Ruth+Tulysse

Still I Rise- Dr. Maya Angelou media type="youtube" key="ik4bnjUCTbE" height="344" width="425"

Dr. Maya Angelou: Courage Strengthens the Bird’s Song for Freedom

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

--Dr. Maya Angelou

Often in society, individuals are unintentionally forgotten and left in the background of acknowledgement. These individuals are those that define the importance of the acknowledgement of others. Due to his or her loss in the shuffle, the individual begins to lose his or her self, and eventually loses his or her importance-- purpose. Understandingly this misfortune almost always has a history as to why those forgotten are forgotten. Victimization plays an important role in everyone’s social status; in many cases one’s identity leads little to the expectations for him or her. The history in a society can unjustly class people. People possess a sense of denial as a way to forget their own tragedies. In the history of the world a young child growing up is expected to be taken care of and protected. If no one is around to watch her throughout her early childhood, she is merely ‘forgotten.’ Every once in a while one of these children encounter danger and is plagued by the effects of the misfortune, and in response will likely take the blame. Maya Angelou is an African-American poet, author, and iconic figure. As an icon she is a representation of someone who has endured a life struggle, taken blame, and later came to the acknowledgement that the results of her ordeals are not her fault. Through her many books and poems, the writer expresses the struggles for freedom a women bears through life. Angelou’s words evoke a sense of pride, politics, and activism in regards to the lives of women in general. Angelou aims to enlighten the world on the social inequities that occur on a daily basis. These social inequities continue to haunt individuals throughout his or her lives, in an effort to delay or end any possible means of his or her social progression. The impossible progression of these individuals causes the individual to unintentionally belittle his or herself, thus continuing the endless cycle of the forgotten children. Maya Angelou desires to end this cycle or begin an effective treatment. She opens the eyes of the world to the unspoken moral of society, ‘life is a battle field where those who do not have a purpose are the losers.’ It is common for a true artist to create works that are representations of his or her viewpoint or relative experiences. A work of great value is admired when it is one that is made to signify the people. An appreciated artist is not one who solely talks about his or her philanthropies’ but is one who takes part in the work beyond what is shown in the mainstream media. In order for an artist to captivate a large group of people, his or her work must be credible; the piece of art must aim to suggest exactly how he or she feels about the cause he or she is choosing to take a part in. The most moving stories are ones told by the people who essentially lived them. Maya Angelou is an autobiographical writer. Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings recounts the most important years of her life that define who she is today and why she writes about oppression, racism, and identity. Although she wrote the autobiography at forty-one years old, it focuses on her life between her birth and the age of seventeen. Growing up Angelou was a child who was a victim of divorce, and because of this she and her older brother were forced to move numerous times. The divorce did not sadden Angelou because she and her brother were mere toddlers when it occurred. Angelou still had the virtue of any young child, “like most children, I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph; I would forever have power over it” (Angelou 10). At the age of eight, Maya Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, which simultaneously means a piece of her innocence was stolen from her forever; her years of blissful virtue was over. Following the rape, and once her family obtained this to their knowledge, her aggressor was found beaten to death. Common to the majority of rape victims, a part of her felt responsible for the rape-- Maya felt as if her speaking out was indeed the cause of his murder. Angelou states, “I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name” (14), she blames herself for snitching on the aggressor. Consequently Angelou no longer had a desire to speak, regrettably she felt unworthy of speaking, “I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone” (14). Angelou was in fact the victim but punishes herself, by enforcing self entrapment. This contradicts her early childhood mindset of empowerment through triumph, Angelou triumphed over her aggressor, but she had lost her power. It would take Angelou another five years before she would declare herself free from her silent prison, but many more years as an adult to free herself of her mental self imprisonment. A hero is someone who in the face of adversity or a position of fragility, overcomes the adversary with an audacious but unselfish sacrifice for the greater good. A living icon is a person who delivers a message that he or she feels strongly about and dedicates his or her life to the great effort of notifying the masses to the importance of the message, eventually as the individual’s dedication strengthens them themselves become the message. An icon possesses greater strength than a hero, because they themselves are the movement. Maya Angelou began her life’s work with an autobiography; she felt the need to narrate her early story. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” is also the title to a poem Angelou wrote. The poem does an extraordinary job at summarizing the themes of the autobiography. In the first stanza Angelou exclaims: The free bird leaps on the back of the win and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. (1-7)

The poem opens with the use of imagery by stating the actions of the bird. The use of the word ‘free,’ ‘win,’ ‘dares,’ and ‘claim’ is all subliminal words of encouragement. The bird is a metaphor for a forgotten person who too takes part in gains even if this person’s part is not brought into the forefront; the second line states “the back of the win” (2). The bird may be little but also contains high hopes and dreams, and is fearless in his aim to reach them-- “dares to claim the sky” (7). Both the poem and the autobiography are messages to people who lived or are living the caginess inflicted upon by their selves. Caginess is a disease because in it is indeed a harmful and depressing state which slowly decomposes the condition of the individual. One who is cagey is one who lives within his or her own mind and has no intention of expressing his or her internal thoughts to the rest of society. No one knows the potential of one’s mind until thoughts are shown or shared. The cure to caginess is not confidence, because caginess is not a condition developed through shyness. The cure to caginess is courage because caginess is due to the lack of motivation. Stanzas two and three go into detail about the causes of caginess and what is kept inside: But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. (8-14)

The stanza describes the dangers of a bird kept caged and why it is upsetting to his freedom, however, Angelou explains that this anger is the reason why the bird sings. In the third stanza of the poem is also used as the closing stanza (six) in which Angelou writes: The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. (15-22)

The bird is unsure of all of its desires but still cries for freedom. The bird is unsure of all of its desires because it has never been given the chance to endure in all of its possibilities before. The word ‘fearful’ is used because the bird’s anger is at a heightened intensity which causes the audience to believe the bird is destined for greatness. The anger in a sense becomes beautiful because the bird believes in himself, this beauty overshadows the prior oppression. The style Maya Angelou uses in the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is one without a specific structured pattern, the poem is written in free verse. The repetition of the third stanza at the closing of the poem allows the audience to develop an ambitious mood. The tone of the poem is inspirational throughout which aids in developing the bird as a metaphor for victims of oppression. There is no rhyme scheme in the entire poem, but the audience’s attention is able to easily maintain with her excessive use of imagery. “Still I Rise,” is a poem written by Maya Angelou in 1978. This poem like “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is written as words of inspiration and encouragement for withstanding oppression and to proceed to a better future. This poem is geared towards a more specific audience. The audience is American society, but the poem is in the perception of a black female speaking to the “white man.” Maya Angelou asserts her ideals on American discrimination in the opening of the first stanza: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. (1-4)

The first and second line of the stanza expresses Angelou’s perspective of American society. The line describes that American history is written for the benefit of the white man. America has the history of belittling humans who are not of Arian origin, but as time progresses, America rewrites history in an effort to justify its past discriminations. For example history books do not go in depth into American racism in order to put an end to possible rebellions of the races that were discriminated against in the past. History is rewritten for the greater good of the white man. Angelou states, “you may trod me in the very dirt” (3), that dirt is racism, that will always exist silently. The final line of the stanza is positive. She states that she will rise, which means that she will carryon. Angelou writes that throughout history, no matter what form racism has taken on as a disguise, those who are the victims will carryon and rise above and beyond. Line five, “does my sassiness upset you?” and line twenty-five, “does my sexiness upset you?” state female personality and body traits using the words sassy and sexy, this identifies the female speaker. The rhetorical questions allow the audience to recognize that the speaker is in a declarative mood. The final stanza is one that grasps the speaker’s both pride and anger. The poem concludes: Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. (29-43)

The audience now knows that the speaker is black. The repetition of the phrase “I rise” three ties at the end of the poem, and the use of the phrase throughout the poem generated a proud mood. Similar to “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” the poem is written in free verse. The poem is essentially Angelou’s message of overcoming oppression. The strength of spirit can transcend from years of oppression. Angelou’s words are a movement towards obtaining social acknowledgement. Through social acknowledgement a person will never be forgotten and will have the courage to display his or her pride. Caginess is in fact a prison where character is kept. Maya Angelou speaks of words display a picture of the spirit’s release from the prison. Those who are living within this prison are truly the victims, but must not play the role of the victim. Fundamentally the caged are those who possess the power to rise above the racist undertones set by society, but are too afraid to release the power. If an individual does not speak his or her existence is visibly pointless. The power of expression goes a long way and is a song worthy of hearing.

Works Cited Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Bantam, 1983. Print. Angelou, Maya. Maya Angelou Poetry Collection. New York: Random House, 2001. Print. "Maya Angelou Quotes." Famous Quotes and Quotations at BrainyQuote. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .