...When you learn, teach- Mya Angelou… Most of my youth and young adult years I spent struggling with accepting the label of leader, or teacher, or even mediator. I imagine two possible reasons why standing in this light is such a challenge. Part of the reason could come from societies dictation that minimizing one's greatness is a desirable sign of humility, especially for women. A more introspective response would say that I was/am simply afraid to accept that I have been gifted with the ability to lead, guide, and nurture others for fear of being misunderstood and rejected. In the past 4 years, I have grown to accept and appreciate my innate ability to relate to and lead diverse groups of individuals in various capacities. When fate and timing...
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...Jacob Smith October 14th, 2013 English 111.140 Pigs in Jerseys? The two essays “The Roar of the Crowd” by David P. Barash and “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou are vastly different in their opinion of the importance of sports, and the how that it effects the world around us. These essays depict the emotional power that sports have on people. While reading the essay “The Roar of the Crowd” you cannot help but picture an avid sports fan throwing down the essay with bitter disgust, because the arguments that it presents. Comparing sports fans that “root, root, root” for their favorite team to that of the activity of “pigs in the mud”. Even if you are an extreme sports lover and paint your face and pay top dollar just to be a few more inches closer from your favorite team of player, you cannot help but to read this article and understand where Barash is getting these opinions. Such as when Barash points out that we get a sense of identity when we throw on the home team’s jersey and join the sports frenzy. He also disuses the way that children are exceptionally prone to the delusion of latching on to idol like that of a star athlete and pouring there entire life into a person that can hit or throw a ball freakishly good rather than that of a brilliant mind like Einstein(Barash 363). Barash’s Main argument is that we have completely engulfed ourselves into these sports, played between a bunch of “spoiled millionaire players” (Barash 362). While forgetting things that...
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...Maya Angelou's Early Life Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Maya and her brother, Bailey, moved to live with their grandmother after the divorce of their parents. The move to Stamps, Arkansas forced Maya to encounter much racism. Despite prevalent racism in town, Maya's grandmother always made sure to teach Maya and her brother strong values. At the age of eight, Maya's mother, Vivian, took the children back to live with her in St. Louis. Shortly after the move, Maya was raped by her mother's live-in boyfriend. This traumatic event caused Maya to become mute for a period of time afterward and withdraw from family and friends. It also created a major rift between Maya and Vivian. At thirteen, Maya moved to San Francisco where she attended George Washington High School and received a scholarship to the California Labor School for dance and drama classes. Maya was one of the only black students in her school and found life in San Francisco intriguing and liberating. Maya's Young Adult Life She became pregnant with her son, Clyde, at age seventeen. Maya had just earned her high school diploma and her dreams of attending college were fleeting. Instead, she took various waitressing and cooking jobs and was even the madam of a brothel. Maya yearned for stardom in her young adult years, but her dancing career did not take off. Soon, Maya figured out that she needed to find a way...
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...“Still I Rise” An Inspiring Poem by Maya Angelou “Still I Rise”, a poem written by Maya Angleou in 1978, is a poem that demonstrates an inner strength of determination in accomplishing and overcoming obstacles in life. “Still I Rise”, and other poems created by Maya Angelou, may offer inspiring words of encouragement for many individuals who may be dealing with certain difficult situations in their life. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 in St. Louis Missouri. At a very young age she experienced a very traumatic experience that inspired her to become the person that she is today. During the time that her parents decided to end their marriage, she went to reside with her mother. While residing with her mother, she was sexually assaulted and raped by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya Angelou was scared, hurt, and humiliated. Not knowing where else to turn, she informed her brother of the incident. Upon hearing this, he decided it was best to inform their family. Her mother’s boyfriend was sent to jail; however, he was killed shortly after his release. When Maya Angelou found out about the death of her mother’s boyfriend, she became withdrawn and stopped speaking or talking for several years. She began to blame herself for what had happened to her mother’s boyfriend, because she felt that due to her telling what happened resulted in his death. As time passed, Maya Angelou went to reside with her grandmother. She was embraced by a close family friend who encouraged her to talk...
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...comparing two different essays, I read through the list before deciding on Sister Flowers by Maya Angelou and I Want a Wife by Judy Brady. I found both essays to be well-written and each touched me on an emotional level. However, I found the essay Sister Flowers to be the better essay because of the descriptive nature and that it has a deeper meaning by showing how the kindness of one person can make one feel liked and respected, while the essay I Want a Wife was written more for entertainment by showing how little men do and how much women take care of. The essay Sister Flowers is about a little girl named Marguerite who, in the beginning of the essay, compared herself to “an old biscuit, dirty and inedible” (Angelou, M.) until she met Mrs. Bertha Flowers. Marguerite looked up to Mrs. Flowers whom she referred to as graceful, and one of the few gentlewomen she had known. Marguerite states “She was our side’s answer to the richest white woman in town” (Angelou, M.). Marguerite’s reverence of Mrs. Flowers made her ashamed of how uneducated her grandmother appeared. One day Mrs. Flowers invited Marguerite into her house so she could have a talk with her. The fact that she cared enough to invite Marguerite into her house, make cookies for her, and then give her a book to read made Marguerite feel liked and respected. This kindness had a profound affect on Marguerite. The detail Maya Angelou went into in this essay made me feel like I was there watching it all happen. The essay I Want...
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...Whenever we look at a playground, we supposed to see some children play happily with their peers and some are not. Have you ever wonder what make their behavior are so different? Life span development studies of how people grow and change during all phase of their lives. In the book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings written by Maya Angelou proves that development is multidimensional including biological, cognitive and socioemotional. Maya is three years old and her brother, Bailey, is four experienced broken family and were sent to Stamps, Arkansas with pieces of paper attached on their bodies “to whom may it concern”. They live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, whom soon they called Momma. Maya and Bailey who was born and grew up were abandoned without the love, care and nourishment in a good environment with their biological parents have had many struggles to face during childhood to early adolescence and affect their entire life. As the beginning of the book, Maya was unable to finish her poem “What are you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay…” According to Erikson, Maya must be in initiative versus guilt stage because Maya feels that she is awkward and ugly with kinky hair and dark skin. She dreams to be a beautiful white child with the straight blonde hair and blue eyes, not because she didn’t like herself, but because was taught not to like her Blackness. The social norms with stenotype expectation influences Maya’s development and personality when...
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...Still I Rise" and then watching her read it. Maya Angelou was born April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou was raised in St. louis, MO and also Stamps Arkansas where she had to exsperience racial discrimination that was common during this time. Maya Angelou is one of the most influential voices of our times. She is a global renaissance woman. When I read Maya Angelou's poem it touched me in a very deep way. As I read the poem the meaning that I got from it was that she was speaking of a woman that had to exspreience hard time and was maybe put through some difficult situations. However through it all she did not let it hold her back or cause her to be a negative and bitter person. Maya Angelou's words are very inspirational. I also watched Maya Angelou read the poeam "And I Still Rise". Listening to her read it really changed it a lot it seemed as if the poem was much more deep and meaningful. The words and still I rise was much more powerful when I listened to her read the poem. I believe that people enjoyed reading and listening to Maya Angelou because she spoke so deeply and knowledable. She was a very smart woman who's poems reached all audiences. Her poems are very clear in words which meant they are easyly understood. Maya Angelou exprenced a lot as a child and young adult she had to deal with the rasicism the followed during her early years and even being raped by her mothers boyfriend. I believe that Maya Angelou wrote her poems from the heart and she meant every...
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...given the nickname “Maya” by her brother. They moved back to Chicago in 1935 to live with their mother. And was raped at age seven by her mother’s boyfriend. She was very traumatized about this and did not want to talk about it. Her uncle found out and killed the man . Due to this incident Maya was withdrawn from society and remained silent. In 1944 she dropped out of high school and worked as the first Black cable conductor in San Francisco. Maya decided to go back to school and graduated from Mission High school becomes a single mom, with birth of her son Guy at the age of sixteen. In order to have money to support her son and herself she performs at the Purple Onion nightclub in San Francisco and adopts the name Maya Angelou when she married Tosh Angelos. Maya started to read work by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar were her inspirations to write. Her lyrics, which turned into poetry and short stories and her singing career succeeds to Brooklyn, New York, to join the Harlem Writers Guild. In 1960 Maya Becomes the Northeaster Regional Coordinator for Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She Appeared in a Broadway play, "The Blacks“. She directs and performs in "Cabaret for Freedom", which she writes with comedian Godfrey Cambridge. In 1961 Maya moves to Africa with Guy and Make. And becomes an associate editor for an Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt. Not only did she become and associate editor she also served as an assistant...
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...Throughout "I know why the caged bird sings", Maya Angelou portrays her experiences with adversity, as well as the experiences of many others, how she copes with them and how she rises above them. Maya exposes the reality of adversity in all its forms and by the end of the novel we are able to learn what overcoming adversity truly means. One of the social issues seen is that Maya is not getting the attention she needs from her caregivers. The author uses literary devices to explore the issue when she says "she was like a pretty kite that floated just above my head. If I liked I could pull her to me by saying I had to go to the toilet or by starting a fight with Bailey." This simile helps to show that Maya's mother takes care of her basic needs but fails to give her the actual care and attention a child needs. The issue contributes to the text as a whole by demonstrating how Maya might act in certain situations. An example of this is when she liked the attention she was getting from Mr. Freeman at first, although she knew it wasn't right. Overcoming this adversity helped Maya to grow as a person and become more independent. As Maya goes through life she often encounters racism such as when she gets a toothache and Momma takes her to the white dentist. During this time we are able to see discrimination against blacks come to life in front of Maya. The quote "Annie, my policy is that I'd rather stick my hand in a dog's mouth than in a nigger's." is used to portray the discrimination...
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...Which Essay is Better: A Narrative or A Descriptive? Ever read a story and say to yourself, “What’s happening?” Whenever I read a descriptive essay, that’s what I would say. In this essay I would be comparing and contrasting two types of essays, a narrative and descriptive. I have chosen “Are the rich happy?” by Stephen Leacock 1916 and “Sister Flowers” by Maya Angelou, n.d. By writing my essay, I want to give my views on each and decide which I would rather write. Narrative Essay A narrative essay reflects a personal opinion that is based on your own experiences. This helps you bring a reader into your very own mind and shows him/her the topic you’re writing about through your eyes. Telling a story or event the way it happened for you. It also could provide a sort of lesson or moral to be learned from the outcome of the story as well as what the writer did that contributed to it or not. It’s more on a personal level that any one reading could say that happened to them or that they learned from the story by not doing whatever it was that the writer did. In Stephen Leacock’s “Are the Rich Happy?” the author writes about his experiences with his friends, with of modest income. Most of it, all in his opinion, points out the problems or troubles those with an existential amount of funds in their bank accounts. He goes on to give some examples that he encountered several of his friends going through. “A friend of mine who has ten thousand dollars a year told me the other...
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...Sieanna Fulmore Professor Biddle ENG 102 07 February 2014 Essay 1: Diversity Diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all. Maya's writings have a way of embracing people and successfully state her thoughts and emotions. "Pulse" is a call for hope and opportunity part of our history. Maya Angelou's poem ' On the Pulse of Morning' relates to diversity, change over time, and equality. When analyzing her poem, we came across stanzas that relate to these topics. Her poem has successfully portrayed a sense of diversity. Many lines in different stanzas are related to diversity. Stanza four and five, states, "The singing River, and the wise Rock. So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew, the African, the Native American, the Sioux, the Catholic, the Muslim, the French , the Greek, the Irish, the Rabbi, the Sheik, the Gay, the Straight, the Preacher, the privileged, the Homeless, the Teacher. They hear. They all hear the speaking of the tree." They are united by nature, but different due to their culture. In stanza six a lot about diversity has been acknowledged. The people who once helped Maya, do not anymore. It also says that we arrived from the Indians. In the course of history, elements of society have changed. Examples through Maya's work are, "The dinosaur, who left dried tokens of their sojourn here... Is lost...
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...Maya Angelou. The world was in for a change that day. Marguerite Annie Johnson was her real name. It wasn’t till Maya Angelou's early twenties when she received her name that we would all know today. Maya Angelou was a master of all trades, Maya went on to become an acclaimed American Poet, autobiographer, storyteller, and activist. Maya Angelou was best known as a poet and an award-winning author. In 1931 Maya Angelou and her brother has been sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps in Arkansas. At this time Stamps was a racially divided and Maya had now experienced what being a black girl in this racist society. As one could imagine her grandmother did her best to instill values and morals among their home. When Maya Angelou was eight years old she was living with her mother in Saint Louis. Tragically Maya was raped which then lead Maya to become mute for close to five years. Maya Angelou was sent back to Stampa because no one could handle the state that Maya was in. While living back in Stamps Maya life was going to change for the better. Mrs. Flowers was a woman that rescued Maya from who she thought she was. Maya confidence was regained and she was once more thriving. Maya at this time lived behind the back of the Johnson Grocery store with her brother and Uncle Willie. At this time Johnson Grocery Store would sell to both whites and blacks. In the home Mrs Annie had taught the Christian principals, respect, love and courage. Mrs Annie had a hand in Maya Angelou believing...
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...K. Weir English 1020 Prof. T. M. November 24, 2009 Still I rise: Against all Odds Maya Angelou is an accomplished African-American author, poet, historian, and civil rights activist in the United States. Growing up in the South, she continues to face greater challenges for both being black and a woman. Most of her literary works, if not all, provide not only messages of oppression, and moments of unhappiness, but have a rich context of triumphs, resilience and hope. Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise” can be viewed from both cultural and historical perspectives. As a source of inspiration, the poem shows African Americans and women that the human spirit can transcend difficulties. In her poem, “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou includes sturdy themes of racial oppression, personal value, cultural pride, and fervent optimism To observation of racial oppression as a theme in Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” can be view from a historical perspective base on diction used through out the poem. DiYanni states, “The older form of historical criticism, still in use today, insists that a literary work be read with a sense of the time and place of its creation….Understanding the social conditions and the intellectual currents of that time and the world illuminate literary works for later generations of readers” (2166). It is not a secret that racial oppression against African Americans originates from slavery. The residue of racial oppression is not just about physical bondage, but also mental...
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...Maya Angelou “ Still I Rise” The Poem “ Still I Rise “ Immediately drew me in with its powerful words. For example in the first stanza it reflects the concept of slavery seen with the words “ You may write me down in history” “(The Academy of American Poets, Inc.)” .The poem offers a mixture of tones however in the end its tone is mainly victorious. This poem is not only addressed to one person it is addressed to all the public it is extremely political and somewhat controversial. This made me want to analyze the different meanings the poem may have hidden within. The poem was written by Maya Angelou in 1978. This was Angelous most famous point of her career. She had just published three autobiographies and published two other volumes of poetry. “ Still I Rise” is part of “ And I still I Rise” a volume of poetry made up of thirty-two short poems. This volume also included one of her most famous poems “ Phenomenal Woman”. The thirty-two short poems carry a similar theme throughout the volume. Maya Angelou focused a lot on her race, strength and resiliency. Maya Angelou was born on April fourth 1928 in St. Louis Missouri United States of America. She was born Marguerite Ann Johnson. Her father Bailey Johnson was a doorman and a naval dietician and her mother Vivian Baxter Johnson worked variously as a card dealer, boarding house proprietor and registered nurse. Maya Angelou and her family moved to Long Beach, California, however after he parents were divorced, her and...
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...Poetry Analysis of “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes Two stunning poems; “Caged Bird” and “I, Too” are shown through imagery, figurative language, and more. “Caged Bird” is about a lonely bird that is caged up, wondering what it would be like to be free. Maya Angelou explains throughout her poem what the bird is feeling and seeing through his bars. In the poem; “I, Too”, Langston Hughes lets you imagine his poem about a black boy feeling very lonely, and wondering why he is being treated differently. In these two poems, the bird should be free and flying, but instead is being kept in a cage, while the other birds are free and they “dare to claim(s) the sky.” The black boy wants people to know he is not any different, he is beautiful too. Both poems have a way of expressing one main theme. “Caged Bird” and “I,Too” have Imagery, which is a big way that you can see the theme throughout these poems using your senses. In “Caged Bird” you can almost...
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