Analytical Essay 2

Analytical Essay on “Graduation” and “I Just Wanna Be Average”
Andrew C. Berman
Central Ohio Technical College

Abstract
This analytical article is based on the work of Mike Rose and Maya Angelou. The main theme of this essay hovers around the two of the works –“I Just Want to Be Average” and “Graduation” - by Mike Rose and Maya Angelou. Furthermore, a general description of this essay and the relationship between the both is the discussion of this essay. However, this is done with an analysis of the complimentary effect of one on another and ultimately how both of these works make the whole image pertaining to the life of a type school student.
Analytical Essay on “Graduation” and “I Just Wanna Be Average”
Education is in its general sense is a kind of learning in which various skills, knowledge and habits of a person or a group are transformed from one generation to another. However, this subject is of one of the main subjects of many scholar and writers of various periods. Mike Rose and Maya Angelou are two persons within the educational field whom are highly known for their work within the educational fields. This analytical article, however, demonstrates a comparative study of the works of Mike Rose and Maya Angelou. Primarily, the essays which are used in comparison to each other are “I Just Wanna Be Average by Mike Rose” and “Graduation by Maya Angelou”. All in all; the subject involved in both of this work is related to each other in many regards. Thus, this essay intends to present an overhaul of each of works. However, from an analytical point of view, their impact, connection and complements support each other.
“I Just Wanna Be Average”
In “I Just Wanna Be Average” Mike Rose recalls his years of vocational school. As a matter of fact, the inclination of Mike Rose in this particular class was an accident. However, he decided to keep his enrollment with the students of lower level. Rose, in this particular work, describes the teachers, fellow students and other observations, during the course of his article. Rose, sheds light in his essay that teachers in the class were seen to be having a lack of concern for teaching and physical violence or the lack of lesson plans to control the students. In Rose’s essay he describes the personalities of his fellow classmates as most of them don’t show any desire to learn and they all tend to slack off, party, and like to fight. Even though most of these students are show signs of having problems, Rose does note some of their special qualities of the students showing some of their personalities and this is also showing that some of these kids are not troublemakers they are just misguided children. One of the students that stood out to Rose was a kid named Ken Harvey. Harvey was asked for his opinion about working hard to reach a goal, he said “he wanted to be average.” Rose talks about this statements explaining how crazy and confusing one’s life can be during one’s school years, and how if everyone lived by average standards kids can just live, move on and be their selves. When Rose left the vocational program he realized that he too had a similar attitude like Harvey did and he wasn’t so sure of himself how to survive in a “normal” school setting. Later in the reading Rose tells his readers about the death of his father, and after Rose’s father passing away a new male figure emerges into his life in the form of a teacher named Mr. MacFarland who teaches Rose’s senior English class. MacFarland is described as a disorderly and eccentric individual. After a while of being in Mr. MacFarland’s English class Rose comes to the realization that he admires MacFarland do to the fact that he cares for his students and he pushes his students beyond their comfort zone to get their work done. Because of MacFarland’s interest in his students Rose shows more interest in his schooling, and by the end of Rose’s senior year of high school MacFarland has talked him into pursuing his college education. With the encouragement and assistance from MacFarland, Rose enrolls himself into college thus finding who he truly is as a person and a writer.
“Graduation”
In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” one of the speakers in her essay was the valedictorian of the graduating class of 1940, Hennery Reed. He is speaking to the graduating class and to the parents that was in attendance for the graduation. Hennery talks about how the graduating class has a bright future ahead of them and that they could overcome any challenge placed before them. He believes this with all his heart that he, and his fellow classmates that are also graduating, can do as he says. That they can reach any goal they set for themselves. Hennery Reed is using rhetoric in an attempt to make his fellow classmates feel as he does that their opportunities are endless if they just put forth the effort and believe in themselves. He also tries to provoke emotion from the audience and his classmates by using phrases such as “outrageous fortune” to strike up motivation within them. Hennery is successful in implementing emotion because his speech causes every one; parents, teachers, friends, and classmates to cry when his speech is finished.
Another speaker at Angelou’s graduation was a white man, Mr. Edward Donleavy. He was giving a speech about the potential that all the graduating class students had. He was speaking to the audience that consisted of parents and graduates. He speaks about the opportunities that the graduating class has in the future for academics. He also speaks of the opportunity to become athletes, which was his main point. The implied message behind what he speaks is that of disregard. He cares not of the graduates but of the speech and reelection. He also knows that the best achievement that any “negro” student can look forward to is to be an athlete or a service worker of some sort. He is trying to convince the audience to accept their fate as “Negros” and embrace it. Mr. Donleavy relies on emotion during his speech, using the fact that he is an elected official to show validity to the claims he is making. He cannot persuade the audience to believe his claims or agree with what he is saying because he continues speaking and the verbal agreement dwindles to nothing as no one within the audience is showing any type of participation at all.
The two speakers within the “Graduation” essay have almost the exact same message. The difference lies with the delivery, sincerity, and purpose behind giving the speech. The audience perception of the two speakers is also different; Hennery Reed is speaking to his fellow classmates of the graduating class, where as Mr. Donleavy is speaking more to the parents than to the students graduating. Reed believable in what he said; this is because he honestly believed every word he spoke. Mr. Donleavy however knew that there was no substance behind what he was speaking and the audience responded as such. Donleavy used mostly emotion because that’s all he could use because he knew he could not appeal to the emotions or logic of the audience because what he was saying had no backing. Reed used certain expressions and special traits in his speech. He used these because he felt emotional about what he was speaking about because he believed what he was saying and because he was the valedictorian of his graduating class. The tone of Donleavy was that of condescending of the audience whereas Reed was encouraging. This is also why Reed was perceived as a better speaker than Donleavy.
The essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” opens many interesting questions about motivation within our educational system whether it’s with teachers or students. Ken Harvey brings up a good point that if someone is “average” then why one should try harder in life. Rose uses his own life experience along with those in his classes to show the experiences of how students can slide through school with passing grades and not apply themselves because they are “just average.” In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” it is interesting because they are fully demonstrating the literacy elements of tone. In my opinion the story is telling everyone that they should be proud of who they are, what they have done, and where they have come from in life. I believe that Angelou is telling her readers that we should be paying less attention to what others say and do and we need to worry more about ourselves and what we would like to accomplish in our lives.