Maya Angelou And Still I Rise - 897 Words

In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and the poem â€Å"Still I Rise† Kate Chopin and Maya Angelou have explored the theme of oppression in a variety of different ways. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a short story based around how dramatically things can change within the space of an hour and how this can affect your life in the short period of time. Within the hour Mr Mallard is presumed dead in a railroad disaster, resulting in Mrs Mallard short lived ‘freedom’ after years of being oppressed, before soon learning that her husband is not dead as she encounters him. This shock triggers an ongoing heart problem and Mrs Mallard is soon confirmed dead. â€Å"Still I Rise† is a poem based around Maya Angelou and how she will overcome challenges that are thrown at her.†¦show more content†¦Another key technique applied by Angelou is similes. â€Å"But still, like dust, I’ll rise†, the reader pictures the rising cloud of dust in the ir mind. Her use of similes helps strengthen the meaning behind the words, leading to a deeper connection to the reader. The reference to slavery in the third line gives you a clear picture in your mind of the oppressors hating on Maya Angelou for who she is. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† imagery is used to show the thoughts of Mrs Mallard as she thinks of the future freedom without her husband, â€Å"A long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely†. She is looking forward to the future because she no longer has to worry about anything else and all of her pressures in the form of Mr Mallard. Angelou uses a variety of structural techniques within the poem, the first of which is rhetorical questions such as â€Å"Did you want the see me broken†? This is used to openly question why her oppressors are hostile towards her. Half way through the poem the tempo begins to change as Angelou dramatically changes her mood from negative to positive, and begins to express her beliefs towards the oppressors. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is about how things can change in a short amount of time, due to the small amount of time it makes you feel as though you are going along the journey with Angelou. This engages the reader as it is in such a small time frame, that they want to knowShow MoreRelatedStill I Rise By Maya Angelou1078 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou is a poem of objection and satisfaction in which Maya states that she will raise regardless of any situation. In her poem, â€Å"Angelou also incorporates anaphora, similes and metapho rs throughout the poem to illustrate the resilience of the speaker regardless of what befalls her† (Bouchard: â€Å"Literary Contexts in Poetry†). Using these methods, the reader is able to visualize the hardships the poet went through. â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou offers ambition and inspirationRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou877 Words   |  4 Pagesfull shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem â€Å"Still I Rise† by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about embracing females, but it mainly introduces similar life situations that many African American women have experienced. The symbols and point of view that Angelou specifically added in her poem made her readers realize that there areRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou2154 Words   |  9 Pagesdifferent religions and races is a theme that is explored throughout many texts like the ‘Still I Rise’ Poetry from Maya Angelou, ‘The Dollhouse’ short story by Katherine Mansfield, The movie ‘Gran Torino’ directed by Clint Eastwood, and the Documentary film ‘Born into Brothels’ by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. First Text: A poem that conveys the theme discrimination is Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou helps the reader see the struggle and feel what the black society had been treated likeRead MoreStill I Rise By Maya Angelou Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesPowell June 23, 2015 Still I Rise Maya Angelou’s poem, â€Å"Still I Rise† shows a repetition of strength stanza after stanza. African Americans were faced with the challenges of oppression and slavery. African American women not only as a minority of African American race, but as a female, were faced with all those challenges, along with woman’s rights. It took 55 years after the abolishment of slavery for females to finally have the right to vote, under the 19th amendment. Maya Angelou’s poem expressesRead MoreAnalysis Of Still I Rise By Maya Angelou1080 Words   |  5 Pagestougher and wiser. Still I rise is a poem written by Maya Angelou, an African American poet and a civil-rights activist. This poem was written around the civil rights movement, when people where being segregated by their race. Throughout this poem we are shown the thoughts and feelings people have displayed against her, but she will not let them get her down. Her dark past allows her to have strength and rise abov e the criticism where her ancestors fell to slavery. In poem Still I rise the main messageRead MoreAnalysis Of Still I Rise By Maya Angelou917 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Still I Rise† is an inspiring poem written by Maya Angelou, she delivers a powerful message from within to provide her African American ancestors an opportunity to rise above segregation and racism. Maya Angelou expresses her pride throughout the poem and describes different hardships in her past. Angelou incorporates her past experiences, powerful views, and over comings while also expressing the tone regarding her pride, feminist values, strong confidence, and close ties with African AmericanRead MoreAnalysis Of Still I Rise By Maya Angelou993 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscussed in class starting with Maya Angelou’s â€Å"Still I Rise.† Angelou starts off her poem stating, â€Å"You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod me in the very dirt but still, like dust, I’ll rise.(Lines 1-4)† From these lines, Angelou speaks on the strength that African-American have each day. Blacks have been seen in history as an abomination, and their names have been dragged through the mud just because of their skin color. But Angelou tells people that none of thisRead MoreStill I Rise - Maya Angelou (Reading Log)885 Words   |  4 PagesStill I Rise Maya Angelou The poem ‘Still I Rise’ written by American author Maya Angelou is written from the perspective of Maya herself. She is speaking to her audience of oppressors about how she has overcome racism, criticism, sexism, and personal obstacles in her life with pride and grace. It describes her personal struggle through life and how she managed to pull through and how she will continue on her life journey. This poem is historically rooted with mentions of slavery, a â€Å"past of pain†Read MoreEssay of Poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou621 Words   |  3 Pagesunderstand life and their situations. The purpose of this writing is to discuss a literary work through a personal experience. The poem that will be discussed in this essay will be â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou. This is her famous poem ever known. This author is a very good writer, I am reading her poems for the first time and I liked her poems so much. This poem suggests that we can overcome difficulties in life, despite rejections and injustice. It also discusses racism and all the problems black peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Still I Rise By Maya Angelou1959 Words   |  8 PagesMaya Angelou was a highly respected spokesperson for African Americans as well as for women of the twentieth century. She spoke on the behalf of all enslaved African Americans who suffered during the civil war. Most of her works are considered autobiographical because they contain many of her own experiences. She is a natural narrative writer that uses a lot of imagery and repetition in her poems.She has a great influence in the field of literature as a woman’s activist. She has received numerous