Theravada vs. Mahayana Buddhism

Myrlande summary

In Maya Angelou' story "Champion of the World", she narrates about a boxing fight that took place when she was a child while working at her uncle's store in the 1930's.

The fight was between African-American Joe Louis v. Primo Carnera. The match was being broadcast by a radio her uncle had at the store. It brought African-American together as a community. They gather around the radio to listen to boxing matches. Men, women, and children come to listen and to buy soft drinks; in case of a particularly bloody fight.

The story and message told by the story are effective because she used different techniques for the audience to go on without missing any details. Since the event took place when there were still racial conflicts against African-Americans, she told all of the African-American people in the store listening closely to the radio and made it into a really big deal. By making it into a big deal we can understand that the African-Americans were counting on a win by, one of their kind, Joe Louis. In one occasion Carnera had Louis against the ropes. It was her people falling. Maya Angelou gives examples about what would to come if Joe Louis were to lose. “It was another lynching”, “a black boy whipped and maimed” (Angelou79).

She uses these examples because that is how it used to be and how she thought it would be if Joe were to lose. The examples she uses are strong and bold and show us that the black people couldn’t afford to lose in another aspect of life. She needed to prove a point and she did just that. She wanted the ones to think that they were superior to open their eyes and see that they are no different from anyone else that walks this earth. Maya Angelou shows her point throughout the entire story by having race to race comparisons. The story is directed to all those who think that they are superior to those who have a different skin color or race. Regardless of skin color, race, or nationality, there should not be discrimination.

At the end when Joe Louis becomes the Heavyweight Champion of the world, some people do not return home but stay overnight in town; they are afraid to be on a country road at night when he had proved to the world, according to Maya, that African-Americans were the strongest people in the world and that had made all his people very proud of their race.