Annotated Bibliography: Maya Angelou

The human body has 640 muscles and the strength of these muscles vary from person to person. The strongest muscle found in each body, whether scrawny or burly, is the tongue. The tongue can unite, uplift, restore, and encourage. The power of the tongue can also cause bitterness, strife, and envy. This small muscle, located in the mouth, impacts large spheres in the world, such as jobs, politics, and relationships. In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation Day”, she narrates her graduation and the events that surround the day. Angelou portrays the power of words throughout her narrative and how they impact her thoughts. Because words, whether careless or thoughtful, persuade, they can enrich or belittle the human spirit.

had her feeling many different emotions leading to her big day. “I had taken to smiling more

In Maya Angelou’s chapter Mrs. Flowers, Marguerite Johnson, finds how to become successful in a segregated America. What Mrs. Flowers does is teaches Marguerite how to avoid racist people, that usually meant staying home. Mrs Flowers made her memorize many works of literature such as poems. “Take this book of poems and memorize one for me. Next time you pay me a visit I want you to recite it.” This story connects directly back to Maya Angelou’s life. She was always memorizing writing as a child. It was because of that she thrived in so many different occupations and won two grammys. Maya Angelou is showing that even when you are put in the worst of circumstances it is possible to succeed.

By alluding to how the white kids would become “Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gaugins,” rather than just saying that the white kids would become legends, Angelou shares her knowledge and proves how she is just as worthy as becoming someone great. While singing the songs of pride to the Negros, Margaret realizes that she is proud of who she is and realizes that she should not throw away the efforts of “Black, known and unknown poets” whose “auctioned pains sustained [them]”. By stating that Blacks had sacrificed their lives for her happiness, she is maturing because she is grateful for what has been done for her to be able to succeed regardless of any obstacles. The little Margaret has changed and has become a matured, angelic poet who is proud to be able to graduate into the Negro

In Maya’s life she wrote seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and many books of poetry. The storyteller style writing paired with description and emotion, created an something right here about her books and shit. She earned the Chubb Fellowship Award, Pulitzer Prize Nomination, Ladies ' Home Journal Award, Golden Eagle Award, Afro-American in the Arts, Fulbright Program 40th Anniversary Distinguished Lecturer award, Langston Hughes Medal, Grammy for "Best Spoken Word Album", Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Association National Award, Mother Teresa Award, and was the First recipient of Hope for Peace and Justice Voice of Peace

Maya Angelou philosophy and teachings are timeless. There is a lesson to be learned in her more than 30 published works and her lessons taught as a professor and lecturer. More important she lived what she preached. She had a strong belief in humanity as a whole, in the human spirit and in the African American community. She fought tirelessly to change extinguish racism, prejudice and discrimination during a time when she herself as a black woman experienced its effects. The hardships that she faced during her lifetime and eventually overcame were done with a positive grace which became an inspiration to people around the world. Through her written words and inspirational speeches she was able to lead people in a positive directions . She moved forward as a beacon that showed love and wisdom. Angelou wanted to teach her audience truth about the hardships in life but also show them that there was great value in seeing the joy that life can bring and that there is a need to appreciate those who surround

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, lived through an unstable early life. She was born in St. Louis, Arkansas, but moved away to Stamps, Arkansas at age three due to her parents’ divorce. There, Angelou lived with her brother, Bailey, and her paternal grandmother (Galenet - Self and a Song of Freedom in the Southern Tradition). As discussed in her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, seven-year old Maya was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The man was consequently murdered by her uncles, and Maya, feeling responsible for his death, ceased talking and remained speechless for five years. It was during this time of silence that Angelou established her love of literature (Online - Poetry Foundation). The horribly unfortunate events in

What was it like living in the world of an African American woman in the 1940s? An excerpt from the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings titled “Occupation: Conductorette” is an autobiography by Maya Angelou. Maya shares her story of how she was discriminated against throughout her life, specifically her teenage years. By examining the autobiography and explanations, the reader will understand how minorities, specifically African Americans, were treated and discriminated against in the 1940s and 50s. Discrimination has always been illustrated in our nation; Maya Angelou experiences this throughout her life and in the workforce.

In “Graduation” by Maya Angelou, it shows Angelou’s experiences as a black student in the 1940s. In “The Problem We All Live With” by This American Life, Mah’Ria Pruitt-Martin’s experiences as a black during the 2000s was very similar to Angelou’s experiences. Angelou went to Lafayette Country Training School, which was the black school. Pruitt-Martin went to Normandy, which was the worst district in the area. She was trying to transfer to a better school. Both Maya Angelou and Mah’Ria Pruitt-Martin had bad high school experiences because their schools had little resources for education and people didn’t

Angelou’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and her achievements as an activist were remarkable. While these achievements seem to be enough to last a lifetime, the Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning for Angelou. Angelou worked as an outspoken Civil Rights activist during the movement. But even after the Civil Rights Movement had ended, she continued to be a voice of humanity, speaking out against anything that harmed the human spirit. Angelou moved on to influence American society as a whole, from the 1970’s to the day she died, May 28, 2014. She was a multi-talented person as Toni Morrison, a friend and contemporary of Angelou, expressed: “She had 19 talents and used 10. And she was a real original.” (qtd, in Sherwell, 2014).

Her life was not an easy one but she overcame adversity and created some of the most beautiful pieces of literature, as well as poetry, of the 20th century. Her works prove that you may come from a horrible background but you are able to become someone worth something in the eyes of society. Maya Angelou wanted equality for all and therefor fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Right Movement of the 60’s. Mr. King dies on her birthday and she was devastated… in an interview she stated that his sense of fairplay as well as his eye for what justice should have been is something he instilled in her.

The German philosopher Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill us, make us stronger”, and in many instances this is exactly the case. In most every instance of tragedy or hardship, the people affected must either yield to or rise above their situation, and in rising above, develop or display extraordinary and exemplary traits uniquely fitted to dealing with that situation. As a result, without adversity, these talents would be left unused. There are instances in which people crack under the pressure or sink to the expectations of their situation, but, depending on the character of the person involved, they may take the situation and use it to better themselves. It is a unique opportunity to utilize or develop traits that often remain

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970. Print.

Maya Angelou was a very well-known writer as well as a Civil rights activist. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4th, 1928. She always showed a love for writing, most well-known for her work I know why the caged bird sings, she also wrote many essays that put her on the map in the literature community. Throughout her career as a writer, she received many awards including a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize alongside two NAACP Image Awards. She even was asked to recite one of her poems at Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. Angelou faced much prejudice and discrimination firsthand throughout her life. Through these experiences as well as others, Maya Angelou was able to make personal connections

Angelou is most remembered for her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first autobiographical work which was significant in the history of literary world and gained