Maya Angelo Research Paper

Maya Angelo was a special woman. Maya was a woman with many characteristics. She was an American writer, poet, and civil rights activist, actress, and dancer. She is known for her acclaimed memoir.

Maya Angelou was an American poet and civil rights activist. She was born in April 4, 1928 and later died in May 28, 2014. The reason I chose Maya Angelou is because she was a great person that helped other people go through the hard times of life. She was born in St. Louis MO and died in Winston-Salem NC. She was mostly raised with Bailey her brother they both grew up most of their life together. She had also many problems in her life she was raped when she was only 8 by her boyfriends mother.

Maya Angelo was able to turn her personal pain into victory for herself and her generation. She started writing after a traumatic event in her youth; she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, the author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” details her coming of age experience. Maya faces the ever rampant oppression in the deep south which impacted her dearly in her childhood. She lives in the lower class and wasn’t given many opportunities to succeed. In the duration of this paper I will explain how Maya Angelou was effected by racial differences and her socioeconomic position and how she used them to mold her.

America tends to justify any leader that holds a leadership position. However, a leader should be defined by the characteristics they possess. Maya Angelou is the epitome of allowing her character to speak for her. Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Furthermore, she was sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with her grandmother, who was the owner of a general store.

In Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged Bird Sings Maya goes from being a very young and sporadic girl to a loving and nurturing mother. Throughout Maya’s life she goes through many trials and tribulations. By finding refuge and strength in her family she surpasses racism, rape, and displacement issues.

And in doing so, she produced writings, which in turn, helped others to become strong. Her experiences and the lessons learned gave her confidence to be a teacher, a preacher, and an inspiration to millions. Maya Angelou was courageous. Based on Angelou’s most prestigious autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, along with others, certainly reveals the occurring hardships and misfortunes of her life.

Maya Angelou is one of the most influential and talented African American writers of our modern day. Those who read Angelou‘s works should not pass the thought of where her influence came from. Maya Angelou’s work has been heavily affected by the era in which she began to write. The fifties and sixties were a tumultuous time for most African-Americans in the US. The civil-rights movement, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others, was instrumental in securing legislation, notably the Civil-Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Maya Angelou is a phenomenal woman. She rises through all things that come her way and she refuses to back down. Angelou chose at a very young age to be a writer and a role model for many people. She believes that everyone should be treated equally and that the world should come together as a unity. Angelou had many careers but is known mostly for her poetic creations. She has come a long way from where she started and I think anyone can agree with me when I say, she has made us all proud with her accomplishments. Angelou writes poetry to inform and encourage others to carry on through the worst of times. She is a strong, confident, inspirational woman and I am more than honored to be doing my senior paper on her.

A strong and influential memoirist is able to to grasp the reader’s attention and dive into topics bigger than themselves. Maya Angelou, the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, embodies what it takes to neither be a hero nor a victim as she recollects her past. Growing up, Maya Angelou not only suffered from white prejudice and female gender inequality, she was presented with a feeling of powerlessness.

Maya Angelou was born and raised in the state of Louis Missouri April 4, 1928 and died on May 28, 2014. She was known as a poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer. She had many careers throughout her life that included a singer, dancer, actress, composer and one of hollywood's first black director, but is also famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet. Maya's parents were divorced when she was three and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Arkansas. In Arkansas Maya had experienced the racial discrimination at a young age. When she was seven she visited her mom in Chicago and she was sexually molested by her mother’s boyfriend. Maya was embarrassed to tell anyone about it so she kept it a

She is one of the most Influential voices of our time. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. She was born in April 4th, 1982, in Missouri; Angelou was raised in Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. The work, which is considered as Maya’s autobiography was published on 1969. On her book, she values and focus on some issues like: traditional African American family, being independence, personal dignity, self definition, Identity, rape, racism and segregation which are the most important issues for her, community, and culture. As a teenager, Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. Maya and her brother Baileyr were sent to live with their grandmother Henderson who owned a general store, In Stamps, Arkansas after their parents divorce, she had very hard time since childhood until adulthood. She experienced the bad treatment racial discrimination. She was raped at the age of eight by her mother's boyfriend while on a visit to St. Louis, but she refused to speak for approximately five years, she became a mother at age of sixteen. Maya speaks in the first person as she recounts her childhood. She writes both from a child’s point of view and from her perspective as an adult. The book thus explores a wide range of timeless topics: child abuse, race relations and a lot of important general issues of adolescence such as awakening sexuality, tension between the children and their parents and friendship. Angelou basically tells us the story of her search for her place in the world. The book inspires me and provides a roll model for self-confidence, ambition and overcoming life’s

Maya Angelou is a strong, phenomenal woman. She was multi-talented and very successful. Over the years she earned many awards for her works. In Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, “Still I Rise", “Phenomenal Woman,” and “When I Think About Myself,” she uses a caged bird to symbolize herself as a child; she also creates a vivid theme for the reader and utilizes metaphors to make her point.

“If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat” (Angelou, 4). In the novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, the readers see a six-year old Southern Black girl who hopes to fit into society and to be a “long and blond” (Angelou, 2) haired, “light blue” (Angelou, 2) eyed, White girl, transform into a mature adult who is proud to be an African American. From a shy and insecure little girl, she transforms into a self-confident young woman who despite going through many struggles, triumphs. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, one sees Marguerite Johnson’s ability to mature and grow by dealing with the matters of prejudice, rape, and abandonment.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, racism was something new that came about and through time has affected a numerous amount of people in America. Not only has it impacted people’s lives, but it has created a stigma against other cultures. Maya Angelou the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings recounts what she went through in her life-time and how she overcame racism through the different surroundings she was exposed to, the use of polysyndetons, and the tone throughout the novel.