Maya Angelous Journey towards Acceptance of Self

Introduction Ever since the publishing of Maya Angelou’s autobiographical novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969, literary critics never ceased pointing out to the fact that novel’s themes and motifs are being concerned with the process of a main character striving to attain the sense of self-identity. Nevertheless, this did not prevent them from discussing the qualitative essence of this process from a variety of different perspectives.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Maya Angelou’s Journey towards Acceptance of Self specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, in her article Arensberg (1976) refers to the subtleties of how Maya went about attaining existential identity as such that have been in the state of constant transition: â€Å"The unsettled life Angelou writes of in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings suggests a sense of self as perpetually in the process of becoming, o f dying and being reborn, in all its ramifications† (277). In its turn, this implies that Maya’s perception of herself never ceased being the subject of continuous transformation. On the other hand, while suggesting that Maya did succeed with gaining solid sense existential self-awareness, Walker (1995) refers to it as something that came to being as the result of novel main character’s spatially defined intellectual evolvement: â€Å"By the end of the book†¦ she [Maya] no longer feels inferior, knows who she is, and knows that she can respond to racism in ways that preserve her dignity and her life, liberty, and property† (103). In this paper, I will aim to confirm the soundness of namely Walker’s suggestion, while pointing out to the fact that, by the end of Angelou’s novel, Maya did not only become fully self-aware individual, but that such her self-awareness came as the result of novel’s main character having learned how to ac cept her inborn affiliation with the Black race. The discussion of earlier mentioned process in regards to three events, described in the novel As novel’s context implies, throughout the early phases of her life, Maya has been experiencing a number of psychological anxieties, due to the sheer extent of her physical unattractiveness. Moreover, there were clearly defined racial undertones to Maya’s emotional uncomfortableness with who she was: â€Å"Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blond, would take the place of the kinky mass that Momma wouldn’t let me straighten?† (2). And yet, as novel’s plot unraveled, Maya was gradually freeing herself of these anxieties. I believe that the following three events, described in the novel, contributed rather substantially towards helping Maya to learn how to take pride in her blackness. The conversation that took place between Ma ya and uncle Tommy In Chapter 10, Angelou refers to the conversation that took place between Maya and uncle Tommy. While sensing that the young girl lacked self-confidence, uncle Tommy did his best to assure her that good looks is not something that solely defines one’s chances to attain social prominence: â€Å"Ritie, don’t worry ’cause you ain’t pretty.Advertising Looking for research paper on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Plenty pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind† (68). It is needless to mention, of course, that such uncle Tommy’s remark did help Maya to accept who she was. After all, prior to having socialized with uncle Tommy, Maya used to suffer a great deal, on the account of her ugliness. And, as the context of further chapters implies, uncle Tommy’s words did ha ve an effect on Maya, as she was becoming progressively less disturbed with her physical appearance. In the article, from which we have already quoted, Arensberg states: â€Å"Shuttled between temporary homes and transient allegiances, Maya necessarily develops a stoic flexibility that becomes not only her ‘shield,’ but, more importantly, her characteristic means of dealing with the world† (274). Thus, it will not be much of an exaggeration, to suggest that Maya’s socialization with uncle Tommy represents a crucial point in the process of novel’s main character being set on the path of self-actualization through acceptance. Maya’s encounter with Mrs. Flowers In Chapter 15, readers get to meet Mrs. Flowers, whose influence on Maya never ceased being utterly beneficial, it is was namely due to being exposed to the sheer extent of this character’s sophistication that Maya was slowly learning how to take pride in her racial affiliation: â €Å"She [Mrs. Flowers] appealed to me because she was like people I had never met personally. Like women in English novels who walked the moors (whatever they were) with their loyal dogs racing at a respectful distance†¦ It would be safe to say that she made me proud to be Negro, just by being herself† (95). It was specifically after having met Mrs. Flowers that Maya acquired taste for learning, as this intellectually sophisticate Black woman never ceased encouraging Maya to read: â€Å"She said she was going to give me some books and that I not only must read them, I must read them aloud† (98). After having been prompted to indulge in reading by Mrs. Flowers, Maya started to realize that her blackness was not something to be ashamed of. In its turn, this facilitated the process of novel’s main character learning how to accept her racially defined sense of self-identity even further.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Maya Angel ou’s Journey towards Acceptance of Self specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Maya’s exposal to Mrs. Cullinan’s subtle racism Chapter 16, contains description of another event, the exposure to which had increased the strength of Maya’s resolution to accept her racial self-identity – namely, the conversation between Miss Glory and Mrs. Cullinan, during the course of which Mrs. Cullinan refused referring to Maya by her real name Marguerite and instead, suggested that the name Mary suits Maya so much better: â€Å"Well, that may be, but the name’s [Margarete] too long. I’d never bother myself. I’d call her Mary if I was you† (107). And, as it appears from what happened to be Maya’s emotional reaction to Mrs. Cullinan’s suggestion, she thought of it as being utterly insulting: â€Å"I fumed into the kitchen. That horrible woman would never have the chance to call me Mary because if I was starving I’d never work for her† (107). By expressing her contempt with Mrs. Cullinan’s subtly defined racism, sublimated in White woman’s willingness to degrade Blacks linguistically, Maya had once again confirmed the fact that she was firmly set on the path of racial self-acceptance. Apparently, Maya was able to recognize the name Mary as being connotative of ‘whiteness’, which is exactly the reason why she refused to be called by this name – after having accepted her blackness as the integral part of her self-identity, Maya could never bring herself back to trying to be just like Whites. Conclusion I think that the earlier mentioned events do provide readers with the insight on what accounted for the actual subtleties of Maya’s journey towards self-acceptance. Given the fact that Angelou describes this journey as rather linearly defined, it substantiates the validity of paper’s initial thesis †“ while being continuously exposed to a number of life’s challenges, Maya was slowly learning that her self-identity could not be discussed outside of what happened to be the particulars of her racial affiliation. And, it is specifically after novel’s main character had accepted this fact cognitively, that she was able to attain emotional comfortableness with her newly acquired sense of individuality. References Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Bantam Books, 1997 [1969]. Arensberg, Liliane â€Å"Death as Metaphor of Self in I Know Why the Caged Bird  Sings.† CLA Journal 20.2 (1976): 273-91.Advertising Looking for research paper on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Walker, Pierre â€Å"Racial Protest, Identity, Words and Form in Maya Angelou’s I  Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.† College Literature 22.3 (1995): 91-109. This research paper on Maya Angelou’s Journey towards Acceptance of Self was written and submitted by user Ronnie Woodard to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Culture Clash Essay Essays

Culture Clash Essay Essays Culture Clash Essay Paper Culture Clash Essay Paper Everywhere that you will go in the world you will come across people that do not have access to adequate health care. The people that live in these situations are no better than you or I. They are being victimized for where they live and that is something that is just not acceptable. We must come up of a way to make sure everyone has access to good health care. In rural areas all over the world there is the least amount of health care. There are major health organizations in the main cities but in the lesser-developed areas people can’t get the treatment that their bodies require. These people are living with a lower quality of life and they can’t even help it. Africa is one place in the world where the people in rural areas have little to no health care. The people that live in those places have to travel great distances in order to get the treatment that they need and many people can’t make the journey. If health care were offered in these areas the people would be a lot better off. The answer to these problems is actually quite simple. Currently in South Africa there is a program called the Phelophepa Health Care Train that has treated more than 234,000 patients since it’s inception in 1994. Transnet’s Health Care Train consists of more than 15,000 kilometers of railway tracks which boxcars travel on to all the rural areas in South Africa. The main goal for this operation is that when the boxcar reaches a community they screen and give out health education for free to all individuals that wish to be there. They also give out meals to the people who cannot afford food for themselves. If a person were in need of more serious medical assistance they would just hop aboard and get a ride on the train for free to the nearest hospital that could treat them. To date more than 4,000 people have volunteered to work on the train. The Health Care Train operates every week for 37 weeks a year and they are funded from local and international donors and funders! . If the plan presented above were to take affect in all of Africa then I’m sure that it would help to do a world of difference for the people living in rural areas. These people would finally be getting the health care that they need and deserve. The quality of life in Africa would also go up and the people would be educated about health matters so the people will be less likely to get sick in the future. The rest of the world would benefit from this plan as well. People living in rural areas would have the health care available to them that they deserve. The quality of life would go up and the people would be further educated in health matters. With the people’s increased knowledge in these matters they could prevent themselves from getting sick in the future. The Phelophepa Health Care Train is a good idea and if enacted all over the world would probably solve most health care problems. This plan has been tried and tested in South Africa for more than three years now and it has shown that a plan like this has been able to work wonders for people living in rural areas. This plan should be enacted at once all over the world because the quality of life would go up and we all know how important health is.

How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers

How to Write a Resume that Beats the Computers Your Resume:   Humans vs. Computers When I give webinars on writing resumes, one of the topics I cover is how to make your resume visually appealing.   I often get this question: Why would I want to spend so much time and money making my resume pretty if it’s just going to confuse the computers? My answer is that yes, the computers are important, and that you ALSO need to have a resume that’s designed to be read by human beings.   We all know that you are most likely to find your job through networking or the â€Å"hidden job market.† When you send materials to someone in your network or to a decision-maker in the hidden job market, you want to include a professional-looking resume.   And when it’s time for an interview, it’s also advisable to have a nicely formatted resume to hand across the table. For those of you who are hoping to get those interviews by applying online, the question still remains: How can I write a resume that makes it past the computers?   In other words:   How can I raise my odds above 2%? Keep reading. There are two issues with submitting online resumes.   One is the format of the resume; the second is the keywords it contains. Formatting for Robots: ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software is not the smartest software in the world.   It gets confused by bullets, non-traditional headings, graphs, tables, and text boxes.   So you need to have a version of your resume that is stripped down and organized just for the computers. We call this your â€Å"text-based† resume. Your text-based resume should follow these guidelines: Create it in (or copy it into) a text editor such as Notepad, SimpleText or TextEdit. Use easily understandable headings like â€Å"Summary of Qualifications,† â€Å"Professional Experience† and â€Å"Education.† Don’t get fancy or creative with your headings, and don’t put two categories together in one section.   Do NOT, for instance, use the heading â€Å"Education Certifications† or â€Å"Skills Interests.† Use dashes or asterisks instead of bullets. List your address in standard â€Å"tombstone† style, one line on top of the next. Put spaces between sections. Here’s what your text-based resume might look like (beautiful, isnt it?): How will you know what keywords to use in your resume? Just because the computers can read your resume doesn’t mean you will have the right keywords to make it past their screening systems. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the keywords that truly make a difference with computer scanners are the ones you have on your resume that not everyone else includes. I have no doubt that you have great experience that qualifies you for many positions. If the computer can understand and rank it properly, it will help you immensely.

References Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

References - Essay Example Keep in mind that many of these tests are designed to test your intelligence, critical thinking skills, behavioral patterns and decision-making ability. These tests are not designed to test your potential IQ or examine your previous work history. Also, many employers will notice when a candidate appears to be nervous or stressed over a pre-employment test and immediately question whether you are an adequate fit for the stresses of the everyday work environment. Relax, take a deep breath, and concentrate on exuding as much confidence as possible when taking the pre-employment test. The personality test is probably the most common pre-employment test given by employers today. These tests are designed to test your answers to questions to examine your personality and test whether the personality type would be a good fit for the potential job. Employers can learn a lot about job candidates through these tests, but these are not tests that should cause you to worry. There literally is no right or wrong answers because the information is all about you. It is always best to answer these tests as honestly as possible because the employer will receive an almost immediate score report of the personality test. At this point, the employer has already begun a pre-test interview, so they have had a little time to get to know you. If your personality scores far different than what they know about you, this can raise serious concerns for the employers. Be honest at all stages in the application process, especially on the personality tests. First of all, you need to take your time and read every question completely. Follow the instructions exactly as they are written because many tests are also designed to test your ability to follow directions. Also, many pre-employment tests work on a rating scale usually around 1-5. Each rating system may be

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Essay

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction - Essay Example With the development of human civilization, mechanical reproduction of a work of art was introduced. It had given a new direction to the work of art both in scale and perception. With the passage of time, new and improved techniques were developed to reproduce or replicate the work of art. The woodcut graphic art was the first form of reproducible art. Later, the printing was introduced. Printing had brought an enormous change both in literature and ancient script. â€Å"During the Middle Ages engraving and etching were added to the woodcut and at the beginning of the 19th century lithography made its appearance† (Benjamin, 42). Lithography, enabled the graphic artists first time, to put its products on the market not only in large numbers as hitherto, but also in daily changing forms. Nevertheless, it could not sustain too long as after a few decades lithography was surpassed buy photography. Photography, along with technical reproduction of sound later around 1900, not only accelerated the process of technical reproduction of art, but also brought it to a standard where any visual or auditory images of art can appear and disappear at a simple movement of hand. It also shadowed its strong impact on society and captured a place of its own among the artistic processes.

Connections in John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- Milton Paradise Lo

Paradise Lost: Connections "Put that down... NOW!" As many of us have grown older, familiar phrases return to us that were instilled during our childhood. These ideas taught us how to grow and learn within the world. Just As our Parents taught us these words, God taught Satan and everyone under him ideas for their further growth and enrichment. "Paradise Lost" contains connections which are still used today. "Paradise Lost's" initial connections begin with the awesome power of God. Another connection states Satan being theroot of all evil. The final connection refers to the forgiveness of God. Paradise Lost's ideas and connections have been in use since this epic poem has been written. The initial idea of "Paradise Lost" states that God is all powerful. God's supreme power is shown throughout "Paradise Lost": "Him [Satan] theAlmighty Power Hurled headlong flaming from the etherneal[sp.] sky" by Godis only one example of God's supreme power. Satan even admits to God's almighty power - "I now of force belie...

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 15

The night before the wedding, I stood staring out the window of my bedroom. A beautiful quarter-moon shown through the ornately paned glass. It felt like the entire nighttime world was teasing me, calling out: Come play. Come hunt. Come disappear into the darkness. My skin prickled whenever a hint of the night air breezed through, and my nostrils flared at the thousand and one scents it carried. I am not meant to stay captive inside at night†¦. I had thought I was miserable in the park hunting squirrels, but here I was trapped by my word, by my guilt, by these stupid walls, by a family of humans under a spell, by my brother. Mrs. Sutherland came in earlier that evening. She didn't say much, just patted my hand and pinched my cheek, telling me not to worry, the wedding would soon be over and then we all – we all – could get back to the normal happy business of being a family. Little did she know that after Damon was through with them, the Sutherlands would never be able to be normal or happy again. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I turned and tightened the nice silk smoking jacket Winfield had loaned me, wondering if Mrs. Sutherland had left something behind. But then the door cracked open and a pink, mischievous face poked through. â€Å"Bridget,† I half-groaned. I looked around me desperately, as if some sort of exit would suddenly appear that I could escape through. She giggled and suddenly shoved her way in, slamming the door behind her, leaning against it like she had just shut out an invading army. â€Å"Stefan,† Bridget said in what she probably thought was a sexy, dulcet tone. She was dressed in a chiffon robe with giant chenille cabbage roses. Underneath, instead of a simple nightgown, she wore a complicated corseted dress made of bright pink silk with a rose-red sash that left her shoulders and neck bare. â€Å"Bridget,† I said warningly, backing up. My head hit one of the beams of the four-poster bed. â€Å"I thought maybe we could start the honeymoon early,† she whispered, pushing herself into my arms. â€Å"Uh – † I stammered. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were heavy-lidded. Despite Damon's compulsions, she was also under the sway of her own emotions, stirred to amorous feelings for the man she was about to marry. She pushed me – with remarkably strong arms – down on to the bed and fell upon me, crushing me under wave after wave of silk. Her breasts heaved over the corset, and I could feel her warm skin through my robe. I had a perfect view of her bare white neck. Her heart pumped quickly, giving her skin a hot, rosy glow and filling my senses with her blood. I could smell it all over her, salty and warm and human. A shiver went through my body as her chest pressed against mine, and I could feel the pain begin along my jaw. Such a sweet pain – and it had been such a long time since I had had human blood†¦. It couldn't hurt, part of me said. She wouldn't mind me biting her, even without compulsion. It didn't have to be painful, and she might even enjoy it. Before I knew what I was doing I had pressed my lips to her shoulder, just to feel the skin, to take a little lick†¦ She felt me moving beneath her and misinterpreted it, kissing me harder and getting into a more comfortable position, entwining her legs in mine. â€Å"No!† I managed to get control of myself and shoved her off me. I didn't mean to do it so forcefully, but even in my weakened state I was still several times stronger than a human. She fell to the end of the bed, against one of the posts, looking shocked. And then she began to cry. â€Å"You†¦ don't want me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she wailed, fat droplets of tears rolling down her cheeks. â€Å"Bridget, no, I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My fangs retracted and I was aching with the pain and my need for blood. â€Å"It's just†¦ we're getting married tomorrow, Bridget. Just one more day. If we wait until it's†¦ uh†¦ proper, it will be even more special. Just think, we'll have completed a†¦ beautiful day†¦ with you in your beautiful, uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Cream brocade with Flemish lace on the sleeves and bodice and an ivory satin sash with a veil of matching ivory silk flowers,† she sniffled. â€Å"Right.† I touched her elbow delicately and tilted her chin up so she had to look at me. She wiped the tears off her face with a piece of her robe. â€Å"Let my first night with you be with that image of you in my mind, my blushing bride.† She nodded, sniffing again, giving me a faint smile. â€Å"All right.† Then she giggled again, back to her old self, and flounced off the bed and to the door. â€Å"Good night†¦ lover,† she cooed before exiting. As soon as she was gone I fell back on the bed, muffling a groan in my pillow. It did nothing to abate my frustration. I stood, pacing from the window to the door, wanting to leave, to escape, to hunt, to do something. But I had no choice, no option. I was trapped in this room, in this situation, in the terrible in-betweenness of being neither a human nor a monster. I ripped the pillow straight in two, feathers exploding around the room like a white powder keg. Damn you, Damon, I thought violently, for putting me in this position. And damn you, too, Katherine, for beginning all this.