Maya Angelou Research Paper

Maya Angelou began her writing career thanks to a number of influential people in her life, her experiences growing up in segregated Southern society, and her career as a political activist and journalist Of the many people who inspired Maya Angelou to write, a number of individuals stand out. One of these individuals was Angelou’s childhood neighbor and mentor, Mrs. Flowers. Early on in her life, Angelou was the victim of sexual assault by her mother’s boyfriend. The event left her with significant feelings of guilt, and as a result, she refused to speak for several years. It wasn’t until she was introduced to Mrs. Flowers that Angelou regained the confidence needed to speak again. In addition to instilling confidence within Maya, Mrs. Flowers

At the time of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’ publication in 1969, the struggle that black women so regularly experienced was rarely discussed. It was for this reason that Angelou felt so strongly compelled to begin writing, with the intention of highlighting the racism that was so commonplace in the segregated Southern society she grew up in (Maya). In her hometown of Stamps, Arkansas, Angelou experienced many events that would shape her views on the world. One such event was the white dentist who refused to treat young Maya, even though the nearest black dentist was 30 miles away. Not only was she in unbearable pain because of the cavity, but she also had to watch her grandmother powerlessly give in to the dentist’s demands that they leave without treatment. This was one of the first events that showed Angelou how truly oppressed and maltreated she and other black citizens in Stamps were. Later, a similar occurrence at Angelou’s eighth grade graduation left her feeling equally hopeless and frustrated at her position as a young black woman in a segregated community. A teacher from the neighboring white high school spoke at length about the great professional accomplishments of former students from his school, as well as the athletic achievements of those from Maya’s. He insinuated that students from Angelou’s school should never hope to become anything more than basketball players, while the white students were capable of being anything they wanted. Black females weren’t even included in his idea of a successful black future, causing Angelou to feel as though it would be impossible for her to ever amount to anything (I Know). It was events like these that caused Angelou to later publish her autobiographical series, in order to combat the narrative that black people, and black women in particular, can’t be successful