poem shows a clear progress of women standing up against men, and being firm in saying no to them. Larcom has given women the ability to stand up to man and show the true power that women have over men. Many women fear standing up to men due to the repercussions of their actions, however, Lucy Larcom uses the symbolism of nature and her rhetoric to show a woman’s true power against men and say no and to free themselves of the rigid grasp that so many men have over women.
Maya Angelou’s “Equality” depicts a more patient yet tenacious rebel than described in Dunbar’s poem. “You declare you see me dimly”, she begins, “through a glass that will not shine.” Maya describes the denial of her boldness, of her rebellion; but, she continues to march, chanting “Equality and I will be free. Equality and I will be free.” She identifies herself as a shadow, unimportant to those she opposes— but she intends to repeat the mantra “Equality and I will be free” until she is heard. The sixth stanza left me in literal tears (and I am not an emotional person, thank you very
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Maya Angelou, a poet and award-winning author, is highly known for her symbolic and life-experienced stories. In her poem Men, she shows the theme of men domination over women, through her personal struggle. She makes her writing appealing and direct to the reader. With the use of various literary devices (similes, metaphor, imagery, and symbolism), sentence length, and present to past tense it helps the readers understand the overall theme in Men.
In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty, emotionless shell. In men’s eyes, this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.
In the perspective as an African American woman, Maya Angelou speaks of the issue of sexism in her poem. In this quote, “You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies…”, Angelou sheds light on the problems women faced during her time. Many had to also face the discrimination from men as men control them and put words in women’s mouths. This indicates the doubled amount of burden that African American women had to go through and it was important for Maya Angelou to speak of this issue through literature and give a voice to women who were struggling with the same conflicting situations. In contrast, Hughes’s, “I, Too,” poem states the African American inequality more generally than Angelou’s
In stanza two, the setting and the mother's physical appearance is revealed in further detail. The setting is in front of the house in a garden of some sort, full of lush plants, greenery, and bright flowers. In contrast, the boy is being viciously thrown and beaten into this delicate foliage. 'Wildly he crashes through elephant ears, / pleads in dusty zinnias'; (5-6). Another symbolic image Hayden portrays is of the zinnias. Zinnias are typically supposed to be a plant with variously colored beautiful flowers; these zinnias are dusty, implying that they are dull, lifeless, and unattended. This is symbolic of the boy. If properly taken care of, a boy can grow into a vivid, colorful, young man, but if mist...
In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.
Due to the time period she wrote in, Angelou would be criticized for her ability to write, “without apology,” of the fearful life she lived. However, now that is the reason as to why her work is so highly praised. Yet, critics feel as if Angelou’s work is simply overused and not appreciated for what it truly is. Instead of looking at Angelou as a poet, people look at her as an, “inspirational public speaker,” and can often be found on the front of a, “Hallmark greeting card,” instead of the pages in a textbook. Angelou doesn’t really show this criticism in her work but she does represent the criticism she received as African American woman poet in her time period. She often would discuss how people would misuse her race and treat them like nothing, and, “may trod” them “in the very dirt.” But despite these harsh criticisms of her work, Angelou continued writing of her struggles, and brought to life the hardships she had to face whilst living in this time period, which in the end, become what she was most critically acclaimed for, and the reason that out of the, “huts of history’s shame,” she conquered the fears, not only of her past, but of saying the words she used to be afraid to say.
Several people regard women as inferior figures in this global world. Women have challenged the traditional female roles and have gradually climbed up the ladder of equality. They portray a distinct perspective that proves that womanhood can accomplish anything they set their mind to and search for equal gender status. The poems celebrate femininity and highlights the traits necessary for a women to be successful. The ladies in the poems are female-figures that carry themselves with high self-esteem and fearlessness. This essay identifies various literary techniques that describe feminine strength in Angelou and Clifton.
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".