Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing

In the passages “The World’s Reward” and “Caged Bird” they both have a similar theme that you are able to have spiritual freedom while physically enslaved. Both texts have the basic theme that the want spiritual freedom while physically enslaved. Both texts treat this theme as a positive thing that it's ok to want physical freedom.The first text “The World’s Reward” The dog wants to be free this is show when the dog finds out that his master is going to get rid of him so he runs away.In the…

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,…

a lot for being in a cage. This is almost like a slave. A slave is a person that does not have freedom and he has to suffer a lot because of his “cage” an owner. As for “Caged Bird”, the author said that a bird who is tied to his cage who can only sing of freedom. This is also related to being a slave. A slave is almost chained up every day. He cannot do anything, but pray for freedom. Both of these poems talk about slavery. This is why both poems have similar…

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…

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 portrayal of…

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…

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 definition…