Brad Bird

Maya Angelou: A Phenomenal artist Maya Angelou -- possibly the greatest poet and activist ever? Of course! Maya Angelou is the definition of an artist with her many creative works and influential activism. It is clear, without a doubt, that she is one of the greatest artists of all time. Angelou had many fantastic works throughout the course of her life and participated in the making of many iconic things on and off screen. She was an overall performer skilled in dancing, singing, writing,…

Maya Angelou, an African American woman who grew up in the 1930s and 40s, first published her story in 1969 and later the autobiographical movie about her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was released. Starring in the movie as Maya, Bailey Jr., and Momma were Constance Good, John Driver, and Esther Rolle. The book and movie both tell the story of Angelou’s hard childhood while growing up an African American girl in the South and overcoming adversity. Born Marguerite Johnson, Angelou and…

Have you ever been bullied or oppressed in any shape, form, or fashion? While the oppressor tried to keep you down, did you keep your head up and smile? That is what Maya Angelou writes about in her poem, “Still I Rise.” A motif that is evident in this poem, and many of her other poems, is identity. Maya Angelou conveys the motif of identity through her use of tone, repetition, and imagery. Tone plays a big role in the development of identity in the poem. In the beginning of the poem, the tone…

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage we can not practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous or, honest". -Maya Angelou Marguerite Annie Johnson, better known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St.Louis, Missouri. Due to their mother's addiction problem, Maya and her brother Bailey, grew up in Arkansas with their grandmother. Eager to adjust, she learned lot about life from her grandmother,…

Paul Laurence Dunbar and”Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou were poems about slavery. Slavery is a practice of owning a slave. Each poem had its own unique feature. As for both of them, they both had a theme of slavery. Though, both poets had lived 100 years apart, their poems were similar. Their tone were both really sad. Their theme as I had said above, were also similar. The difference they had, were their rhyme scheme. Using the caged bird as a slave and the free bird as a free person, both poets…

Oppression. Empowerment. Growth. Change. What do these four things have in common? While the poems “Still I Rise” and “Unwelcome” contain noticeable differences in style and tone, they share similarities in them and sound. In literature, writers tend to use tone to paint a picture of what their writing is about. Throughout Maya Angelou's poem “Still I Rise” she uses a writing style that helps achieve a tone of empowerment. Over the course of Angelou’s life she was belittled and a victim of…

first experience speaking in front of an audience was in junior high school. The teacher asked us to pick a famous poet, recite that poem, and explain why we choose that poet. Since Maya Angelou was my favorite poet I choose her poem “Why a caged bird sings.” The poem describes Maya Angelou as a young girl who grew up with insecurities because, as a young child Maya Angelou struggled with the pain of being rejected and abandoned. In this poem Maya Angelou captivated her readers with the…

In the two poems, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Sympathy” by Laurence Dunbar, these short works share many similarities as they both speak on being a minority in a white world. As Maya Angelou describes her childhood in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and the ways of which the world became portrayed to her because of her race and the time that she grew up in, she was a visual representation of being a minority in a white world. Also, in “Sympathy” Laurence Dunbar…

Annie Johnson, born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri and died on May 28, 2014 at the soulful age of 86. Although we may know her as Maya Angelou, we can relate to her literary works in more ways than one. Her 1969 memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. She received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work category. She embodied the…

Women in literature, like in real life, face adversity and through their journey, they find their identity while coming of age. They show the importance of women in society and the crucial role that they play. In both I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the protagonists were required to overcome adversity as they each discovered a greater sense of self. By being able to overcome their certain situations, Marguerite Angelou and…