“The Adversity of a one Maya Angelou”

A critical essay by Samirah Field (9).

In Maya Angelou’s memoir I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings she goes to great length to describe the hardships she has gone through from having her first employer try to rename her for her own convenience to having her graduation ruined by her own principal. Maya’s adversity and pride help her get through all of this and more.
Maya Angelou due to being a black woman in the south, suffers greatly at the hand of racism and the fact that the end of slavery was a new concept at the time doesn’t help much either. During her life, Maya had to overcome many injustices, specifically being white washed and renamed to be given a “white name” for the convenience of her employer; “Well, that may be, but the name’s too long. I’d never bother myself. I’d call her Mary if I was you” (107). The phrasing “I’d never bother myself” depicts how her employer perceives just learning Maya’s name is too much effort to even try, she would rather rename her than give her common decency.
Later Maya is reflecting on what opportunities she will have compared to white kids, comparing the options and heroes black kids have with that of the white kids; “The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguins, and our boys (the girls weren’t even in on it) would try to be Jesse Owenses and Joe Luoises. Owens and the Brown Bomber were great heroes in our world, but what school official in the white-goddom of Little Rock had the right to decide that those two men must be our only heroes?” (179). By comparing the heroes of white kids to the heroes of black kids Angelou reveals how deep the racist roots in America go and conveys how society expects black kids to only become a couple things while the white kids can do anything. In the face of adversity, Angelou doesn't give into the hate the world has, instead being proud of who she is. This inner strength of hers helps her gain the confidence and strength she needs.   During Maya’s graduation, she had lots of anxiety. Her school speech from the staff wasn't very good and focused more on the white kids, due to this her class mate Henry Reed, leads the black kids i n the “black anthem” and doing so, Maya is filled with pride “While echoes of the song shivered in the air, Henry Reed bowed his head, said “Thank you, “ and returned to his place in the line. The tears that slipped down many faces were not wiped away in shame. We were on top again. As always, again. We survived” (184).  Angelou conveys a very powerful sentiment by revealing the imagery of her class refusing to wipe away the tears in shame. Instead of wiping them they embrace them and how proud they are to be black even in the face of harsh racism. Later in her life, Maya reveals her pride by explaining how she feels about being a black woman and that through impossible odds she is formidable and strong, “The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.” When Angelou describes the black female as a formidable character she highlights the struggles that black women in the south went through and how through all the hardship they remain proud of who they are and come out stronger than ever before. 

Angelou has been through more than anyone should go through in her life and she has come out stronger than anyone could ever imagine. Her hardships made her stronger being renamed, being told who she can or cannot be and being racial degraded by her own principal, most would let it crush them but she lets it lift her up and stands tall and proud.