Maya Angelou And Still I Rise

In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, Maya Angelou uses her personal experiences growing up as an African American female to present her primary claim that even in trying times there is something to be grateful for. Angelou’s secondary claims are mainly comprised of stories from her upbringing as well as the description of her grandmother’s attitude even though they are living through times of extreme poverty. In Each of the stories she speaks of one circumstance that seems completely unbearable but yet ends with some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. This structure can also be seen in her description of her grandmother’s outlook on life. By formatting her essay in this way, Angelou is able to develop pathos as well as ethos with the audience.

In an excerpt from her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings called “Graduation,” Maya Angelou narrates the anticipation surrounding graduation in her small town of Stamps, Alabama. Angelou effectively contrives noteworthy differences between paragraphs 1 through 5 and 6 through 10 through the use of emotional and descriptive diction, powerfully bold comparisons, and a shift in perspective in order to instill pride and dignity in Angelou and her race despite the era’s highlighted social injustices which she endures.

Maya Angelou employs similes to demonstrate how she will not hurt because of others’ opinions about her. In the first stanza, she says, “You may trod me in the very dirt, / But still, like dust, I'll rise” to make her oppressors know she is confident with herself (3-4). Angelou utilizes a simile to compare herself to dirt and then dust, the dirt represents how her oppressors include her in the lowest class,which has no power, while the dust symbolizes her potential. With this comparison, Angelou makes the reader know she is a strong person and cannot be put down easily, she does not care what others think about her. Maya also mentions, “Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines/Diggin’ in my own backyard”(19). This simile compares her laugh to gold mines. Gold mines usually represent being rich or having a lot of money, so here Angelou says she doesn't need to be rich to be happy because of what she has is enough.

Maya Angelo was an African American novelists she was born in St. Louis Missouri April, 4, 1928. She passed on May.28.2014 by natural causes it was a tragedy to everybody who loved her. She also was an actor, and a civil Rights activist.

“You may write me down in history/ With your bitter, twisted lies,/ You may trod me in the very dirt/ But still, like dust, I’ll rise.” (“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou) Life is like a dark tunnel. You may not see the end, but if you push forward, you can see the light.

She compares herself to a "black ocean, leaping and wide," an indication of the infinite power of her resilience. She closes the poem claiming that she is the "dream and the hope of the slave" followed by the thrice repeated phrase, "I rise." “Angelou captures the both the repression and the progress of the African American people over the course of history.” (Bouchard 1) I will use this essay in my final paper to analyze and determine the importance of simile in this poem and how it deeply affects the way in which the poem is meant to be

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou is a poem of objection and satisfaction in which Maya states that she will raise regardless of any situation. In her poem, “Angelou also incorporates anaphora, similes and metaphors throughout the poem to illustrate the resilience of the speaker regardless of what befalls her” (Bouchard: “Literary Contexts in Poetry”). Using these methods, the reader is able to visualize the hardships the poet went through. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou offers ambition and inspiration even in the midst of adversity; it is possible to overcome any situation as long as they find inner strength.

Angelou compares herself to a black ocean, and proceeded to take in all the pain and shame of her people. “Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise.” (37-38) with this line we know that its not all dark in her world, she is able to transform her darkest days into bright beautiful ones. “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (39-40) by this she means that she still has the legacy of her ancestors and the hopes they had to finding a better life when they arrived in America as slaves. She will continue their legacy and try to accomplish everything they weren’t able to at that time, she will no longer let the white man be an

Foul words are used to expressed people’s emotions toward another person all the time. In “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou the speaker remains assertive even when awful words are thrown her way every day.The theme of not letting people knock you down in Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” is expressed through repetition, similes, and diction.

Each poem has a dominant figurative language that the reader may pick up as they read the literatures. According to Clark, authors frequently develop mental pictures through the use of symbolism (Clark). In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” for example, one can automatically perceive that Angelou utilized symbolism. Other than the birds representing the human race, both the sky and the fat worms symbolize the endless opportunities freedom can bring. The “bars of rage”, clipped wings, and tied feet, however, are all restraints of what keeps the second bird from discovering what the world has to offer. Just as we cry out for help or attention when we feel trapped, the caged bird sings so that others can hear it, far and wide. Moreover, in “Still I Rise,” she mainly included similes and metaphors in almost every stanza. “I am a black ocean,” says Angelou. Throughout the whole poem, this is her most influential line and it happens to be her thesis statement. An ocean is commonly acknowledged for its immensity and powerful waves. In this metaphor, she is referring to her own strong and sassy personality. This sets the tone for the whole poem, which enables the reader to sense the strength of Angelou’s persistent character. Lastly, when reading “Phenomenal Woman”, she employs hyperbole when she describes how men react to her presence. Her inner-beauty either makes the men stand or fall down on their knees and it causes them to swarm around her like a “hive of honeybees.” This emphasizes how much her “inner mystery” attracts those around her. Her “inner mystery” is another example of a hyperbole, because of the fact that men and women wonder what makes her so alluring. No one can seem to figure out that her physical attributes have nothing to do with it. Angelou’s secret is simple: Her inner mystery is her inner beauty. No one can comprehend this, even when she’s attempted to explain because it

Discrimination of people with different religions and races is a theme that is explored throughout many texts like the ‘Still I Rise’ Poetry from Maya Angelou, ‘The Dollhouse’ short story by Katherine Mansfield, The movie ‘Gran Torino’ directed by Clint Eastwood, and the Documentary film ‘Born into Brothels’ by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman.

In the poem “Still I Rise” by Mary Angelou, the author is talking about the speaker keeping their head high and staying positive through anything bad in your life. The title first sounded like someone or something rising or coming back. The author said this in the poem “You may remember me forever with your lies. You may try to bring my confidence down, but it doesn’t hurt me. Does my personality upset you? Why are you so negative, is it because I’m so happy? No matter how hard you try, you won’t hurt me. Do you want to hurt me? Watch me suffer, See me broken into pieces. Does my attitude offend you? Don’t take it to heart. I laugh like nothing has ever hurt me before. You may talk about me, you may give me dirty looks, you may

Published in 1978, ‘Still I Rise’ is a poem written by Maya Angelou, a strong and proud African American poet that had released her poems, autobiographies and screenplays as early as the 1950’s. This poem is about the discrimination and stereotyping of races, more specifically the African American race. Overall, I believe Maya Angelou is saying that no matter how much her and her race are discriminated against, she will always stand strong. Maya Angelou has used a lot of “I” sentences, which means she is the speaker, this is affecting herself personally. I think that it is important to know that times have changed, that we need end racism, because it is only bring more hate into people’s lives.

“The Story of an Hour” is a very symbolic story. It starts out by telling of the

Angelou uses repetition numerous times throughout the text to show the readers the importance of her message and that it shall remain present. The first stanza starts the ball rolling magnificently, Angelou uses the title to end it which, shows great significance, “You may write me down in history/ With your bitter, twisted lies/ You may tread me in the very dirt/ But still, like dust, I'll rise. ”(Angelou 1-4).