Author Research

8/18/10

Maya Angelou's name was originally Marguerite Johnson, but her brother shortened it to Maya. Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature. She is one of the best know African American woman writers. Maya not only writes novels but also poets. In her book she spoke of hard times but also of how she grew through those hard times. Along with many books and poems, Angelou also read a poem for President Clinton's inauguration. She herself agreed that she is a woman of her time. She has said she doesn't regret anything she has ever read but has noted that she should have gone further with that particular piece. Maya Angelou is a woman of great strength and I enjoyed reading her biography. The way she speaks about her family and loved ones is brilliant. I wish I could be more like her in some ways. I believe Maya Angelou will continue to be a fantastic writer until the day she no longer has the ability to do so.

Brown Agins, Dona. "Dr. Maya Angelou." aablc January 1994: n. pag. Web. 22 Aug 2010. .

Final Response

8/17/10

When I thought about reading this book I originally didn't know that it was a biography. My first thoughts were negative because most biographies I have read are sometimes uneventful or poorly written. This however, was not one of those biographies. I was surprised at how the book starts in a small town called Stamps and is somehow still easy and fun to read about. Apposed to the other book I read for this project, Angelou describes her characters right off the bat. You do not have to wait for character development to find their significance in the novel. I also noticed that Angelou doesn't draw out an event for as long as possible. She moves on to another subject because she knows it will become boring to read about the same thing for a hundred pages. For example even when she was explaining how she got raped. She wrapped the whole ordeal that effected her mentally for a year, up in about one chapter. The book was not very long but Angelou was still able to contain her astonishing life's story in only 289 pages.

Quote #10

8/17/10
page 289

At the end of the book when Maya is sleeping with her new-born son. Her mother wakes her up to assure her she is doing fine. She says, "See, you don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking." This quote not only describes Maya's actions with the baby. It also explains her whole way of thinking. By telling her this it shows that her mother lives her life with those words in mind. By adding it in her book, it shows that Angelou must feel the same way.

Quote #9

8/17/10
page 233

"It was obvious to me that he had never belonged in Stamps, and less to the slow-moving, slow-thinking Johnson family." In this situation Maya learns who her father really is. She starts to understand that it was right that her parents divorced because her father didn't belong in that family. She was seeing the man he really was and understood that he wouldn't have fit in anyway.

Quote #8

8/17/10
page

"Can't do is like Don't care, niether of them have a home." This quote shows Angelou's attitude towards life. She is the type of person to push through anything. She doesn't believe that you should give up on something, because that just means you are giving up on yourelf.

Quote #7

8/17/10
Page 215

"How maddening it was to be born in a cotton field with aspirations of grandeur." This quote captures the significance of segregation during this time. How Maya feels about being black and how it will effect the way she grows up. She explains in this quote how mad it makes her to think that she can't be succesful because of her skin color. Growing up in the cotton fields is a symbol for her being black and not being able to have freedom to be who she would like to be.

Quotes #6

8/17/10
Page 1

When Angelou has a toothache and Momma goes into town and tries to get an appointment with the white dentist he says " I would rather stick my hand in a dog's mouth than in a nigger's." The offensive word and the quote itself is hateful. It helps to describe the hate towards blacks during this time. The fact that the dentist would choose treating a dog over treating someone with brown skin is ludicrous and only Momma can see that in this situation.

Quote #4

8/17/10
page 102

"By the way Bailey, Mrs. Flowers sent you some tea cookies." When Maya was beat by Momma for saying this, I was just as confused as Angelou. Momma beat her because she says the only way is the way of the lord. This quote really shows just how religious Momma is. It also shows how different their mother is from her. They learned the phrase from her all of the time, and Mother would have never even thought of beating them for it.

Quote #3

8/16/10
page 98

" Language is man's way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals." This quote I found extremely imported. For it is Mrs. Flowers who is able to get Maya speaking again. In order to help Angelou to understand being silent would not solve her problems, Mrs. Flowers used the approach of knowledge. This indeed worked like a charm.

Quote #2

8/16/10
page 25

When talking about her fear of white people and the little she knew of their existance, Angelou says " Other than that they were different, to be dreaded, and in that dread was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for and the ragged against the well dressed.I remember never believing that whites were really real." This quote is important because it shows the change in society from then and now. It shows how seperated blacks and whites really were. This quote will also help the reader to understand some of Angelou's actions during her life.

Quote #1

8/16/10
page 9

"Then they would face another day of trying to earn enough for the whole year with the heavy knowledge that they were going to end the season as they started it." This quote is important because it shows how hard Blacks worked in Stamps and all over the world. It shows the inequality of jobs and payment. During this time period Blacks were still being segregated and treated unfairly. Angelou describes in this quote the essence of working as a black man and how harsh the conditions.

RR#12

8/16/10
pages 273 - end

In the last section of the book, Maya has some trouble understanding womanhood. I loved the way her mother explained her fears of being a lesbian. I found it very funny how Angelou interpreted the book The Well of Loneliness as a warning instead of just a novel. The reason Angelou has sex was very interesting to me. I was curious when she began speaking of her plan to seduce the best looking boy on the block. The way she explains this is as if she is still a child. She was naive to think that she was a lesbian just because of her teenage curiosity. However good things can come out of weird situations and when she found she was pregnant I was kind of excited. I know that if I was in her situation I would have spilled the beans to my mother. How she was afraid of being a lesbian but seemed unafraid of having a child is a trait of Angelou's I don't understand. It took great courage for her to carry a child for 8 months without telling anyone but her brother. I love the way she ends the book. When Angelou is wakened in the night by her mother. She sees her child lying safely with her on the bed, sleeping soundly. By ending the story with just that, I believe Angelou was telling her readers that no matter how scared you are of something trusting in yourself is the most important. I believe seeing her son sleeping with her safely represents their relationship in upcoming years. Almost as if to tell her readers that everything has turned out okay.

RR# 11

8/16/10
pages 243- 272

When Maya returned from her trip from the South she soon learned that her Mother and brother were not getting along. She knew they both loved each other dearly but her mother couldn't bare to see Bailey going down the path he was headed on. After weeks of fighting Bailey finally moved out. Although it was hard for Angelou to accept, she understood- after her brother's explanation- it was for the best, and it was time for him to be on his own. Days were gloomy without her older brother there with her and Maya had started to skip school. The way her mother explained how she would let her skip class if she was caught up on her work made me think of her differently. I thought this made her a good parent, being able to see it from Maya's point of view instead of yelling. That was the difference between Momma and their Mother. Both were very good at raising the Bailey and Maya, but both had opposite views on how to do so. I thought it was neat that Maya got to experience both types and it helped her to become a more well rounded person in the end.

RR #10

8/16/10
pages 201-242

When Angelou realized moving back with her mother would mean people mentioning Mr. Freeman she was worried. After arriving and finding that nobody was concerned with that part of the past, she relaxed. Bailey and Maya's relationship with their mother grew stronger and stronger. However, when Maya went to spend a summer with her father the two grew apart. Maya expected more out of her trip and soon realized her father was someone she hadn't thought him to be. As a child you are blinded by your parents flaws, but when you grow, you grow to see they are not as perfect as you once believed. When Maya started to learn of her father's traits, it reminded me of the relationship with my father. It was easy to understand where she was coming from when she spoke of his "ways". The difference was that I have never spent a month in a car junkyard because of my father. She also learned who a good father was through her mother's second husband, I have also learned through my step-father.

RR#9

8/16/10
pages 185- 200

After all of the candy she had eaten, Maya finally received two cavities in return. Momma had the bravery to go to the white dentist in Stamps and try to get Maya an appointment. With no luck Angelou tells the story of how her Grandmother received the money to take her to Texarkana. Although Maya's version is not very realistic, it illustrates to the reader what Angelou really thinks of Momma. How even after she has never laid a finger on an adult in a violent way, Maya still believed Momma was a strong enough person to drive a white dentist clear out of Stamps. Shortly after the dentist trip Momma decides to take the children to live with their mother. Momma had realized that Stamps might be too segregated of a place when Bailey had come home shaking one night. After seeing a dead black man being pulled out of a lake and a white man smiling because of it. Bailey simply wanted to know why whites hated his race so very much." What did we do wrong?" Bailey had asked and "Nothing at all " was the reply.

RR#8

8/16/10
pages 147-184

Bailey's tent in the back yard where he played "house" with girls represents a childs eagerness to grow older. He would not have sex with these girls, and at the age of 11 he never even thought of doing that. Until he met Joyce ( the new girl in Stamps) he hadn't thought he was ready for all of that. Angelou knew her brother had fallen in love with Joyce and even though she did not like her, she liked how her brother began to share secrets again. One day she disappeared and Bailey never spoke of her again. The fact that Maya understood her brother's pain and didn't push him to "open up" shows how close of a relationship they really do share. In this section of reading Reverend Taylor's wife dies. Maya is forced to go to the funeral and sees the dead body. Reading this I saw Angelou growing into a more understanding person. Although she was only 11 she understood the importance of death and how it effects everyone. Something I have just considered at the age of 17. I was impressed with Angelou's maturity, I don't think many 11 year old could have handled something so serious. The disappointment that was Maya's graduation once again changed her views on her surroundings. After being told that blacks were nothing, the singing of the black national anthem lifted their spirits and for the first time, Maya was proud to be black.

RR#7

8/16/10
pages 132-147

When Momma gives the kids an allowance Bailey begins to go to the movies. This isn't a problem except for one night when he arrives home late. He explains to Maya that he has seen their mother in the movies. When they go to see this actress Maya is baffled at how similar they do look. The actress is white. Angelou laughs when she thinks of the reaction from the whites if they knew her mother looked like this white actress, except more beautiful. This part in the book really shows how ridiculous racism is. Having something against someone that looks exactly like you just because their skin is darker. This point in the book is when Maya starts to understand. She views racism differently now and accepts the absurdity of it all. The chapter about the revival meeting showed me that Angelou is a much more religious person than I had thought. I love the way the whole town crushes in the Store to hear the fighting match. When Louis wins the town goes wild. I think his victory shows the black community of Stamps that they can triumph. That just because they are brown skinned does not mean they can't beat someone with white skin.The fight gives them hope that someday there will be understanding that everyone should be treated equally.

RR#6

8/16/10
pages 104-132

In this reading I learn that part of Maya's school work is to learn how to cook in the kitchen and serve as a maid. This is extremely unfair to the black children because they have no choice as to what they would like to learn. The white people think that all they can do are a few easy jobs and nothing else. Maya goes to work for a white woman who is unable to bare children. Angelou finds this very sad and feels sorry for Mrs. Cullinan. However when Mrs. Cullinan begins to call her by the wrong name, Maya is so offended and enraged she breaks one of Mrs. Cullinan's favorite casserole dish and some of her favorite green cups on purpose. Although this is somewhat over the top for a wanting to quit the job, if I were Angelou, I would have done the same thing. I believe the way Mrs. Cullinan loved those dishes and cried when they were broken really showed how materialistic she was as a person.

RR#5

8/16/10
Pages 93-103

In chapter 15 Maya meets Mrs. Bertha Flowers. Yet another strong woman presented in Angelou's life, she helps to coax Maya into speaking again. Angelou has been surrounded by strong women throughout her whole entire childhood. From Momma to her real Mother and from Grandma Baxter to Mrs. Flowers, it's no wonder why Angelou has such a strong personality today. Mrs. Flowers introduces Maya to poems and the beauty hidden beneath of them. Mrs. Flower tells her that language is a very important way to communicate, and with that Angelou is talking like she used to. The recurrence of these strong women in her life is known as a motif. This motif helps her to eventually get the job she wants as a teenager. At the end of these pages I wonder how Maya could possibly change any more than she already has.

RR#4

8/16/10
pages 77-92

Chapter 12 starts off on the Saturday that Maya Angelou was raped. Reading about someones personal experience like that is difficult. Trying to put myself in her shoes I tried to imagine what I would have done differently, there wasn't much. Being so young and Mr. Freeman being such a large man, there was not much that Angelou could have done. If I were threatened at the age of 7 that someone would kill one of my siblings, I would have kept it to myself just as Maya had. I was relieved that someone finally found out what had happened. It was heart breaking to read about a little girl who thought she was easy because of something that had been done to her. If I were Maya's mother I don't know if I would have sent her back to Stamps. After all she had just been getting used to it and it was as if she were punishing Bailey too.

hhttp://www.paralumun.com/issuesrapestats.htm

RR#3

8/16/10
pages 61-76

During Christmas Bailey and Maya got presents from their parents. Although it was a nice gesture, both Maya and Bailey were saddened by the gifts. Even though the gifts assured the children that their parents weren't dead, it also made them think for the reason why their parents let them go. The way I look at it, the presents symbolized what the parents were missing and how the kids view their parents. After hearing what the children think of their parents and then soon after having the father actually visit is surprising. I wondered how after all that time he could just waltz right in and say hi to them, oblivious to the fact he hasn't seen them in years. I was nervous for Angelou when she explains going on a trip with her father. He seems like a sneaky man. It was disturbing to read about Mr. Freeman ( her mother's boyfriend) and how he used Angelou. It was so interesting to read about her feelings towards it. It gives you a great perspective on how the child's mind actually works. She wanted to be closer to Mr. Freeman after that?! At first I didn't understand, after further explanation it is easier to see where Angelou was coming from. All she wanted was affection, and because her family rarely hugged or anything, she liked it. Although it was intriguing to learn about this part of her childhood, I felt bad that she had to experience something like that. But maybe if she hadn't she would be a different person today.

RR#2

8/16/10
pages 34-60

While Angelou describes more and more about the store and how busy it always is, I can't help but to think that the Store is a symbol for her hard work. She always speaks of the Store in a proud way, it is the spot in town where everyone gathers after a hard days work to talk as a community. Angelou explains Reverend Thomas, my first impression of the man was that he sure does use people a lot for being a preacher. She says he is always making it in time for dinner and most likely stays at their house on weekends solely for Momma's Sunday morning breakfast. So far, I am not only learning more and more about Maya, but of her family as well. I love how strong and kind Momma is. Her personality makes me smile and laugh, and she is quite clever when it comes to dealing with the kids.The way she lends money without hesitation shows that nothing is an excuse for not doing all you can for someone. Even in hard economic times. If I were Maya Angelou or any character in the book right now, I would have great respect for Mrs. Henderson.

RR#1

8/16/10
pages 1-34

Angelou begins her novel by explaining how she arrived in the little town of Stamps. I was not surprised at how her mother sent her and her brother alone on a train, that was common during the time she was a child. Instead like Maya, I was curious to the reason why they were sent away. Judging by the time period I decided it was probably because their parents didn't have the right funds to raise them. I love the way Angelou describes her Grandmother. It makes it very easy to understand how close the family is when she explained the way they called her Momma instead. One of my favorite parts out of this chunk of reading was when the powhitetrash girls come to the store. I do not like this scene because of the rudeness or the way Maya is just forced to sit and watch it happen. I like this scene because of the way Momma handles the situation. Instead of yelling or plainly excepting their rudeness, she simply sings. At first I did not realize the purpose of her actions. However, after the children leave it soon becomes clear. After singing and humming a few church song and not once breaking the melody, the children eventually leave her with a goodbye. I believe she did this to show Maya that violence is not the answer and being the bigger person always helps you to win the fight. I believe Momma was satisfied because that is the way she thinks of slavery. Although the white folks may have a higher authority now, if you present yourself with patience and strength you will overcome.