Preview

Our Grandmothers By Maya Angelou

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Our Grandmothers By Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou – Analysis
Maya Angelou over all is a very inspirational writer. In her poetry, Angelou often focuses on the oppression of African American people. She describes the female African American experience with particular power in “Our Grandmothers,” which begins with a slave mother dreading the approaching sale of her children. Angelou also proudly celebrates the accomplishments of African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X.
Angelou’s childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, merges with the Southern slave experience of her African American ancestors in poems about Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia, and the Southern slave plantation. Frequently, Angelou uses the vocabulary and slang of African American English. She also broadens

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Angelou mainly speaks about her race and gender in many of her poems. The poems speak up about the strength the community has and that they will rise above all even if there are many things trying to push the individuals down. Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” not only affected Americans, it also affected other parts of the world. Nelson Mandela was moved by it enough that he read it aloud at his presidential inauguration. Angelou had created a movement amongst the black community similar to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” Maya Angelou describes her life as a young awkward black girl in the American South during the 1930s and subsequently in California during the 1940s. when Maya is only three her parents divorce and ship Maya and her older brother, Bailey, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in rural Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, who Maya and Bailey call Momma, runs the only store in the black section of Stamps and becomes the central moral figure in Maya’s childhood. It is actually interesting how much clout she has in the town for a black woman.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ''When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time'' says marguerite Annie Johnson also known as Maya Angelou. Known for her inspiring appearances as an author, screen writer, dancer, actress and of course a poet. There were many ways Maya was born in St. Louis Missouri in 1928. She experienced racial prejudices and discrimination after moving with her grandmother when her parents split. She experienced harsh events in her life that made her the strong woman she is that led her on till her death in 2014. The spirit in her work still lives on today by those who admire her work. Using her biography as a resource, Her parents split when Maya was just a very young girl. Not only did she get raped as a child by her mother's boyfriend, She also got pregnant at the early age of 16 in a short high school relationship that left her with a handsome boy named Guy Johnson. Maya's importance was based on her 1969 memoir ''I know why the caged birds sing.'' Maya's life experiences are revealed in her work continuously. Throughout her poems of ''Phenomenal woman'', ''Touched by an Angel'', and ''Harlem Hopscotch'' her poetic language is shaped by her experiences.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou was an author, actress, screenwriter, dancer and poet. But even with such a prosperous life, Angelou faced many conflicts in this book. One was getting pregnant at a very young age, and two, was being a black woman.…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than fifty honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. Her biggest most top selling book was called “ I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou’s life was a roller coaster. Through her upside down loops and her cork screws, she made a high living for herself. She achieved awarding accomplishments. Maya is not only one of the most famous poets in the world but, she was also a literature writer, a dancer, actress and a singer. She wrote children books and she was also one of the first African American women to have an original screenplay produced called Georgia. She won the National Book Award, A Pulitzer Prize and is listed as one of the one hundred most influential women in the world. She was also the first African American to have a nonfiction book on the best sellers list Maya was big into the civil rights movement. Maya got involved with helping Malcom X with his…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou was a Civil Rights activist. She worked closely with Malcolm X and served as the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959. She expressed her concern within the African-American communities all over the country. She worked hard to achieve equality for African-Americans. Other writers and spokespeople such as Oprah Winfrey, has written about her life and inspirations. Winfrey has often been influenced by Maya Angelou, as she expressed in her writings and on her famous network. Angelou has also influenced different artists from Tupac Shakur and Nicki Minaj to artist such as Kanye West. Many artists has taken Ms. Angelou’s poems and experts, and put them into their songs, movies, and television shows. Angelou has even featured on a rapper named Common, song about a journey to achieve the impossible. Many themes in most of Angelou’s books are universal themes of wisdom and all around love. Which is one reason people all around the world can enjoy and learn from her books. Maya is known to have inspired many women, black women in general. With her stories, she has been able to reach millions of people who have encountered her…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou, who was the first African-American to work in the San Francisco streetcars, accomplished many things in her life. This fact proves that Angelou was a woman who believed in doing what needs to be done in order to accomplish her goals. Angelou made an impact on the world by creating books for children that could relate to most of their situations, but most importantly she fought for African American rights in the early and middle 1900s.…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyday people experience racism in the world. Like the quote by poet and author Maya Angelou once said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. ” People need to change their way of thinking about others. People need to start understanding others feelings.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou is a poem that tells of the oppression shown to blacks and herself. At the beginning of the poem she talks about the oppression that…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This essay I read called Graduation told a story about a young Middle School African American girl named Maya Angelou, who was graduating and was moving on to High School back in 1940. She was from a small town in Arkansas and was extremely excited to be graduating. She had high hopes for the future and right before the graduation ceremony, she felt like she was the birthday girl, the center of attention. She had done well for herself throughout the school year with very good academic grades and no tardiness and no absence. Her mom was proud and couldn't wait to see her daughter graduate, her mom even made her a nice dress. They had a guest speaker at the graduation ceremony his name was Mr. Donleavy. His introduction speech to the graduates had put the black race down while he praised the white kids and said they were going to be doing much better. that speech by Mr. Donleavy had really upset her. It made her feel really low about being black. Right after the speech one of her classmates went up to speak, his name was Henry Reed. He was the valedictorian. He read a poem that gave her hope and brought her back up in good spirits. She once again felt good about the color of her skin. The graduating class was happy and was encouraged by Henry Reed's speech, they felt like the black race was on top again.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Maya Angelou Analysis

    • 2435 Words
    • 10 Pages

    A three year old Angelou and a four year old Bailey Jr. are sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson by their father, Bailey Sr. after Angelou’s parents "[decide] to put an end to their calamitous marriage."(Angelou 5) Angelou lives in Stamps during a time of segregation and the Great Depression. Unlike much of the rest of the African American community of the time, Angelou’s grandmother prospers financially because her general store sells basic commodities and “She [has] made wise investments.” (Lupton 4) Even though she is better off than other black people in her community, Angelou still detests the idea of being black. Angelou would go so far as to wish that she would wake up from her “black ugly dream” (2). Her feelings are likely due to the fact that, even though she is better off than other African Americans, white people still have it better than she does, and she is not able to be one of them, which possibly causes feelings of exclusion. Being excluded is painful because it threatens fundamental human needs, such as belonging and self-esteem. However, later in life during a PBS interview for “African American Lives 2”, when she recalled her time in the segregated town of Stamps, she instead felt that "In so many ways, segregation shaped [her.]” Angelou’s first time in…

    • 2435 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Maya Angelou

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Maya Angelou paved the way for many of today’s black poets. She is famous for her poems and series of autobiographies. Angelou has had an interesting life filled with many accomplishments.…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Angelou opens her biography with the dreams of a child, whishing she could be white in a white world. She writes, "Because I was really white and because a cruel fairy godmother, who was understandably jealous of my beauty had turned me into a too-big Negro girl, whit nappy black hair, broad feet and a space between her teeth that would hold a number two pencil" (Angelou 4-5). Throughout her youth, she faces a world of prejudice and racism. Instead of embracing her heritage, she wants to be white, because the whites are the people with power and money. The whites were also the people that controlled the blacks and Angelou finds out, often the hard way, as her life continues. One literary critic notes, "Angelou's account of her childhood and adolescence chronicles her frequent encounters with racism, sexism, and classism at the same time that she describes the people, events, and personal qualities that helped her to survive the devastating effects of her environment" (Megna-Wallace 2). While this book chronicles a lifetime of racism and prejudice, Angelou's eloquent use of the language almost softens the blow by making it lyrical and beautiful to read, but the underlying rage and distress at the differences between blacks and…

    • 2750 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Angelou’s unique probing of the interior self, her distinctive use of the humor and self-mockery, her linguistic sensibility, as well as her ability to balance the quest for human individuality with the general condition of Black Americans distinguish her as the master of the genre. While she breaks new ground by exposing issues such as rape and incest within the Black community, she also uses her maturing understanding of the family and community to project an individual’s attempt to forge and maintain a healthy sense of self within a group that is undergoing a cultural transition.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays