...“She doesn’t talk much. Her name’s Margaret.” […] “Well, that may be, but the name’s too long. I’d never bother myself. I’d call her Mary if I was you.” This is a scene where we see Maya’s core identity, her name, being wiped out and tempered with. Throughout ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’, we realize the protagonist, Maya, faces several identity crisis in her life and is thus left to write a biography of the culmination of incidents that have occurred throughout her life and hence that have shaped her identity today. Those around her mold Maya’s identity. Her relationships are what define her. There are no two ways about it; Maya’s rape calls her identity into question. Suddenly, she is portrayed as both a woman and child but she feels like neither. Thus, she is left with spending the rest of the book trying on different identities...
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...I know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographical account of Maya Angelou that demonstrates how love for literature and having a strong character can play a significant role in overcoming racism and distress. In the course of the story, it is evident that Maya changes from being a casualty of racism to become a young woman with self-dignity and identity that helps her to overcome prejudice. The context of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings focuses on the problems associated with racism that was prevalent in the southern states. Racist oppression is a common theme in the book that is portrayed by all the major characters; in fact, all the other themes in the book are closely related to racism, identity and segregation. In addition, the style and genre, and the structure of this literary work make significant contributions towards its thematic development, which focus on resistance to racism, the significance of the family, self-identity and definition and independence. Walker (95) argues that I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is characterized by thematic unity, which is achieved using the structure adopted in the text that takes more of a thematic form rather than a chronological form. In addition, Angelou managed to emphasize on the universal ideas in her literary work irrespective of its periodic quality. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou used the major characters of the book to facilitate its thematic development identity, racism and literacy throughout the text...
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...Compare-Contrast Essay The thought of doing an essay for most people can at be quite intimidating because of the need to be technically proficient, following the mandatory expectations outlined and some might find them boring because they feel like it is too restrictive in nature. That is merely just a common misconception though, there are several different styles of essays and the two that are going to be discussed are descriptive and narrative essays. The narrative essay's main purpose is to tell a story using characters and a plot, where perhaps a problem is given, and the events that unfold eventually explain a solution to the problem or issue presented. In contrast the descriptive essay can be very powerful in the fact it is written using the five senses (visual, audible, taste, tactile sensations and smells) this allows the author to bring a scene or object to life in the mind of the reader. While narrative essays are almost like a movie that is played out in the judgment of the reader, the descriptive essay paints a vivid photograph or place the reader can experience and this is why descriptive essays are the superior of the two styles. One of the best qualities that narrative essays are able to offer over descriptive essays is they are structured to appeal to the simplest of mankind's urge to share a good story. There are various forms in which we can find a narrative writing example such as a poem, play, novel and the obvious essay. There are times...
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...“Brother,” from Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In the selections you are about to read, you will learn more about the experiences that made Maya Angelou the extraordinary individual she is today. In the biographical essay “Maya Angelou,” Joyce Hansen gives us a sense of the events that shaped Angelou’s life. Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” presents a more subjective viewpoint. “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” exists as a personal statement in which Angelou herself tells us how she’s managed to overcome the fears that otherwise might have beaten her down. Marguerite Johnson, who became known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She and her brother, Bailey, were raised by their grandmother, the owner of a country store in Stamps, Arkansas. During her lifetime, Angelou struggled to overcome many difficult circumstances, a process she believes made her strong. The events of her life became known to millions through the 1970 publication of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was nominated for a National Book Award and later used as the basis for a TV movie. Reading Standard 3.5 Identify the speaker, and recognize the difference between firstand third-person narration (for example, autobiography compared with biography). How did you become you? What are the circumstances that helped shape you? Who are the individuals who changed your life? This biographical essay provides a sketch of the experiences that...
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...Spotlight on one special bird in the cage While researching the lists of the authors, I was attracted to the author Maya Angelou, because I am personally interested in civil rights. In this essay, I am going to research whole biography about her which includes lots of work that she has completed, her general perspective and important event which affected people in that century. The reason why I chose her is to explore whether she should have been much popular or not. First I will find historical background of her so that every audience can know at least who she is. And then I will find her major works that she has done, popularity of work at that time, popularity of herself and hidden work which has potential to be popular at that time so...
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...(Narrative Essay) JUDY BRADY I Want a Wife (1971) Judy Brady’s essay became an instant classic when it appeared in 1971 in the premier issue of the feminist magazine Ms. As you read, analyze the definitions of “husband” and “wife” that Brady uses, and consider why this essay became so powerful in the 1970s. I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother. Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife? I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who will wash the children’s clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife...
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...experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture (Angelou, 2012). Growing up in Stamps, AK, Angelou learned what it was like to be a black girl in a world whose boundaries were set by whites (Longly, 2013). As a child, she always dreamed of waking to find her "nappy black hair" metamorphosed to a long blond bob because she felt life was better for a white girl than for a black girl (Franks, n.d.). Despite the odds, her grandmother instilled pride in Angelou with religion as an important element in their home. Maya Angelou contributed to black history by publicizing the discrimination of her people (Franks, n.d.). I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, prevails in moments wheremetaphors correspond perfectly to the emotions of Maya Angelou's relationship with Annie Henderson, her grandmother. It is distinctly exemplified when three white girls perform a handstand pantyless in front of Momma Henderson revealing their power of white sexuality in...
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...Although almost a generation apart in age, both women display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each has written about her experiences growing up in the rural South, Ms. Walker through her essays and Ms. Angelou in her autobiographies. Though they share similar backgrounds, each has a unique style which gives to us, the readers, the gift of their exquisite humanity, with all of its frailties and strengths, joys and sorrows. Tragedy struck both of these women at the age of eight. Ms. Walker lost her sight in one eye. Ms. Angelou was raped. Each described the incident as part of a larger work. Ms. Walker related her experience in the body of an essay published in her book, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens. Ms. Angelou told her story as a chapter in her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Although both wrote about their traumatic experience, the way each depicted the incident was distinct and seemed to be told for very different purposes. Alice Walker reports the facts to the reader with short sentences written in the present tense. She chooses words which elicit a forceful emotional response from her audience. For example, in telling how her brothers were given BB guns and she was not, Ms. Walker writes, "Because I am a girl, I do not get a gun. Instantly, I am relegated to the position of Indian." The word "relegated" causes the reader to be irate and indignant. Most people do not like being "relegated" to anything. Another illustration of Ms...
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...hard worker woman which is Anne Johnson the life was so bad with her 1. her falture in her marrage 2. Her husband take all the money when travel to Oklhama. Then she start by creating a new direction for it self first by planing meticulously second by training third by starting the progress to work as a cooker to two factories the lumber mill and the cotton gin then she work for a years when her costumer depend on her she built a stall between them then she built market. This is the "New Directions" by Maya Angelou. Mrs. Annie Johnson the main character in the New Directions is Maya Angelous grandmother. Maya Angelou is the writer. Annie Johnson is the same person called Momma and Mrs Henderson in " I know why the caged bird sings" which was maya Angelous childhood story. In this essay maya explains how her grandmother pursued a goal of providing for her family (2 sons) at the end of the turning century, economic success was not easy for an African American woman. In many parts of the countrydiscrimination kept African Americans from obtaining an education or high paying jobs. In addition to that being a woman. Woman were considered being men's inferiors and were excluded from the best jobs. Many African American woman could only find work as servants, such as cooks or maids. Annie Johnson however was determined to overcome these obstacles. Starting off by dumping her husband, him taking everything including all the money she starts off with nothing and ends up in the end with a...
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...and drama on a scholarship at the California Labor School. The birth of her son when she was seventeen did not prevent her from continuing in pursuit of her dreams for a creative career. From her start as a singer in San Francisco’s Purple Onion and Hungry I in 1953 to the installation of her portrait in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. in 2014, she was continuously on a dramatic, musical or political stage. She was a dancer, a singer, an actress, a poet, a writer, a magazine editor, a playwright, a film director as well as a college lecturer, full Professor and a fearless, outspoken activist....
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...boyfriend. Maya told her family and that man was put in jail for only one day. He was beaten to death a few days after being released from jail, which caused her to become mute for almost 5 years. I think that with everything Maya Angelou has been through, so far in her life, if she was not a strong enough person, she probably would have drowned herself in sorrow and punished herself for all that has happened in her life. Instead, she moved back to Stamps, where her grandmother lived, and began to meet with Ms. Bertha Flowers, who was a family friend and teacher. Ms. Flowers helped Maya with literature, art, and managed to help Maya find her voice again. When Maya hit thirteen years of age, she decided to reunite with her mother in San Francisco. She attended high school and worked very hard. She also received a scholarship to study dance and drama at the California Labor School. Maya had to drop out of high school to become San Francisco’s first female, African-American streetcar conductor. Finally, she returned to school, even though she was pregnant, and still managed to graduate high school. At seventeen, Maya was a single mother, who worked numerous jobs, such as, being a cook, waitressing, and even prostituting, just to be able to support herself and her son. Once again, I feel that in order to be able to make it through high school while being pregnant, is a very challenging task to complete. Apparently, Maya Angelou was...
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...Essay Dr Maya Angelou is a celebrated poet, and successful novelist, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, and civil rights activist. She was born on April 4th, 1928 in St Louis. When she was 14, she dropped out of school to be the frist african- american cable car conductor. She also finished school giving birth to her son Guy, just a few weeks after graduation. In the poem 'Still I Rise' Maya talks about black people fighting for justice against racist people. She tells the victims of racism to be confident, fight for their freedom, and don't let them put you down. In Stanza 1, Maya's message to the bullies and racists that they can make her feel like dirt, as if she's not normal, but still like dust, she'll rise. "You May write me down in history, With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt, But still like dust i'll rise." The expression "You may write me down in history" suggests that the poet adresses the bully, and the message is, i'm not afraid of the bullies, and i'm not afraid to stand up to them. The expression "You may trod me in the very dirt" implies that, the bullies can make the victims feel like dirt and unwanted, "But still like dust, i'll rise" is a similie and indicates, these bullies can shout horrible and nasty things, but they'll never be enough to knock their victim down. In this stanza, The poet adresses the bullies and racist and her message to them is, All you bullies can say whatever they want, they could scream...
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...the workplace must use his artistry to bring color and life to an otherwise mundane eight hours of drudgery. However, his artistic licence has its limitations. His coloring of the work experience must not cross the line from reality, but must present the factual workings of the day in such a way he avoids creating a fictitious environment to which the common workers cannot relate. The line that separates the two in thin and the essayist must use every weapon in his arsenal to create fact-based literature that entertains an intrigue the reader into feeling as though he has experienced the day for himself. This means by which this mix of truth and art is achieved in the successful presentation of the essay includes a variety of literary techniques. Maya Angelou, in her essay Cotton-Picking Time, painted four pictures for her readers in the short space of two and a half pages. First, she chose her vocabulary carefully in painting the picture of the cotton fields as the plant grew and the cotton bloomed. Her imagery of the plants turning “caterpillar green, then frosty white” touched the imagination of anyone who has witnessed the spring time in farm country. Whether it was watching the...
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...in forms of figures of speech. Maya Angelou, the author of her autobiography, “I know why the caged bird sings”. The author uses style, a tone of admiration, and a mood of aspiration to get the message across. This running style by Maya Angelou shows the good and evil side of people. An effective autobiography does a lot more than tell a story, it creates detailed account of life. Through figures of speech, Maya exposes Bertha Flowers, her teacher who had a huge part in molding Maya as she ran her way into young adulthood. Maya Angelou writes “she was our sides answer to the richest white woman in town” (p.42). Mrs. Flowers was Maya’s role model growing up as a black woman in racist times. She had witnessed the discrimination against black people living in Stamps, Arkansas. Mrs. Flowers represented a need for change. Maya described Mrs. Flowers as a woman worthy of praise. Without the effective writing style that Maya encompasses, the reader would be exhausted and fatigued to all the life lessons Mrs. Flowers throws to her. Tone is the writer’s attitude for a subject. The tone is used to show Maya’s admiration for Mrs. Flowers. Maya writes “For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the store, the school and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible” (p.41). Maya is describing herself as an “old biscuit, dirty and inedible” referring about her previous rape. Also when Maya says “I sopped for a year” she is referencing all the time she was depressed. Maya also...
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...I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the 1969 autobiography about the early years of African-American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. The book begins when three-year-old Maya and her older brother are sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother and ends when Maya becomes a mother at the age of 16. In the course of Caged Bird, Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex into a self-possessed, dignified young woman capable of responding to prejudice. Angelou was challenged by her friend, author James Baldwin, and her editor, Robert Loomis, to write an autobiography that was also a piece of literature. Reviewers often categorize Caged Bird as autobiographical fiction because Angelou uses thematic development and other techniques common to fiction, but the prevailing critical view characterizes it as an autobiography, a genre she attempts to critique, change, and expand. The book covers topics common to autobiographies written by Black American women in the years following the civil rights movement: a celebration of Black motherhood; a critique of racism; the importance of family; and the quest for independence, personal dignity, and self-definition. Angelou uses her autobiography to explore subjects such as identity, rape, racism, and literacy. She also writes in new ways about...
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