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Brief history of maya angelou
Brief history of maya angelou
Brief history of maya angelou
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When you think of heros most people think of comic books or marvel. When I think of heros I think about historical figures such as, Martin Luther King Jr. or George Washington. Not all heroes are like what you see as a kid in movies. Heroes are people that stand up for what they believe in. Maya Angelou a hero because she is strong, she went through a lot as a kid and wrote about her life. Maya Angelou shows a lot of strength in her life. Angelou stood up for african Americans and women, this shows strength because she could have gotten hurt for standing up against these things. Angelou sang in clubs for a long time. This shows strength because she was african american so she could have gotten hurt if she sang something that offended white
There are many lessons we can learn from the one of the powerful leader Maya Angelou. Angelou was a powerful leader who lived her life abundantly. She was very vulnerable and bold sharing her childhood story (sexual assault) through her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” She has learned the lesson of forgiveness. A great leader needs to learn how to forgive. According to Angelou, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.” Attitude is another aspect that we can learn from Angelou. She did not complain about her childhood, racism, divorce, losing her friends, or rejection. She has overcome all the obstacles with courage; that is another lesson we can learn. In her poem, she says, “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eye, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!” Angelou knew who she was. She learned not to live according to people’s opinion. Angelou’s writings reflect who she was. We must learn who we
Maya Angelou fits the hero archetype, and she did it in her own way. She had faced a myriad of hardships, torment, and racial oppression, yet she still remained steadfast through her childhood ordeals of growing up black in the South. Her autobiography discloses these adolescent uphill battles in detail; including how racism in the South overtook her life in most aspects.
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
She was known worldwide for many things. She was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry. She was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She was and still is a woman that people look up to. Many people know her as Maya Angelou.
Angelou faced many obstacles but still was able to accomplish many things. Did she ever think she was going to get this far, leaving an impact on many people lives, such as Oprah Winfrey, President Obama, former president Bill Clinton and overall the general public? Perhaps, she did know. In her 20’s the public icon, met Billie Holiday, who told her, “You’re going to be famous. But it won’t be for singing.” Angelou is a three time Grammy winner who was also nominated for a Tony, a Pulitzer, and an Emmy for her role in the 1977 miniseries “roots.”
As Maya Angelou, a civil rights activist, memoirist, and American poet, once said, “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people”. There are myriad of traits that a hero possesses, but one trait that differentiates a civilian from a hero is altruism; it is defined as the “unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others” by Merriam-Webster. There are scads of heroes who possess benevolence such as Odysseus, Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, and Cesar Chavez. Odysseus is an epic hero in Homer’s Odyssey, Harriet Tubman is known for freeing hundreds of slaves from their masters, Clara Barton had nursed wounded soldiers, and Cesar Chavez had protested the injustice farm workers faced. Altruism is the fundamental trait that deems a person to be considered heroic for it is displayed by all heroes and is the foremost reason for a hero’s actions to aid others.
"Angelou, Maya (biography)." Her Heritage: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Famous American Women. 1.00 ed. 1995. eLibrary. Web. 19 May. 2014.
... 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.
Maya Angelou is a strong woman, how she manages to hold herself together made me feel as if she could speak to all audiences. She prevailed and picked herself up no matter long it had taken. For example, "As a result of a traumatic experience, she had become depressed and withdrawn and unable, or unwilling, to speak "yet after a year of moping around the house things made a change for the best . For me she brought a sense of nostalgia,many of us growing up have all came across something we had a sweet spot for, an attachment to, or love for. An example "the sweet chocolate drops that I loved more than anything in the world" does not just apply to food, but a place, or person,made me think of my favorite delights I sought out for as a child giving off a warming effect in my memory. Her relationship with Mrs. Bertha Flowers I found was inspiring, touching, and respectful.
Maya Angelou is one of most well-known poets ever. Her work is a reflection of her hardships during her childhood and her life as an adult. She expressed many of her opinions through her poetry and other writing. Many of her poems revolve around equality and freedom because she grew up in the segregated era and worked with civil right activist. The poems she writes are to inspire the lives of others. Till this day, Maya Angelou is still continuing to write inspiring poetry.
A poet, an author, a play-write, an actress, a mother, a civil-rights activists, historian and most important a survivor. Perhaps Maya Angelou, award winning author of many books, is one of the most influential African Americans in American history. I believe that she rates at the top of the list of American authors, with Hemingway, Hawthorne, and Voight. I believe through my research and reading of Maya Angelou that she should be among the members of The American Authors Hall of Fame. Maya was born on, April 4th, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson, in St. Louis Missouri. She was raised in Stamps Arkansas, by her Grandmother Annie Henderson and Her Uncle Willie. Stamps was a rural segregated community. However, it was tight knit between the African Americans. Maya grew up during a very difficult time period in American history. They were just recovering from the Great Depression, and learning how to deal with different races of people. Maya knew this and made it clear in her writing. "It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of each other. A pyramid of flesh with the whit folks on the bottom, . . . and then the Negro's." (Angelou Caged Bird 153) "If growing up was painful for the Southern Black Girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." (Angelou, Caged Bird)
Some definitions of heroes are people, who have noble qualities, and put the lives of others before their own life. They are expected to be reasonable and calm, during scary times, like when a shooting is going on, looking out for
According to google.com a hero is someone who “is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievments, or noble equalities.” (google.com). For example, superman , superman is an all time american classic modern hero who is admired for his courage and for saving earth multiple times from super villains. Another example of a hero is Beowulf. Beowulf was created around 1000 AD and was known far and wide throughout the lands for his selflessness,bravery, and courage .
Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland describes a Bengali family’s struggle to maintain stability as their world shatters in the instant of the sudden and brutal death of a treasured son, Udayan; the continental separation of the family headed irreversible changes between relationships that caused the greatest rift in the family: a young woman’s inability to love her fatherless child. The trans-atlantic variation in setting from Calcutta to Providence, Rhode Island inspires a progressive evolution for the travelers-Subhash and Gauri-while the mourning parents continue to dwell in their loss by staying in India where civil war is on the rise. The glue that keeps Udayan and Subhash’s parents living in India is the memories of Udayan’s life in the country.
‘It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.’ ‘It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for blacks, without including whites. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it. That is the truth of it.’ Maya Angelou is considered one of the most well-known poets.