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Angelou Perseverance

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Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, poet, and award-winning author known for her 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, which was the first non-fiction bestseller by an African-American woman; concluding in leaving a great trace in the literary history. Behind Maya Angelou’s successful work, she used to have a difficult childhood; beginning from her parents splitting up, then experiencing racial prejudices when she and her brother moved to Arkansas to live with their father’s mother, to being raped at age seven by her mother’s boyfriend during a visit. As a result, for this sexual assault, Angelou’s uncles killed the boyfriend, since then, Angelou spent five years as a virtual mute. Under those circumstances, Angelou felt …show more content…

Maya Angelou compares herself to the dust; she rises like dust above the dirt that has been trampled on. Expressly, Angelou points out her determination with the use of the following quote: “ You may tread me in the very dirt / But still like dust, I’ll rise”. Angelou assures that she will rise despite any obstacles faced. Additionally, Angelou compares herself to daily occasions, like the sun and moon rising and setting every day. As Angelou mentions in her poem, “Just like moons and like sun / With the certainty of tides /...Still I’ll rise”. Angelou displays her readiness and perseverance for oncoming barriers; she refers to the tides as threatening …show more content…

Angelou compares herself to the raised dust above the dirt that has been stepped on by using simile; in which it explains Angelou’s determination in raising her value. Furthermore, Angelou explains her continuation in having faith and being persistent through comparing them with the continuation of the rising moon and the sun. Also, as previously mentioned, words and physical interpretations have the power to hurt others like weapons; Angelou proves this fact by using the literary device “hyperbole”. As, Angelou compares herself to the air that does not get affected and still rise. Finally, Angelou restates King’s well-known speech “I Have a Dream” using allusion; Angelou uses a powerful tone to motivate the slaves who represent the African-American people in achieving the dream through hope. Angelou acknowledges the obstacles and aware of the occurring injustice, but has faith in turning the dream a true living matter. Accordingly, Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” illustrates the meaning of real perseverance; having the strength and faith to overcome barriers. After all, Angelou through her poem questions the audience; in order for them to relate and engage in it. Through Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”, her audience is open-minded and aware of the world’s struggles, not to mention, the power changing into the better is between their

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740 Words | 3 Pages

III. a. Maya Angelou was an avid writer, speaker, activist and teacher. As a result of the many hardships that she suffered while growing up as a poor black woman in the south she has used her own experiences as the subject matter of her written work. In doing this she effectively shows how she was able to overcome her personal obstacles. Her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970) tells the story of her life and how she overcame and moved forward triumphantly in spite of her circumstances.

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1235 Words | 5 Pages

Maya Angelou has been an influential woman throughout her life; she left her mark in history and literature, and she celebrated the experience of being black in the US. The most breathtaking of all her achievements is the construction of her own personality. As she stated once, “my mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”. Remembering her, it is important to highlight her commitment with equality; it was a fight not only for her own life, for women and for Afro-American people, but also for peace and justice all over the world.

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802 Words | 4 Pages

On example of this critique can be seen in Maya’s meeting with Mrs. Bertha Flowers. Angelou presents the older black woman as a direct opposite of young Maya, stressing that Mrs. Flowers rules both her words and body. “She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her” (Angelou 77). Mrs. Flowers makes Maya proud to be black, and claims that she is more beautiful and “just as refined as whitefolks in movies and books” (Angelou 79). Although Maya begins to respect and admire the black female body, the white body still provide her standard for beauty, and Angelou pokes fun at the literary writing that whitens Maya’s view of Bertha Flowers and

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842 Words | 4 Pages

When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.

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324 Words | 2 Pages

The poem “Still I Rise” written by Maya Angelou and the story “The Scholarship Jacket” by Marta Saline, are two different kind of writing styles. One is a poem and the other is a story. Even though they might be two different kind of styles of writing, they still are somewhat similar. “Still I Rise” is a poem about conquering your goals in life and rising up to be the best you can possibly be. Mayas writing in this poem is very confident, in a way she almost sounds like she's bragging.

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1176 Words | 5 Pages

Her supporting claims are that Angelou’s writing is convoluted and nonsensical and that To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that efficiently accomplishes what educators are attempting to do with Angelou’s literature. The claims that she uses to support her main claim are claims of fact and value. It is made apparent that Prose finds Angelou’s writing convoluted and nonsensical when Prose writes, “If we want to use Angelou’s work to educate our kids, let’s invite them to parse her language, sentence by sentence; ask them precisely what it means and ask why one would bother obscuring ideas that could be expressed so much more simply and felicitously.” (Prose). This quote implies that American students could not easily analyze Angelou’s work and that her work could be written in less complex and confusing language.

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514 Words | 3 Pages

Maya Angelou was a strong African-American women who made an influential impact on the Civil Rights Movement, in bother her actions, and her literature. Her life experiences and courage helped others, and made her work influential. During Maya’s early life, she experienced many hardships that shaped her into the person many remember her as. Born on April 4, 1928, she only lived in St. Louis, MO for three years before her parents got divorced, and Maya, along with her mother and brother, moved in with her grandparents in Arkansas. At the age of eight, raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Maya learned the power that words possess.

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795 Words | 4 Pages

The frequent use of questions in Still I Rise illustrates how embracing heritage combats hate, creating an outspoken characterization for the speaker. The poem thoroughly discusses the struggles of black women in America. This is seen in her directly asking the reader questions like “Does my sassiness upset you?”(Angelou 5). The use of the word “sassiness” aligns with negative stereotypes that are commonly attributed to black women. The direct repetition of questions that Angelou uses towards hate reveals that though sassiness has been used against her, she is unapologetically proud; this reclaims the word from hate and oppression.

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628 Words | 3 Pages

The author uses personification which expresses the theme because it shows people saying mean things about the speaker, but they keep moving on. In the poem Angelou states, “You may shoot me with your words, / You may cut me with your eyes, / You may kill me with your hatefulness” (21-23). This literary device is used to show that the speaker will keep moving on no matter what people say about them and how it is relatable because sometimes you get that look from someone. Another device Maya Angelou uses is a simile because she shows that even though people are saying all this mean stuff the speaker is still happy and joyful. Maya Angelou states, “Like dust, I’ll rise” (4).

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476 Words | 2 Pages

Once again, Maya Angelou manages to touch our hearts again with her poetic skills in Chapter 19 titled The Champion of the World in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She recalls a time in her life where the African American community gathered at her grandmother's and uncle's store to hear a boxing match via radio. The boxing match was between the former champion Joe Louis and a white boxer. Maya Angelou takes the meaning of a simple boxing match into something more complex; she demonstrates the suffrage of her people fighting against oppression during that time period.

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1975 Words | 8 Pages

Maya Angelou worked as a professor at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1991 to 2014. As an African American women, one whose life was full of racial discrimination and gender inequality, she had plenty of experience and wisdom to share with her students. During her time working at the university, she taught a variety of humanities courses such as “World Poetry in Dramatic Performance,” “Race, Politics and Literature,” “African Culture and Impact on U.S.,” and “Race in the Southern Experience” (Wake Forest University,

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Who is Maya Angelou? Maya Angelou was primarily a very versatile and talented person. This woman of African American origin wrote and published seven autobiographies that were very popular and highly-evaluated in the US. However, she is well-known not only for being an author but also for being an actress, poet, dancer, and screenwriter. And of course we must not forget activism in the field of civil rights conducted by Maya.

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955 Words | 4 Pages

This explication is on the poem “Africa” by Maya Angelou. In the poem, the speaker shows the suffering of Africa by personification, imagery, and wordplay to result that Africa is moving forward to regain herself to give us all the world has done to Africa. The speaker is a knowledgeable person who is passionate and knows well about Africa. The poem takes the setting of Africa and in the time period around the 1400s - 1500s. The poem is an ABAB pattern with three stanzas.

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1362 Words | 6 Pages

Instead, she will be the dust that rises from the dirt. Furthermore, the bold words ‘I rise’ exaggerates that she is a defiant character that will not be put down. Additionally, her relentless view is that no one can overcome her situation. The line ‘I am the dream and the hope of the slave’ refers to past relatives and even though she is an educated person now, she has not forgotten her past. She echoes Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech on Civil Rights which conveys her as a self-assured character.

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1945 Words | 8 Pages

" She is accepting her psychical appearance and is putting it in a positive standpoint. This bold poem of Maya Angelou show great struggle

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