Comparison Of Human Family And Barack Obama's Speech

“Human Family” by Maya Angelou and Barack Obama’s speech on race share a common theme. Both of these authors presented the theme in different ways, but are still founded on alike thinking. The shared concept between the texts is that even though we all have minor and major differences, we’re all the same. One difference that both of the texts talk about is physical features. In “Human Family,” Maya Angelou says, “The variety of our skin tones can confuse, bemuse, delight, brown and pink and beige and purple, tan and blue and white.” In Barack Obama’s speech, he says, “We may not look the same…, but we all want to move in the same direction.” Maya Angelou expressed the idea that we don’t all look the same, but we are the same in a different way than Barack Obama. She used examples of how people have different skin colors and skin tones, then tied it together at the end of the poem, saying that we’re more alike than unalike. Barack Obama said it in a more simplified way, but still got the meaning across. These two quotes are similar because they both talk about how everyone has differences in appearance. These authors used this example to show that although, we all look different, we’re all the same and we all have a common goal. …show more content…
Maya Angelou says, “We love and lose in China, we weep on England’s moors, and laugh and moan in Guinea, and thrive on Spanish shores.” This can be better explained by Barack Obama saying, “We may have different stories, but we hold common hopes.” In “Human Family,” this idea is expressed through examples of living in different places around the world. In Barack Obama’s speech on race, he summed it up saying that we all have similar goals even though we’ve experienced life differently. These two texts are founded in alike thinking because they share the idea that our backgrounds don’t affect our