and natural as taking a breath. In the moving autobiographical essay‚ "The Graduation‚" Maya Angelou effectively applies three rhetorical strategies - an expressive voice‚ illustrative comparison and contrast‚ and flowing sentences bursting with vivid simile and delightful imagery - to examine the personal growth of humans caught in the adversity of racial discrimination. In an expressive voice‚ Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five
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person “Graduation” is Maya Angelou’s account of her eighth grade graduation and how reality doesn’t always meet expectations. Using allegory‚ allusion and changes in tone‚ Angelou builds her story‚ giving the reader a sense of the excitement and anticipation she felt‚ inequalities in gender and racial prejudices of that time‚ and how those inequalities and prejudices encroached upon her graduation‚ ruining her expectations and leaving her feeling defeated. Furthermore‚ Angelou gives the reader a feeling
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Maya Angelou creates excellent word choice throughout her book. She knows how to show instead of tell‚ and when to provide detail‚ so that the reader gets a sense of what is happening‚ without being disinterested by unnecessary detail. One small detail that stood out to me in these first chapters was the use of the words momma and mother. When she is talking about her grandmother she uses the word momma‚ which seems more endearing and fond. Whereas the usage of mother‚ when talking about her mother
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"Woman Work" by Maya Angelou is the story of the women of all over the world. It tells us about the duties of women which she has to attend in their homes. They perform dull drab‚ and extremely uninspiring and boring tasks for the good of their family. In majority of the cases these are thankless tasks performed by uncomplaining and dutiful women. The fact of the matter is that they perform such chores to make the lives of their dear ones less burdensome and more enjoyable. But even these uncomplaining
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the Game” was written by Amy Tan. This short story takes place in Chinatown district of San Francisco during the 1950’s. Waverly was known as the child prodigy after she grew interest of chess while her brothers were playing it one day. Her brother‚ Vincent‚ had received a used chess set that were also missing some pieces from a Baptist Church Christmas Party that her family had attended. Waverly‚ being six years old‚ learns to play chess and becomes a national chess champion by her ninth birthday
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Composition & Literature | Amy Tan | Professor Blum | JAEL VARGAS 12/17/2012 | This story’s main events take place in Chinatown throughout the 1950s and perhaps early 1960s. The main character of the story‚ who is also the protagonist‚ is the author herself: Amy Tan. The antagonist happens to be her own mother‚ who is always pushing Amy to discover some hidden talent and be someone she is not. There are a few other minor characters in the story. There is Lindo Jong (who she calls
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Famed author Amy Tan was born on February 19‚ 1952 in Oakland California. Her father was an electrical engineer and a Baptist minister. Her mother believed in Chinese spirits and left behind three daughters when she immigrated to America. Tan was raised in Northern California‚ but when her older brother and father both died from brain tumors‚ her mother took her and her younger brother to Europe. By the time she graduated high school‚ she had been attended eleven schools. She also got arrested for
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Tongue by Amy Tall Kaé Murray-Francis September 2‚ 2011 Florida Memorial University Recently‚ in my College Writing II class‚ I had the opportunity to read‚ “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. I enjoyed reading the essay so much that I decided to write my own analysis. “Mother Tongue” is an essay based on the power of language and the will to communicate. However‚ the essay is not just about language itself‚ but also about the relationship between a mother‚ Mrs. Tan‚ and her daughter‚ Amy Tan‚ who moved
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Amy Tan writes‚ in this essay‚ about the language that she and her mother used in their family while Tan was growing up. She makes a great effort to explain that their language‚ English‚ was never "broken" or "simple" as most people would say about it. Although she could speak perfect English‚ her mother could not. But‚ she grew up with her mother’s English way of speaking‚ and therefore learned to consider it as a natural language. She is trying to make a point here by saying that there is absolutely
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As Maya Angelou had said‚ "I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place."(Angelou). Saint John Paul II was just that. Throughout his life he had felt his call to priesthood and continued sharing his gifts with others. Many others had experienced his blessings and help. Children were also a wonderful gift‚ whom he had much love for. His Five Loves set an impression on how the world could be a better place. Several people can tell you how much of a hero he had been for the
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