In the book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya is faced with situations where she is being degraded by the white people around her. The ignorance that Maya has faced while being so young has forced her to become mature early in life. She faces the struggles of an adult, having to stand up for herself for being disrespected as a young girl. The derogatory language that is used is dehumanizing towards Maya and her community, but shapes them to be strong.
One of the ways this language characterizes Maya and her society she lives in is being stripped of their identity. Mrs. Cullinan is a woman that Maya worker for who did not care about anyone else but herself. She chose to give Maya another name because it did not fit her likings. In Mrs. Cullinan words, “That’s too long. She’s Mary from now on” She did not even have enough respect to call her by her name she was given when she was born (Angelo 108). Mrs. Cullinan is a symbol for the discriminators in Maya’s society. Maya has been just a spectator who was limited and has no voice. Maya was not the only maid working for Mrs. Cullinan that had her name changed when she started working for her. Mrs. Glory told Maya, “My name used to be Hallelujah. That’s what ma named me, but my mistress gave me “glory” and it stuck” (Angelo 109). She started to realize in that moment how her people were mistreated and how they were …show more content…
The language shows the pain and ignorance that is used towards the black community. How they handle the situations will determine their character and whether it will be strong or weak. Maya became stronger as she faced challenges of disrespect from the people around her. Sacrifices were made, working for whites, to have a decent way of life, but some could not face the fact of being diminished as a person. In today’s society do our African Americans still face being diminished as
One of the ways this language characterizes Maya and her society she lives in is being stripped of their identity. Mrs. Cullinan is a woman that Maya worker for who did not care about anyone else but herself. She chose to give Maya another name because it did not fit her likings. In Mrs. Cullinan words, “That’s too long. She’s Mary from now on” She did not even have enough respect to call her by her name she was given when she was born (Angelo 108). Mrs. Cullinan is a symbol for the discriminators in Maya’s society. Maya has been just a spectator who was limited and has no voice. Maya was not the only maid working for Mrs. Cullinan that had her name changed when she started working for her. Mrs. Glory told Maya, “My name used to be Hallelujah. That’s what ma named me, but my mistress gave me “glory” and it stuck” (Angelo 109). She started to realize in that moment how her people were mistreated and how they were …show more content…
The language shows the pain and ignorance that is used towards the black community. How they handle the situations will determine their character and whether it will be strong or weak. Maya became stronger as she faced challenges of disrespect from the people around her. Sacrifices were made, working for whites, to have a decent way of life, but some could not face the fact of being diminished as a person. In today’s society do our African Americans still face being diminished as