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Rhetorical Analysis Of Graduation By Maya Angelou

797 Words4 Pages

Graduation: Rhetorical Analysis Maya Angelou was a very well-known writer as well as a Civil rights activist. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. She always showed a love for writing, most well-known for her work I know why the caged bird sings, she also wrote many essays that put her on the map in the literature community. Throughout her career as a writer, she received many awards including a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize alongside two NAACP Image Awards. She even was asked to recite one of her poems at Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. Angelou faced much prejudice and discrimination firsthand throughout her life. Through these experiences as well as others, Maya Angelou was able to make personal connections …show more content…

Angelou uses the perspective of a guest speaker, Mr. Edward Donleavy, as one of her perspectives. Mr. Donleavy is speaking not only to the students but also to the parents and other visitors that are at the graduation. He speaks about the opportunities that the graduating class has and how accomplished they could one day be. One point he continues on about is the opportunities that the athletes of the particular graduating class has. The other perspective is of the graduating class’s actual valedictorian, Hennery Reed. Hennery talks somewhat about the same topics that Mr. Donleavy talks about such as the bright future the class has ahead of them and the confidence he has that they will be able to overcome any obstacle placed in front of …show more content…

While writing about graduation and the differences between the “Central School” and “Lafayette training school”, schools battling with the issue of segregation, people are already feeling sympathetic and vicarious towards not only the school but the kids themselves. During Donleavy’s speech, the changes that “the wonderful children of Stamps had in store” are brought up and explained however they do not effect the children of stamps as much as they would effect those of the central school. “The Central School (naturally the white school was central) had already been granted improvements that would be in use in the fall” (Angelou 82). The Central school had a new art teacher coming in to teach the kids art as well as the newest chemistry equipment in the labs. Not once did Donleavy actually say anything good about the Lafayette training school aside from their way of producing athletes. This can play either way using pathos. I can cause people to be upset about the injustice or it can allow the reader feel remorse for the

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