I Wonder Why

Assignment 1: 1. Marguerite Johnson: Marguerite changed her name to Maya Angelou. Maya is the main character and the story is told from her point of view as this is an autobiography. She is a very intelligent girl, though she often isolates herself and escapes into reading. Maya soon becomes an independent and wise woman. Bailey Johnson Jr. : Bailey is the older brother of Maya. He is older by a year. He is mature and intelligent like Maya. He tends to be protective and shows compassion

The words a person speaks depends on the individual’s character. Words create either a positive or negative atmosphere. Most people base their self-worth off of the opinions of others. A person’s word choice can influence another person’s future. When an individual hears discouraging comments about themselves, their confidence lowers, however, when a person hears uplifting and encouraging compliments, their confidence rises. These ideas appear multiple times throughout Maya Angelou’s, “Graduation

Being brave when you know you might fail might be considered winning in its own way. Is being brave standing up to that bully or is being brave as simple as talking to your crush? When you fail on something you have to rise above it and look on the brighter side. Is failure something to frown upon or is it something to rise against? Maybe failure is not getting a perfect score on a test or maybe it’s not winning that big game. Whatever your definition of failure is just remember that us as humans

marriages, each of which tells their own story and has their own obstacles. Throughout the book, the readers are able to see Janie’s transformation as a character and her female voice begins to be more prominent. In Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya encounters multiple experiences that portray the racist time period. She lives with her grandmother, Momma, and both the these women are greatly respected throughout the community. All these women overcome discrimination

feel important. Mrs. Flowers is able to bring back the old Maya and her out of her silence. All these characters help Maya throughout her childhood and influences her personality. Three essential issues confine Maya Angelou in her personal book I Know why the Caged

Hope Someone once said ¨ A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success¨ This quote is saying, one can not give up on the goals one sets, every little effort to push forward is on step closer to success. If oneś hard work fails, do not give up. Keep trying until perfection is reached. A concept that is commonly found in literature is hope. Often times the overall piece revolves around hope. Hope is something that makes one want to succeed

could argue that her audience is all the women in the world who are not small. She is also reaching out to women who have some of the same characteristics that she has because they are relatable. Men are also her audience as she goes on to explain why men find her attractive, this is also a device used to show the audience that many different cases of women can be viewed as attractive. A woman who loves herself is a woman who will attract a man of good substance. Maya Angelou was born on April 4

Names such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, E.B. DuBois, and Malcolm X are all brought to mind when discussing the struggles that African Americans have been involved in since the 1800s. All of these people were significant speakers who heavily influenced Americans of all skin colors. Maya Angelou is similar to those great black leaders in the way she influences others. Angelou’s contributions to American literature is superlative. She fought racism, segregation, and sexism without losing

create a hidden meaning of how every situation can have a similar outcome although it may be approached in various ways. In the poem Frost speaks of destruction and how it can be encountered differently yet still give the same effect in the end. “I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice” (Arp. 789). Frost speaks of fire and ice in his poem but in reality he is making a reference to desire and hate. Fire being desire. Ice being hate. He compares fire

painful hole in one's heart. Whether a person is a male or female, white or black, lives in the North or South, or young or old, displacement takes a toll on their character and personality. Maya Angelou creates a theme of displacement in her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's novel has been critiqued by many notable scholars for being a classic autobiography. The critics note the importance of the setting to show universal displacement and the use of characterization to display the influences