Preview

Still I Rise - Maya Angelou (Reading Log)

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
885 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Still I Rise - Maya Angelou (Reading Log)
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou
The poem ‘Still I Rise’ written by American author Maya Angelou is written from the perspective of Maya herself. She is speaking to her audience of oppressors about how she has overcome racism, criticism, sexism, and personal obstacles in her life with pride and grace. It describes her personal struggle through life and how she managed to pull through and how she will continue on her life journey. This poem is historically rooted with mentions of slavery, a “past of pain” and “gifts of ancestors”; she is however speaking in the present and how she is embarking on a new journey.
Throughout this poem we are introduced to various themes and symbols, a strong symbol being the ‘rising of the dust’. Dust only rises when it becomes unsettled from the ground and then it forms a dust cloud. Once the dust is unsettled it can leave and rise, “But still, like dust, I'll rise” This relates to Maya’s overcome of obstacles throughout her life. I feel sorry for Maya and other African-American people as they lived such a different life to what I live. I also feel inspired from what Maya has done, throughout all her hardships she has kept going and never gave up. No matter who brings her down, she will always find a way to come out strong. This inspiring poem made me realize how lucky I am to live in such a peaceful country. I personally find this poem very emotional, I think it is about being proud of who you are and where you have come from, and not to let anyone’s expectations of you bring you down. Maya is saying she's just as good as the rich women. Don't look down on her because she's black or poor or works at a low-paying job.
Maya has conveyed her imagery through similes and metaphors, “you may shoot me with your words”. The metaphors and similes are strong, and relatable. We have all felt the pain of cruel words and the feeling of being completely torn apart. I myself cannot personally relate to this poem but I have talked to classmates who

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou

    • 763 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With that basic idea of where Maya Angelou is going with this poem, the literary techniques and writing style can be analyzed a little further and applied to the main idea and message of the poem. The tone and diction of the poem, used in conjunction, is one of the more noticeable techniques that Angelou uses to strengthen the poem. The tone of the poem shows the somewhat fear and deep concern that arises in people…

    • 763 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first and second line in the first stanza, Sounds/Like pearls, written by using simile. Sounds and pearls, people enjoy the beauty of the pearl by its lustrous color, smooth and perfect round. Obviously, pearl is a gemstone and it is not strange that people metaphor it for “admirable”, “valuable”. In other hand, sounds has its own beauty, for example note, rhythmic, or even, to speak and say people’s feelings, opinions, arguments, needs, etc. Then, in Doubt and fear/ Ungainly things/ With blushing, Maya Angelou moves to other things, Doubt and fear, which are given quality of ungainly or clumsy. Why? Well, clumsiness sometimes makes people won’t do anything, moreover doubt and fear blush, looks like people who are ashamed of what they have done or even what they don’t even try yet.…

    • 632 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Maya Angelou Analysis

    • 2435 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Growing one’s body into what one considers an adult is amongst the simplest things a human can do -- however maturing mentally and emotionally into an individualistic being would arguably be one of the most difficult. Even more difficult would be trying to become an individual while in a constant state of oppression. Through her numerous essays, poems and novels, Maya Angelou does an exceptional job of recounting the hardships of adolescence, and lets her audiences and readers find out, first hand, the way she suffered growing up . In her works, Angelou uses her experiences with her family, the places she’s been, and the changing ideas of her own self to explore her mind as a growing child. Even with everything in her life fighting against…

    • 2435 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou has become widely known for her poetry and literary works. She has written several autobiographies and numerous volumes of poetry. One volume of poetry was And Still I Rise, in this collection of poems the poem “Still I Rise” is a famously known one.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She wrote “still I rise” to prove to people that no matter what they won't bring her down. No matter how hard people lie and how her sassiness might upset a lot of people. The poem “The Lesson” was one of many people's favorites it explains on how dying inside from getting raped or going through family problems. Cold hearted people are always the leaders because Maya Angelou was very cold hearted and didn't want to see people go through what she went through. Maya Angelou was a Phenomenal woman, she really didn't know her life after all that she has been through. She had to realize that she can help other young woman become phenomenal woman to. Her mother was barely at home due to her getting raped her mother never left the house unless someone was there to watch them. Maya Angelou always lead her siblings to do good…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Maya Angelou Still I Rise

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Deemed as one of the most prolific works of poetry, Still I Rise certainly impressed me and surpassed all of my expectations. Still I Rise is such an inspirational and motivational text in that it empowers its audience to think about the morality of certain beliefs in society as well as empower those who are weak and vulnerable in society. Still I Rise reinforces the idea that racial prejudice is still prevalent in the world we live in today. This poem is exceedingly special and memorable due to the fact that there is a key valuable message from which individuals, from all walks of life, can certainly benefit from. During this response, I will be discussing what I deem to be interesting aspects of the text which include: the portrayal of the…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this novel you really get to see how bad racism once was. And how Maya dealt with it. Smart and imaginative, Maya nevertheless feels that people judge her unfairly due to her awkward appearance. Feeling misunderstood, she always puts herself in a nice mind set. She imagines she is an attractive blonde hair blue eyed girl. Maya describes her social and familial displacement as “unnecessary insults” on top of the general difficulties associated with growing up as a black girl in the segregated American South. The South presents Maya with three tremendous obstacles:…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Upon reading the poem, imagery can be found throughout the entire poem. For example, in the first two lines you can imagine a doll being put away like a dead child in a chest, you cannot bring a dead child back to life. This is the burial of her childhood only to keep her memories and carry them with her for the rest of her life. Also, the second to last line where she is “wound,” twisted, “like the guts of a clock,” referring to her stomach. She feels a sense of anxiety here. This is her final emotion to conclude the poem. She fears growing up because of the responsibilities she will have to take on, the shame she felt when her period started, will…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Still I Rise” by the African-American poet Maya Angelou, written almost 40 years after the Harlem renaissance ceased, displays a variety of emotions and poetic devices. Maya Angelou incorporates her personal struggles gives the audience a sense of the determination she felt to reach equality. The reader can see her anger towards the discrimination she faced at the time.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Graduation by Mya Angelou

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Throughout life graduation, or the next level of growth, is sometimes known with the circumstance of the grand ceremony, but many times the graduation is not as exciting. In the moving essay, "The Graduation," by Maya Angelou applies three strategies - an expressive voice, illustrative comparison and contrast, and flowing sentences with imagery - to see the truth about humans caught in the line of racial discrimination.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou’s poem, “Our Grandmother’s,” vividly exemplifies a sense of imagery that is brought to life. The most effective way that, Maya Angelou presents imagery to the readers is through the setting. Firstly, at the beginning of the poem the narrator describes the current state of the main character and gives a brief description of the setting through imagery. “She lay, skin down on the moist dirt, / … the whispers of leaves…/ the longing of hounds…” (“Our Grandmothers”, 1-4). These lines are very effective to the readers because the imagery behind these lines allows the readers to feel the cool breeze blowing, hear the leaves rustling and even sense the smell of fear; everything that one could think of to enhance the setting of a plantation. Reading this poem is an escape from modern day life. As readers, we observe everything that the narrator and the main character experience. To fulfill the imagination of the readers, Maya Angelou concentrates primarily as to how the readers are going to interpret certain events. Secondly, the setting was also illustrated through imagery when the narrator says, “She stands before the abortion clinic, / confounded by the lack of choices…/ …On lonely street corners, / hawking her body” (“Our Grandmothers”, 94-106). These few selected lines are important to the development of imagery through the setting. Here the narrator comments, that even though slavery was a thing of the past, it still exists in modern day society. The readers feel as if they are…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Darkest Struggles When Maya Angelou wrote the book “I know why the caged bird sings” she was speaking from her very on soul and pouring out the deep feelings she had felt when she was younger, all the way up until she was a young adult. African American women will always have more on their shoulders more than any other race especially white women will. No one really knows if all of the discrimination started because of the color of our skin or the attitude that lingers in our voice. Only thing that is known is that African American women are mistreated, abused, and cheated out of the rights of living their lives. When one is judged and are told what they are going to do and what they will be in life, it can cripple someone but not…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, it establishes the tone of worthlessness and not wanting to continue on with life: “Then I would rather have been born as a pebble, living out my peaceful days” (Rachie, 6). This simile shows that the speaker isn’t willing to go on with life, and may even want to escape current problems when she states that she wants “peaceful days”. However, the tone immediately changes to one of desperation when addressing the pain of losing the love that she hadn’t addressed in time: “With this endless pain in my heart, tearing me apart, but also you beside me/Can’t you see how happy I’d be? I’d smile and say, ‘It was all for the best you see’” (Rachie, 13-14). The metaphor of her heart being torn apart shows how love has affected her life deep inside, and by asking this rhetorical question, she seems to question her loved one and her love for him. Additionally, the author uses a metaphor that clearly represents where her love was lost: “Telling me I will and I can, I pray every night that days like this will never end/Painting colours vivid and bright I see every time I go ahead and close my eyes” (Rachie, 27-28). When using the word “colours”, they symbolize the scraps of love that remained at the back of her mind. Meanwhile, the first line shows that she had never expected nor wanted her time with her love to end. Finally, it concludes the song with this line: “Hey, is it alright if I keep calling out your name” (Rachie, 41). This shows that even with her love gone, she will always keep him in her memories by calling out his…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Still I Rise

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rising back up is not only a tough thing multi-talented Maya Angelou had to do in her life but also plays a huge role in her poem, “Still I Rise.” Maya Angelou went through many hardships in her life at a young age. Her parents had split up, so she ended up living with her father’s mother in another state. She faced a ton of racial prejudices and discrimination which only brought her self-confidence lower. To make things worse, she was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend at only the age of seven. Such a traumatic experience caused Maya to spend years as a virtual mute. With all the horrific things that happened to her, Maya’s sense of self-acknowledgment with her through thick and thin and as a result, she was able to rise and get back up. She worked incredibly hard and became successful in multiple careers as well as being well-known and inspirational to many. The ones who thrive are those who push through everything that gets thrown at them and get back on their feet when they fall because nothing can stop them and still… they rise.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Still I Rise is a poem written with Maya Angelou herself as the speaker. She is speaking to her audience about how she has overcome racism, criticism, sexism, and personal obstacles in her life with pride and grace. Still I Rise has a positive and strong tone throughout the entire poem. The words Angelou used also make it seem as though the she is talking to the readers. By doing so, Angelou got the readers to get more personally involved in the poem emotionally which helps to make readers realize how humans are all guilty of discriminating others in some form. This poem is historically rooted with the mentions of slavery, a “past of pain,” and “gifts of ancestors,” however she is speaking in the present having to overcome all of the hardships of her past and embarking on the rest of her journey with the knowledge that she is a strong African American woman. Still I Rise is about overcoming oppression with grace and pride, having no sympathy for the oppressors and giving to validity to the reasons for oppression.…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays