Aguilar 1

Nicolette Aguilar
Morrell
English III/Block E, C.P.
8 May 2015

The Legacy of the Beautiful Maya Angelou

Many people can admit that they've been through ups and downs throughout their lives.
Authors can easily agree that past experiences have shaped them to be the person who they are.
Experiencing life is what makes authors who they are because they have that opportunity to
share with the reader through their writing. This applies to modern authors as well, such as Maya
Angelou, who writes about events that have heavily impacted her. Maya Angelou was born in the
late-1920s which is also known as the Great Depression. During this era not only was poverty a
social problem, but racism and sexism. Through Mayas modern techniques she focuses on
telling her life story and past experiences which have shaped her life and writing. Maya
Angelous tragic and unique personal perspective influenced and is reflected, in her work; her
writing is an inspiration to all women and is timeless.
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 to the parents of Marguerite Johnson and
Bailey Johnson. She was the youngest of two children. At the age of three, Angelous parents
divorced and her family was permanently separated. As a result of her parents divorce Angelou
and her brother Bailey left for their grandmothers house, ultimately leaving two young children

Aguilar 2
parentless. They where sent to Stamps, Arkansas by train to meet Annie Henderson, their
grandmother. Growing up without a mother had a big impact on Angelous life. Angelous life in
Arkansas was not quite as she expected, in Stamps there were constant environmental disasters
and the people in the local community didn't want to improve their lives. Instead of bettering
themselves for the next generations many of people would continue with their lives and resign to
the poverty (Angelou 14.18). there was no only poverty but sexism in Angelos life. Angelou
admits that Stamps economically was still in the Great Depression and World War II was
noticeable. Because she lived in the South, racism was a constant issue as well as the Jim Crow
laws. After four years with living with their grandmother their father returned and took Angelou
and her brother back to their mother. Retuning to her mother was a whole different life because
she had a new boyfriend named Freeman. At the age of eight Maya was brutally raped by
Freemen. This event had forever changed and impacted her for the rest of her life.
Being sexually assaulted broke Maya and left her damaged mentally and physically.
After, being raped Maya told her brother Bailey, and he passed this devastating news to the rest
of the family. In much disappointment the authorities were notified and Freemen was arrested.
The jury found him guilty, but he was only jailed for one day. Due to the sexism and racism this
case was not heavily judged because the color of Angelou ski and the fact that she was a woman.
This obvious injustice angered her uncles so they killed him three days after he was released
from jail. This murder of Freemen had affected Angelou. After, this experience she had while
living with her mom Angelou moved back with her grandmother, but something changed about
her.
This impulsive action of her uncles had traumatized her for the rest of her life. Angelou
felt that she was an evil human being to tell Bailey about her being assaulted. She blamed her

Aguilar 3
herself for Freemens murder and thought her voice had killed him (Angelou 87). After, this
traumatic experience Angelou refused to talk for five years. Everyone in her family and
community didn't understand her reasoning. At school there was only one person who really
helped her through her difficult time, her teacher, Bertha Flowers, was the one to reach out to
Angelou and introduce to her an escape, literature. This was the very beginning of Maya
Angelous passion for literature. She was introduced to authors that inspired her such as Charles
Dickens, William Shakespeare, Frances Harper, and Edgar Allan Poe along with several others.
Reading was one way to forgot the pain and disappointment she felt. This time of her life heavily
influenced the woman many know today.
Through Angelous experiences she was taught the reality of the world and strived to be
the best that she could be. Through the power of literature Angelou was able to overcome the
cruelness and the negativity she was constantly faced with. Although, Angelous adolescence was
very difficult, she overcame everything she had experienced. These life experiences had
influenced her to write poems such as, Still I Rise. In this poem she describes how the world
could be so negative and how it knocked her down. She explains being a woman of color she is
judged on the physical and not based on her intelligence. She knows that negativity surrounds
her, but she conquers all of it and still rises (Still I Rise 3-4). Always being knocked down in
Arkansas Angelou knew that she had to stand up and do something about the sexism and
discrimination that she endured. Another poem such as, Phenomenal Woman, Angelou realized
that she has truly forgiven herself for her past and it was never her fault (Phenomenal Woman).
Angelou finally discovers that she is beautiful in every single way. Growing up she knew living
as a woman of color was going to be difficult because of the racism that surrounded her life.

Aguilar 4
Living as a black woman during Angelous time was tough, but she overcame and accepted
herself. Another example of Angelou admitting that she was lost in, I know Why the Caged Bird
Sings. Due to the continual putdown for being African American and being a woman in society
Maya Angelou finally gained the courage and bravery to stand up for what she believed in and
for that it made her to be the person who many know to this day.
Being a woman in society had always been a challenge to Maya Angelou. In, The Caged
Bird Sings, Angelou reflects on societys cruelness and how it affected her. She refers to herself
as being a caged bird because she was a woman who was pushed aside. She was the bird that
wanted to speak up for herself but she couldn't because she was imprisoned. In this poem she
vividly describes how she felt for being a woman in a society. These putdowns impacted her so
much at one point in her life she felt worthless as a human being and felt she had no place. She
describes how her identity is lost and that she is priceless. It was not until in, I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings, Angelou realized that she is a brilliant woman. Although being a woman in
society was tough it motivated her to speak up and make her voice be heard. Looking from
Angelous perspective she was a always put down for something, weather it being the color of
her skin or being a woman in society. She overcame it all and it motivated her to be the best
person she could possibly be.
Angelous life-story and her bravery has influenced all women until this day. Her
accomplishments and her accompanied works have been heard. When Angelou decided to
publish a biography it took much courage to share with the world her childhood. The event that
she endured as a child impacted her and encourage her to share with the world how she
overcame it all. It is apparent she has been an inspiration to all with her because she is still

Aguilar 5
written about. In an article written by Jessica Moore she claims that Angelou was the one who
spoke to her when she was bullied at school (Ebony Magazine). Moore learned the painful story
of Angelou and she became inspired to fight back and not let anyone silence her voice. An
accessibility in Angelou's work allowed her to touch the lives of girls pushing through the rite of
passage of becoming a woman of color in a country that defined beauty by something other than
their own reflection (Ebony Magazine). Through Maya Angelous confidence and pride in her
being she has touched the hearts of young girls. Angelous voice in her literature has this
authority that affects one when it is read. Her words literally change the way people view the
world. In Wouldnt Take Nothing For My Journey Now, Maya Angelou exposes life lessons that
she learned along her journey. Through everything she has been faced with she values and highly
encourages woman to to be tough and to stand up in what they believe in (Wouldnt Take
Nothing For My Journey Now).
Maya Angelous traumatic childhood has shaped her to have a unique perspective on the
world, which has influenced her in her work; she is inspiring to woman and is unforgettable. As a
child Angelou experienced things that no child should ever endured but, through her strength and
bravery she was able to still rise. Living in a world where hatred exists due to the color of ones
skin had an effect on Angelou but, motivated her to succeed at voicing her opinion. Not only
being colored was a struggle, but being a woman during the 1920s was hard because of a
womans image of obedience to men. Maya Angelous story and morals will forever influence
women to be brave and to conquer the impossibilities. While researching Maya Angelou I was
elated to learn more about a remarkable role model. This woman is truly resilient and has paved
the way for all women to inspire to be anyone that they can ever dream to be. After, completing

Aguilar 6
this paper I learned more about the accomplishments of Maya Angelou. In my opinion the
research did answer my questions because this exceptional woman has been through the worst
conditions and she describes her life experiences through her writing which is truly a blessing to
read.

Work Cited
Angelou, Maya. Wouldnt take nothing for my journey now. 1st ed. New York, NY: Random
House Pub Group, 1992. Print.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House Publishing
Group, 2009. Print
Angelou, Maya. Phenomenal Women. ed Monica Stark. January Magazine. 11 April 2015. Web.
Brazile, D. Opinion: Maya Angelou: The definition of a phenomenal woman. CNN. 28
May2014. Web.1 April 2015.
Commentary: Still I Rise. 2011. Poetic Whispers.11 April 2015. Web.
Maya Angelou Biography - Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement. 26 Feb
2010. Web. 1 April 2015.
Maya Angelou, the Feminist.nd. EBONY. 11 April 2015. Web.
Paschen, E. Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and
Everything Else. Naperville: Sourcebooks/ Jabberwocky, 2010. Print.