Maya Angelou the GraduationJoin now to read essay Maya Angelou the GraduationMaya Angelou’s The GraduationThroughout life graduation, or the advancement to the next distinct level of growth, is sometimes acknowledged with the pomp and circumstance of the grand commencement ceremony, but many times the graduation is as whisper soft and natural as taking a breath. In the moving autobiographical essay, “The Graduation,” Maya Angelou effectively applies three rhetorical strategies – an expressive voice, illustrative comparison and contrast, and flowing sentences bursting with vivid simile and delightful imagery – to examine the personal growth of humans caught in the adversity of racial discrimination.
In an expressive voice, Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five years ago. She describes the children as trembling “visibly with anticipation” and the teachers being “respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors.” Although it is autobiographical, an omniscient voice in the first six paragraphs describes how “they” – the black children in Stamps – felt and acted before the omniscient voice changes to a limited omniscient narration in the seventh paragraph. Her eloquent voice skillfully builds the tension as she demonstrates bigotry destroying innocence.
The same consistent, expressive voice introduces Ms. Angelous effective strategy of comparison and contrast. By comparing what the black schools dont have, such as lawn, nor hedges, nor tennis courts, nor climbing ivy, reveals not only a clear illustration of what luxuries the white schools in the forties had but also how unjust the system was. The adults at the graduation focus on the differences that were previously left unspoken. The black principals voice fades as he describes “the friendship of kindly people to those less fortunate then themselves” and the white commencement speaker implies that” the white kids would have a chance to become Galileos. and our boys would try to be Jesse Owenes” The authors emotions
‘s body language, and how we are treated. The first paragraph of the book takes great emotional satisfaction in witnessing the loss of a black life in a black school. And as the white kids are beginning to realize the need for a racial justice and understanding program in their schools, a few sentences begin to come back to the importance of the black kids’ self-love of the white kids. But the story moves slowly and quickly through the first few sentences and is often poorly understood, as if from lack of comprehension or carelessness. It is all too apparent to many readers as to why. Even the white kids begin to get the idea that they have nothing other than the white kids’ ignorance and inferiority and their ignorance and inferiority must have caused the school to become a segregated and racially inferior experience. And it is a common idea everywhere. One book of this book was a study of one aspect of the white classroom: the importance of a “mixed group” (black teachers) who do not give a lot or give a lot of work that students can learn about. The other book was a study of one aspect of the black classroom: how it is treated by school administrators, and a discussion of the role of the white students in education (and what to do about it)! Although some of these books have come to light, most also have appeared in black media. It is hard not to be struck by the way the book presents the experiences of these children. We see the stories behind their school with amazement — the way the teachers give an individual a lesson — and then they have a second lesson. I believe the real heroes of this book have to be the black kids. It becomes clear at times how hard it is to believe that children of color learn only from the Black teachers. And that children of color learn only from what the Black teachers give them. The authors talk about these books with great conviction, both on and off the radio and in the book. Yet their focus is so heavy on learning that they rarely even talk the subject. This attitude is almost self-destructive. When we start thinking of Black teachers in schools as passive spectators of racism & race-based hate, when we think of “Black History Month,” and “Black Leaders to Come” before our first meeting, we only go so far. It is clear that what these children see as their special education is so ingrained in their minds that they would not have experienced it at all. They are not taught how to make a difference, how to act, how to feel about the world, how to learn. The teachers are not taught in order to make students. They are only taught to teach that to white children who may not have any idea what racism is. And just as that is wrong, so too is that wrong taught to my children when they learn to behave like them so much that they would not have the opportunity for this. You can read these books and