In this essay I am going to write how Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka show prejudice. Maya Angelou, an African American and Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian man are both black poets. They want to portray their views and beliefs on color prejudice. Even though the poems were written in different decades they have many similarities in their theme and message. Telephone Conversation was written in the 1960s. People’s views, beliefs, and opinions were different then from the 1980s, when Still I Rise was written, and different again from now a days. People now will have different responses to both poems. The title of Telephone Conversation reveals the fact that two people are talking on the phone. The black man is …show more content…
On the other hand, Wole Soyinka uses alliteration to show how the lady reacted when she found out the man was black/African “Clinical, Crushing.” These two words were used to portray the coldness in the lady’s tone when she found out the man was African. One of the other ways Maya Angelou makes her poem stand out is when she makes parts of her poem like questions “Does my sassiness upset you? Do you want to see me broken? Does my haughtiness offend you? Does my sexiness offend you?” By questioning the readers (you), it catches the reader’s attention and the reason why this is so affective is because it makes the readers realize how some people made the person (I) feel or how many people might be feeling. This takes the readers to the next level by giving the readers more knowledge about the poem. Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka, the poet shows irony for example at the beginning of the poem, the African man says that he has to self-confess and reveals his skin color which is black. He has also no control over the fact that the man feels ashamed for his skin color is ironical and shows how bad racism can
The poem “Still I Rise” written by Maya Angelou and the story “The Scholarship Jacket” by Marta Saline, are two different kind of writing styles. One is a poem and the other is a story. Even though they might be two different kind of styles of writing, they still are somewhat similar. “Still I Rise” is a poem about conquering your goals in life and rising up to be the best you can possibly be. Mayas writing in this poem is very confident, in a way she almost sounds like she's bragging.
In the story Camp Harmony, by Monica Stone, irony is used by the author to convey a message. For example, the word itself means “agreement; accord; harmonious relations”, according to Dictionary.com. The author, however, describes how inharmonious the camp is, “What was I doing behind a fence, like a criminal?If there were accusations to be made, why hadn’t I been given a fair trial?” (Stone, 323). This quote shows how at the time, the author was so confused as to why she and her family was at the camp when they had done nothing to deserve imprisonment.
Have you ever been affected by race in your life? Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior is an outcome of racism. Racism is a big conflict in today’s society and effect many lives. In the two stories “Champion of the Word” by Maya Angelou and “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples , race was the big social view being discussed. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life.
Walker’s criticism of racial protest, identity, words, and form in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, he reminds the reader of Angelou’s motivation to write her autobiography. She “could not resist” Robert Loomis’s challenge of writing an autobiography “as literature” (Walker). Angelou’s approach to the work is something Walker feels deserves more focus than many “scholarly discussions” give it. As he put, Angelou “arranged and organized [episodes], often undermining the chronology of her childhood story and juxtaposing the events of one chapter with the events of preceding and following ones so that they too comment on each other.” These episodes in Angelou’s life contribute to the “progressive process of affirming identity, learning about words, and resisting racism” (Walker).
America is a symbol of freedom. The poems “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou both describe how America was rather unfair during their times. Langston Hughes was a key figure during the Harlem Renaissance and Maya Angelou did not become famous or recognized until her first autobiography. Even though “I, Too, Sing America” and “Still I Rise” have completely different tones, they both convey the message of how inequality was prevalent in America. Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou both talk about how in the future they will come back and be free.
In the novel Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech, Jack grows tremendously throughout the course of his school year. He grows tremendously through the extended teaching of Miss Stretchberry, and this teaching allows him to learn more and become a better poet. One way she helps him became a better poet is by teaching him about the use of alliteration in poems (14). This helps Jack expand his knowledge of all of the different literary devises you can use in a poem, which also gets him thinking more and about what all and how he could use this literary devise in his poems. The second way she helps him grow as a poet is by teaching him about onomatopoeias (19).
Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou were African Americans alive during the period in American history when minority groups were fighting hard for their rights and respect among the country. These two authors used their writing skill to shed light on how African Americans felt throughout this period of time, opening many people’s eyes to how the oppressed truly felt. The civil rights movement could have had an entirely different outcome if it weren’t outspoken individuals such as these two. In Hughes’s well known poem “I, Too,” Hughes talks about how the people that mistreat him will soon regret everything they’ve done and will realize the true potential of him and everyone like him.
Biographical Analysis of “Champion of the World” In “Champion of the World”, Maya Angelou tells a story of her childhood where the success of one man changed the future of her entire race. Maya Angelou, an African American woman, took a stand against racial segregation in form of her writing and words. She experienced many of the hardships that the people of her race were going through, and she knew it needed to stop.
Maya Angelou wrote the poem “Still, I rise.” These two poems both have their own meaning but are still similar in many ways. To begin, Hughes poem was about how African Americans were looked at as differently. The poem was about how blacks were segregated from whites. They were treated different and not looked at as human beings.
In the case of the books “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, it is obvious that, apart from entertainment, there is at least one more purpose of writing. Both Achebe 's and Angelou 's work, have in common the fact, that they have been written in order to relate information to the readers. “Things Fall Apart” serves the purpose of writing an alternative history and making the Igbo culture known, while “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” serves the purpose of raising awareness and educating its readers about the racial segregation in the United States, during the great depression, as well as providing them with the reason as to why Maya decided to become a writer. Angelou, however writes her story, not only for the sake of her readers, but also for herself, because it is a way of self-healing and relief.
Theodore Roethke and Rita Dove used simile and alliteration, from the quote that I used. In “My Papa’s waltz,” the author used “like” to compare how hard it was for the child (and the dad was drunk) and alliteration of /s/ (still and shirt). In “Grape Sherbet,” the author used alliteration of /t/ (trying and taste) and alliteration of /s/, “swirled snow.” I think that the poem “My Papa’s waltz” has more literary devices than “Grape Sherbet,” but I also think that “Grape sherbet” have more complex theme than “My Papa’s
His poem Sympathy is just one example of how he felt trapped like a caged bird in his life. Even though the Civil War was over, African Americans still did not have as many privileges and opportunities as most White people had. Most of Dunbar’s writing showed his perspective of life and the struggles that came with it. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 and suffered a hard childhood that later on affected her writing. When she was eight years old, Maya was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend.
“On the Subway,” written by Sharon Olds, is written from the perspective of what is presumed to be an upper class white woman, who finds herself on a subway with a lower class black boy. In “On the Subway”, Olds focuses on the controversial issue of racial conflict, and the theme of White v. Black. She does so by use of contrast between whites and blacks, by using harsh enjambments, powerful imagery, and by using the tone to convey the purpose. A major strategy used by Olds throughout the poem is contrast; in this case, the contrast between blacks and whites.
Let us say someone encountered a bump in life or something bad happened people will always move past it eventually because people cannot let something weigh them down for the rest of their lives. The big message or idea of these two poems is to keep moving on because people will always have to deal with problems. In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou they both convey the message that people should never give up and keep on rising no matter what happens or what people say. Throughout the poem “Mother to Son,” Langston Hughes coveys that people should always keep pushing towards their goals and not give up.
Context/Purpose/Audience Still I Rise, written in 1978 by African American poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou, is a resoundingly courageous and unearthing poem with an inspiring invited reading directly related to the time period it was written in: during the declaration for Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The poem discusses an African American woman’s struggles against racism and hatred from the society. It consists of nine-stanzas, offering words of inspiration to those who have been oppressed. It sends a message of hope that even in the midst of adversity it is possible to overcome obstacles and find the inner strength and confidence to rise above them. This poem is very straightforward making the message more meaningful and affective.