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Champion Of The World By Maya Angelou Analysis Essay

476 Words2 Pages

Once again, Maya Angelou manages to touch our hearts again with her poetic skills in Chapter 19 titled The Champion of the World in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She recalls a time in her life where the African American community gathered at her grandmother's and uncle's store to hear a boxing match via radio. The boxing match was between the former champion Joe Louis and a white boxer. Maya Angelou takes the meaning of a simple boxing match into something more complex; she demonstrates the suffrage of her people fighting against oppression during that time period. She shows us that despite the injustices that may occur, there will always be victory for those who truly deserve it.

Maya Angelou's perspective as a young African American girl is described in Chapter 19 of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, titled Champion of the World. Her community is gathered to support Joe Louis, the former champion, in a boxing match that determines if he'll continue being champion or not. As the story progresses in her grandmother's and uncle’s store, the tone transforms from hopeful to defeated, to triumphant. For example, the following quote, “It was another lynching, yet another black man …show more content…

Louis, The Brown Bomber, is a significant character in this chapter that symbolizes the black community defeating unjust cruelty. As racism kept spreading during this era, the little confidence the people hearing the fight had vanished once they were aware that the Brown Bomber was being defeated. The only thing that the black community could see during those times was pure hatred from people, and even God, according to Maya Angelou. Even at a young age, the author was well aware of the unjust events occurring around her. That boxing match was a way to prove to the world that despite all of the harmful things done, a person can overcome those obstacles by fighting back, even when the situation seems

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