Maya Angelou
In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya Angelou's explains her mad childhood and how she survived it. For her to sit in silence for years because of certain experiences that have affected you shows character but it takes a lot of heart to tell the truth about what really happened in a situation. Her unique approach to writing has made her one of the most recognized black women writers in history. Marguerite Johnson, now know as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey and Vivian Johnson. Her father was a naval dietician, and her mother was a housewife. She had one sibling, a brother named Bailey. When she was three, her parents divorced and the children were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Growing up in Stamps, Angelou learned what it was like to be a black girl in a world for white people, and how it felt to wear old hand-me-down clothes from wealthy white women. In an interview Angelou states that, "As a child she always dreamed of waking to find her 'nappy black hair' metamorphosed to a long blond bob because she felt life was better for a white girl than for a black girl."(Burt). After five years of being away from each other, Angelou was sent back to St.
Angelou tells of what really happens to people. It soon became too much for Angelou, so she ran away to go live with her father. Flowers, Angelou began to evolve into a young girl who possessed the pride and confidence she deserved (Burt). Unfortunately, she soon found that life with her father was no better than with her mother. She was sent back to live with her grandmother because nobody could handle the grim state she was in (Burt). Sidonie Ann Smith praises Angelou work by saying, "Like Richard Wright, she opens with a primal childhood scene that brings into focus the nature of the imprisoning environment from which the self will seek escape" (Burt). In 1940, she and her brother were sent to San Francisco to live with their biological mother once again. She is on the board of the American Film Institute and is one of the few female members of the Director's Guild. The act of violence committed against Angelou silenced her for nearly five years. It takes a lot of strength to talk about some of the inexcusable things she has gone through, from childhood to the present; therefore, I give her my full admiration and respect. During her dysfunctional childhood, Angelou had a hard time growing into maturity. Flowers helped her overcome her muteness and turn back into the confident young girl she was before she was traumatized. With the constant help of a lady named Mrs. She was an exceptional dancer and earned most of her living doing what she loved. In her early twenties, she was given the name Maya Angelou because of her debut performance as a dancer at the Purple Onion Cabaret (Burt).
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