Maya Angelou’s Unique Self Essay - 2562 Words

All of childhood’s unanswered questions must finally be passed back to the town and answered there. Heroes and bogey men, values and dislikes, are first encountered and labeled in that early environment. In later years they change faces, places, and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood (Angelou, 2009, p.20). In Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she recounts her early years as a young girl growing up in Stamps, Arkansas who faces displacement, trauma, and prejudice. It is through her character and artistic expression that she is able to overcome the trauma of her childhood and evolve into the distinguished and†¦show more content†¦According to Erikson, there are four aspects of identity: religious, political, vocational, and sexual (Berger, 2011, p.434). As we experience Angelou’s autobiographical tale we encounter three importa nt women who helped shaped those four aspects within her identity: Annie Henderson, Vivian Baxter, and Bertha Flowers. The following essay will analyze the impact made by Annie Henderson, Vivian Baxter, and Bertha Flowers on Erikson’s four aspects of identity: religious, political, vocational, and sexual. Maya Angelou begins her story before she has even begun to explore her own identity or the woman she will become. The first chapter begins, When I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing tags on our wrists which instructed – â€Å"To Whom It May Concern† – that we were Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps, Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson (Angelou, 2009, p.5). It is her that we are first introduced to Annie Henderson, or Momma, the primary care-giver during Maya’s early years that would be a key figure in shaping her identity. Annie Henderson is Maya’s grandmother. Maya describes her in the subjective of her childhood, â€Å"People spoke of Momma as a good-looking woman and some, who remembered her youth, said she used to be right pretty. I saw only her power and strength (Angelou, 2009, p.46).† Yolanda Manora’s (2005) analysis of the novel suggests that Angelou’s portrayal of MommaShow MoreRelatedMaya Angelou1001 Words   |  5 PagesMaya Angelou You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness. But still, like air, Ill rise. Have you ever been so influenced by such a small amount of powerful words? This brilliant quote extracted from Maya Angelous own poem, Still I Rise, basically brings out the spirit and nature of each of her publications. Maya Angelous works of poetry are seen as inspiration for those who have been discriminated for their public appearances. AsRead MoreDisplacement, a Theme in Maya Angelou ´s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings1603 Words   |  6 Pagespersonality. Maya Angelou creates a theme of displacement in her novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelous novel has been critiqued by many notable scholars for being a classic autobiography. The critics note the importance of the setting to show universal displacement and the use of characterization to display the influences in Angelous life. The critics also note that Angelous diction and tone al low her pain and suffering to be evident throughout her novel and into her life. Angelous use ofRead MoreEssay on Maya Angelou1185 Words   |  5 PagesDistress in Maya Angelous Life Marguerite Ann Johnson, commonly known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. 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