Saturday, August 4, 2007

Graduation Through the Eyes of Maya Angelou

Graduating is one of life’s most memorable moments. This can range from a wretched time full of good-byes or a stepping-stone to greatness. Whichever way graduation is viewed, it is undeniably important. It is especially important to Maya Angelou, the author of Graduation. Angelou’s graduation was a pivotal moment in her life. She leads her audience through her graduation as if they were sitting alongside her. She does this using a variety of techniques.
Angelou’s primary method of telling her story is through imagery. She describes the scenes using a variety of techniques. One very common trope she utilizes is similes. On page 10 she describes the graduates, “Like travelers with exotic destinations on their minds…” again on page 13 when she says, “Everyone said I looked like a sunbeam.” This use of similes gives a true picture of what was going on.
The next technique that Angelou is very conscious of is word choice. The first time this really occurred to me was on page 10 when she chose to use the word “Negro.” It struck me as very important because you can get a feeling for what time period the literature was written in. For example, use of the “n” word dictates a certain time period and social feelings of the time. On the other hand, in today’s society we use the term “African-American” which has a different connotation of the word. Another word that struck me as important was “Momma” on page 11. You can make several assumptions about families based upon what they call each other.
Personification was also present frequently. On page 12 she mentions brushing withdrawal. On page 13 she speaks of a scent wafting. Additionally on page 13 she talks of the sun being young. These are all examples of inanimate objects displaying human characteristics or actions.
Foreshadowing was extremely evident in this short piece. On page 10 Angelou says, “Unlike the white school,” which gently nudges the conflict. Again on page 15 she says, “…overcome with a presentiment of worse things to come.” The mood also changed greatly with her choice of words and lengths of sentences. When things were exciting her sentences were long and descriptive. As things began to depress her, her sentences became short and sarcastic.
Maya Angelou used various techniques in this excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She uses a variety of techniques such as personification, similes, and word choice. She also used many other techniques, which weren’t discussed. However, the important point of all of these techniques is that they amplify the imagery used in the literature. This imagery is important because it’s helping identify the mood and feel. Basically, the techniques used were chosen to help lead the audience through Maya Angelou’s graduation in terms of feeling and atmosphere.

6 comments:

Rachelle said...

Hi Michelle! First off, I thought that your post was extremely well-written. What I noticed most of all was the way you discussed imagery which to me as a reader is very important. If I can't envision what the author is telling me, I lose interest. And also along the lines of imagery is the use of similes. Your examples were great! =)

Hattie said...

Hi! I liked how you picked "Graduation through the Eyes of Maya Angelou" because everyone can relate to it. I liked how you mentioned imagery. Imagery is really what reading is all about for me because I need to be able to picture it in my head in order to believe it. Great job!

Connorj said...

I'd just like to say that I thought that the introduction and ending to your post was great, they really smoothed the transitions over well. I also enjoyed how you gave mention to the subtle things in Angelou's essay, like how she spoke according to her mood. Upper-crusty as usual.

Callie R. said...

Michelle,

I thought it was good how you based the time period on the names used. What are examples of the assumptions you can make based on what families call each other (I haven't read the essay yet)? When you were describing the sentence lengths, i found the same thing in the Stunt Pilot: sentences were short when the topic was serious, and long when describing something.

michellek said...

Callie,
I really thought that was interesting that your author used short sentences during serious moments and long during happy times. It's actually very relavent to how people talk as well. For example, if you're angry with a person and they ask how you are, you typically respond with "fine." On the contrary, if your best friend calls and you had the best day of your life-chances are you'll be on the phone for a while. That's a really fantastic point-brava!

Chris said...

I like in your intro how you described graduation as, "a wretched time rull of good-byes or a stepping-stone to greatness." I thought it really captured what it feels like. Also, I don't know if you've read the essay by Sojourner Truth called "Aren't I a Woman?" but, like "Graduation" it has a lot of language and phrasing that is relative to the time which really adds to the overall impact of the essay.