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Maya Angelou's Graduation Essay

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Graduation
Question 1: Presumably, all of Maya Angelou’s readers would have witnessed a graduation ceremony and brought their memories to her essay. How does she fulfill the reader’s expectations for what graduation includes? How does she surprise us with details we may not expect?
When I started reading the essay, I felt like I was back in 2012 at my highschool graduation. I felt the excitement of being a part of the graduating class. It was the same feelings of nervousness and being anxious about things going wrong or tripping on the stage.The ending was exactly what I was looking forward to from the start. It ended with inspiration to keep pushing forward, which is how all graduations should end. I was not expecting the turn in events that took place because of my own blissful ignorance in forgetting how things were when these events took place. I was deeply moved by her classmate’s, Henry Reed, attitude to get everyone to overcome those feelings of inferiority and worthlessness that the author was feeling. Her ending brought tears to my eyes with hope, that maybe one day, we will reach the point of everyone realizing we are equals.
Question 2: In paragraph 43 Angelou writes that “the ancient tragedy was being replayed”. What does she mean? How does her essay help to resist the tragic script? …show more content…
He made it sound like that was all they were set to be; maids or handymen, instead of lawyers or doctors. Instead, her classmate helped her realize that they have gone through worse than that and they still pushed forward. They could at least take advantage of their education and choose to go against that white man’s expectations. I am thankful to have had the privilege to read this essay. Anyone reading this essay will end with the inspiration to aspire to reach their goals and change this world one day at a

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