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Graduation By Maya Angelou Summary

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In Maya Angelou’s story you may think a simple graduation, but to the narrator and her community, it means so much more than that. This graduation shows two different sides of the black race that was correct for this time period it was written in. This graduation teaches Marguerite the importance of not letting someone crush your dreams because of their own flawed thoughts and ideas. Keep pressing forward in all that is right and never give up hope.
For Marguerite and the community, this graduation was a great deal and accomplishment for their community and blacks as a race. The graduation is important because education was very precious to blacks at the time because they had been denied the right to learn in slavery times, and now that they were free they wanted the rights as a human being to be free and do as they wanted. They knew that with an education they could break down walls that were built against …show more content…

Donleavy finally leaves, Marguerite is shaken up a bit by his speech and is questioning everything. The only thing that changes her outlook is the Negro Anthem that seems to get everyone back in the mood and spirits flying high again. At first, she hated Henry Reed For getting up and even continuing his speech after what Donleavy had said, but once Henry started singing her attitude changed about everything and she was back to herself again. She saw that her race was as weak as she thought they were. She came to the understanding she could survive anything ad that she and her race could be on top with only the change of perspective. In conclusion, Maya Angelou wittingly pieced together a theme that perfectly serves as a representation of what blacks experience during this very controversial racial time. The way the narrator expresses her emotions before, during, and towards the end of the graduation work together beautifully to elaborate on the purpose of the story. Never let anything or anyone bring you down, and never give up what you believe

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Approaching the end of the book, chapter thirty-three is about Bailey leaving the house. Angelou notices that she and Bailey have both grown up since she left the house, but Bailey seems to have grown more than her. I could not relate to Angelou’s experience with watching her brother leave the house because my family life has been mostly uneventful. I did find it odd that Bailey thought it was his time to leave the house at sixteen years old. I am seventeen years old now and I would not dream of leaving the house to go out on my own in the world.

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The hardships that she faced during her lifetime and eventually overcame were done with a positive grace which became an inspiration to people around the world. Through her written words and inspirational speeches she was able to lead people in a positive directions . She moved forward as a beacon that showed love and wisdom. Angelou wanted to teach her audience truth about the hardships in life but also show them that there was great value in seeing the joy that life can bring and that there is a need to appreciate those who surround

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during this story it shows a young black lady that awaits with pride and anticipation her graduation day. once the day finally arrives, her dreams and expectations are shattered by the speech that Mr.Donleavy, a White, gave to the year of 1940. He was direct in causing the message of the graduate’s slim probabilities of getting a rigorous career that wasn't athletic . Maya Angelou declared that “It was brutal to be young and already trained to take a seat quietly and hear charges against my color with no likelihood of defense.” Donleavy gets the graduates to assume and have doubts.

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Many essays have different meanings, symbols, or lessons that one can take from reading them. Lessons are teachings in which you take on your everyday life that you've learned in the past or from experience. You can learn lessons like; don't judge a person because of where they come from, what they look like, or for who they are. While reading an essay, you can encounter a lesson you might take on in your everyday life. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a life lesson we've heard of once in our lives.

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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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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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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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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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912 Words | 4 Pages

In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” she spoke about a fictional character named Marguerite Johnson and her eighth-grade graduation. Marguerite was always kinda of lost and selfish at times, and never look at how others seen things. But as the story goes on Marguerite starts to find herself and understand others. “Graduation” isn’t just about how Marguerite pass on to the next grade but how she has grown from a lost girl to a young intelligence woman. In this story the reader is going to follower her on this surprising journey.

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664 Words | 3 Pages

In “Momma, the Dentist, and Me,” Maya Angelou describes Mommas’ struggle during racial segregation in a childhood memory and in a rare but glorious case is overcome. Angelou recalls when she and Momma, her grandmother, go to the dentist for a toothache severe enough that young Angelou contemplates death to feel relief from the excruciating pain. Angelou imagines her Momma’s actions in the dentist's office after being turned down heroically. Angelou demonstrates a small victory over racism with Momma’s actions as she stands valiantly against racial injustice. In order to strengthen her narrative, Angelou employs imagery, hyperbole, and tone effectively.

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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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1570 Words | 7 Pages

In the case of the books “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, it is obvious that, apart from entertainment, there is at least one more purpose of writing. Both Achebe 's and Angelou 's work, have in common the fact, that they have been written in order to relate information to the readers. “Things Fall Apart” serves the purpose of writing an alternative history and making the Igbo culture known, while “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” serves the purpose of raising awareness and educating its readers about the racial segregation in the United States, during the great depression, as well as providing them with the reason as to why Maya decided to become a writer. Angelou, however writes her story, not only for the sake of her readers, but also for herself, because it is a way of self-healing and relief.

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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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706 Words | 3 Pages

Showing Marguerite “ The measure of what a human being can be.”(20) Through Marguerite’s lessons of living taught by Mrs.Flowers. During the story of “ Mrs.Flowers” Marguerite was asked to help Mr.Flowers’ carry Mrs.Flowers goods too her house, when they got to Mrs.Flowers home she wanted to have a chat with Marguerite. While talking Mrs.Flowers says to Marguerite”She said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance, but understanding of illiteracy. ’(23)

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1945 Words | 8 Pages

Hailed as one of the immense voices of contemporary African American writing, Maya Angelou 's scholarly works have created basic and well known enthusiasm for part, since they portray her triumph over unimpressive social impediments, her battle, as a woman, to accomplish an identity and gain self-acknowledgment. Such themes tie Angelou 's writings closely to the concerns of the feminist literary movement. Dr Angelou has additionally been noted for her clear depictions of the strongest ladies throughout her life. Angelou’s one of the most inspiring poems Still I Rise will be one of the texts for analysis. The other three are as follows:

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