Still I Rise And Mrs Turners Lawn Joack's

Alveda King once said, “Racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors, who sear their consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those lies. They cannot face the truth of human equality because it reveals the horror of the injustices they commit”. When people are racist, they do not know how it feels to be faced with discrimination, and it is simple for them to feel powerful. However, those who are encountering racism can feel powerless, but can always regain a sense of confidence. This is what happens in the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, and the short story “Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockey’s” by Emily Raboteau. In the poem, an African-American woman fights for her rights in order to fight back the hardships …show more content…
The poem, “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, is about an African-American female who faces adversity in the form of racial discrimination and fights for her own rights by standing up and rising above her oppressors. She says “You may shoot me with your words/ You may cut me with your eyes/ You may kill me with your hatefulness/ But still, like air, I’ll rise…I am the dream and hope of the slave” (21-24,40). This quote demonstrates how she lived in a time where she was discriminated. The words “shoot,” “cut,” and “kill” reflect a violent tone which reveals how her oppressors treats her harshly and she does not have the ability to live the way she wants to. These ideas all show how African-Americans faced a time where they could not choose how they wanted to live their life. The phrase “hope of the slave” connotes prosperity, thus suggesting that she stands up for herself of the harsh life she faces. This idea is important because it shows that she has confidence, and she does whatever it takes to not be discriminated against, no matter what her oppressors may say. Ultimately, Maya Angelou gains power by overcoming racism since she fights for herself no matter what the circumstance is, and this illustrates how anybody can fight for themselves if someone else is being racist toward them. To continue, there is a short story that includes a time where blacks were also discriminated. The short story, “Mrs. …show more content…
For example, the short story, “Autumn Rose,” by Kevin Kyung, is about a girl, (Autumn) Rose, who rebels against her father by secretly falling in love with a white college student named Steve. She notices Steve how he runs “his fingers through his fair fluff of blond hair” (1) and how his eyes are “so blue” (2). In fact, she observes the “Stanford sweatshirt he was wearing” (1). In Rose’s perspective, the words “blonde” and “blue” connote excitement, which portrays how she has a desire to be in love. Likewise, the word “Stanford” signifies that this diction displays wealth since Stanford is considered a top-rated college. All of these concepts suggest that Rose is attracted to Steve because he is wealthy, handsome, and a person out of her race. She unintentionally uses him as a way to assert control over her own life. By seeking attention from Steve, she acquires power by falling in love with him and it is a person that her father would be angry if he discovered the truth. Similarly, a man in another story also tries to attain attention from others. This story, “Tickits,” by Paul Milenski, is about a man named Toby Heckler who admires his shoes, hands out tickets to people for their misdeeds, and has a spelling disability. For instance, Toby “handed [a person a] wrapper and a slip, [and wrote] ‘PAPUR ON GARSS’” (1). In addition, he likes to keep “his sneakers spanking white” (1). Toby hands out these slips