Maya Angelou: Still I Rise

Rising Like Dust Rising to become a college professor, dancer, activist, and movie star, Maya Angelou has overcome much in her life. From being raped by a family member at a very young age that made her speechless for years (Burns 1) and having to deal with the responsibilities of being a mother in her teens (Burns 1),Maya Angelou has risen. She was a part of the Martin Luther King Jr. movement serving as the coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Burns 1). Maya Angelou has risen from the racism, discrimination, sexism and pure hate that comes along with being a black woman in the late 1900’s (poets.org 1). Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” can be paralleled to her life experience of rape, sexism, criticism, and personal obstacles. Maya Angelou realized that even though all the discrimination and hate she experienced the people who were pushing her down were still creations of God and must be respected as such. “While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creation(brainyquote.com 1)." This quote shows a lot about Dr. Angelou 's character and that when she rose and overcame she did it in a way that was not disrespectful towards others because they are still children of God. Still I Rise makes the reader realize the importance of pride and hope in ourselves(eliteskills.com 1). Angelou uses different literary techniques like imagery and repetition to emphasize and create an image (eliteskills.com 1). “Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes rising high, still I’ll rise (poets.org 1). The word “you” in the poem refers to racist white people and “I” not only represents Dr. Angelou but all black people who are discriminated against (poets.org 1). Comparing herself to a black ocean, bearing the hate of the cruel world around her but emphasizing that she is staying strong,” I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Cited: www.brainyquote.com. 2001. Web. 29 January 2013. Burns, Connie. www.rockhall.com. 2011. Web. 28 January 2013. www.eliteskills.com. 2010. Web. 28 January 2013. "Global Renaissance Women." mayaangelou.com. Penguin Creative. 2013. Web. 18 January 2013. "Still I Rise." www.poets.org. 2013. Web. 16 January 2013.