Maya Angelou and Richard Wright: The Dream of Freedom

Maya Angelou and Richard Wright: The Dream of Freedom Graduation is the best day of ever young kids life, its almost as important as learning to read and write. But in reference to both being very important, racism and segregation has played the biggest factor of them all in both â€Å"Graduation† and â€Å"The Library Card.† â€Å"Graduation,† by Maya Angelou describes the anger from racism and pride of graduation day at her segregated school. Similarily, in his article, â€Å"The Library Card,† Richard Wright describes his struggle and frustration that he faces in the process for borrowing books due to the Jim Crow laws and his reaction towards the unfair treatment of Negros in the South. I believe that most students in the world have experienced some from of racism during their school years, either from teachers, from their peers, or through an overt or covert curriculum. But in contrast to racism and segregation in these two essays, they both show that, in order for African Americans to survive they have to overcome far more situations than just whites., they had to show pride, self-respect, and courage to keep fighting through hard times. Both Maya Angelou and Richard Wright utilized various similar and distinct ideas. They both did not have accessibly to good education; they both saw light down the road to further education; Due to education both started hating white Southerners; both become discouraged/dissatisfied and then later look forward to being free for once in their segregated lives. Imagine how it would feel to have someone of another race speak at your graduation and put your race down. This is the story of Graduation written by my Angelou. In this story we see how a young black girl awaits with great pride and anticipation her graduation day. When the day finally arrives, her dreams and expectations or shadowed by the speech that Mr. Donleavy, a whit man, gave to the graduating class of 1940. At the and of the story we see how the class valedictorian, Henry Reed comes back with encouraging word that help the entire audience become live and feel like they war on top gin. My Angelou used a very important literary element in this story called ton. Ton is the attitude the speaker has toward themselves, their subjects, and their audience. In this case the speaker in this story is the young black girl. In the beginning of the story the black girl speaks with pride and self-confidence. He think very highly of herself when he states, I was going to be lovely. A walking modal of all the various styles of fin hand sewing and it didnt worry me that I was only twelve years old and merely graduating from the eighth grade (Angelou, pp.56-80). In the middle of the story we see that the girl is angry and disappointed at the outcome of Angelous graduation. As explained earlier, Mr. Donleavy addressed her graduating class with continuous remarks about the white class. He went on to say that the white kids were going to have a chance to become the Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguins (Angelou, p.23). The young girl couldnt believe what she was hearing: Graduation, hush-hush magic time of frills and gifts and congratulations and diploma, was finished for me before my name was called. The accomplishments was nothing. Donleavy had exposed us.† (Angelou pg. 110) In this sentence we can actually feel the frustration and anger she felt. At the end of the story we see how her mood changed from being angry to feeling proud of herself and her race once again. This was the outcome of a poem read by her class valedictorian, Henry Reed: The word of Patrick Henry had made such an impression on me that I had been able to stretch myself tall and trembling and, I know not what course others may take but as for me, give me liberty or give me death (Angelou, pp.120-125). In this sentence the young girl feels proud to be black and a part of the graduating class of 1940. She put aside all the awful remarks made by Mr. Donleavy and rejoiced with the encouraging words given by Henry Reed. She was proud of her race and proud to be graduating due to her full academic accomplishments. â€Å"The Library Card,† by Richard Wright had contrasted various similar ideas as to Maya Angelou. Though Wright was prohibited by the Jim Crow laws to borrow books from the library, he imbibed knowledge of learning to read and write from the help of Mr. Falk. Mr. Falk was an Irish Catholic and was hated by the white Southeners. To show the high degree of security Wright felt in asking Mr. Falk for his library card and for breaking the Southern White Law. Wright, a nigger boy, prefers to ask Mr. Falk to borrow his library card for H.L. Menchkens book because all of them—Negros, Mr. Falk, and H.L. Mencken—have the similarity of the little girl in Maya Angelous essay; they all were hated by the white Southeners. Since both, Mr. Falk nad Wright, are hated by Southern whites, Mr. Falk would not snitch on him for having an intention to break a Southern Whites law of not allowing Negros to borrow books from the library. Like Maya Angelou, Richard Wrights only accessibility to education came from the books he borrowed from the library. As â€Å"reading grew into a passion† (Wright pg 431) to Wright and his capability of looking at world began to differ, he unknowingly begins to desire freedom. Wright terms desire of freedom into â€Å"vague, unformed yearning† (Wright 433) because he had never before been enlightened to the freedom of such a degree as he had been from reading. This enlightenment makes him desire freedom further. However, Jim Crow laws prevented Wright from fulfilling his desire. Thus, he feels dissatisfied for being a Negro and not being able to pursue his desire. Since southern whites developed Jim Crow laws, he hates them. Wright clearly points out his hatred for southern whites when he writes â€Å"I could fight the southern whites† (Wright 434). He also hates his fellow-Negros who empowers whites over their Negro self. To show his disapproval with his fellow- Negros Wright refers to them as being â€Å"cold† (Wright 434). As a result, to put an end to his dissatisfaction and hate, Wright begins to plan for the â€Å"trip [to] North† (Wright 434). By the enlightenment, Richard Wright empowers himself by elevating his pride, self-respect, and courage to rebel against the southern whites. After being enlightened about how others rebelled against southern whites, Wright denies living a life of a slave and writes â€Å"I would hate myself as much as †¦ those who submitted† (Wright 434) to show the increment in self-respect .Wright desires to rebel against southern whites. By reading H. L. Mencken books, Wright realized how Mencken was rebelling against southern whites through his writing (Wright 428-429). Thus, by admitting that he wants to be a good writer, Wright hints of his desire to rebel against southern whites through writing. Even though Wright knows southern whites hate people who speak against them, his decision to rebel against southern whites shows his high degree of courage. Maya Angelou and Richard Wright gave a new meaning to education for all African Americans. As learning to read and write grew among slaves, it gave birth to the desire of freedom through writing rebellion, in which Richard Wright masters his own â€Å"raging demon, slashing with his pen† (Wright pg. 433-434) imagination. The rebellion then shapes into a revolution for equal rights and then with the little aid of Rosa Parks by not seating and the great contribution of Dr. Martin Luther King JR. by never backing down, the revolution succeeds and gives a birth to the America of equal opportunity as known today. Today, Barrack Obama, an African-American, is the president of America. There is no doubt that Barrack Obamas success is the fruit of the some tree whose roots correspond to Maya Angelou and Richard Wrights struggle. They were heros to the African Americans not only for standing up and showing pride, self-respect and courage, but by enlightening the hearts with a passion t o succeed forward.

Fi 360 Week 2

3-2. Dixon Shuttleworth has a large sum of money that he wants to invest to finance his retirement. He has been presented with three options. The first investment offers a 5% return for the first five years, a 10% return for the next five years, and a 20% return thereafter. The second investment offers 10% for the first ten years and 15% thereafter. The third investment offers a constant 12% rate of return. Determine which of these investments the best for Dixon is if he plans to retire in the following number of years. a. ifteen years b. twenty years c. thirty years 3-4. You have a trust fund that will pay $1 million exactly ten years from today. You want cash now, so you are considering an opportunity to sell the right to the trust fund to an investor. a. What is the least you will sell your claim for if you could earn the following rates of return on similar risk investments during the ten-year period? a. 6% b. 9% c. 12% b. Rework part (A) under the assumption that the $1 million payment will be received in fifteen rather than ten years. c.Based on your findings in parts (a) and (b), discuss the effect of both the size of the rate of return and the time until receipt of payment on the present value of future sum. 3-5. You have saved $10,000 toward a down payment on a home. The money is invested in an account earning 7% interest. You will be ready to purchase the new home once your savings account grows to $25,000. d. Approximately how many years will it take for the account to reach $25,000? e. If the interest rate doubles to 14%, how many years will pass before you reach your $25,000 target? 3-10.Liliana Alvarez’s employer offers its workers a two-month paid sabbatical every seven years. Liliana, who just started working for the firm, plans to spend her sabbatical touring Europe at an estimated cost of $25,000. To finance her trip, Liliana plans to make six annual end-of-year deposits of $2,500 each, starting this year, into an investment account ear ning 8% interest. d. Will Liliana’s account balance at the end of seven years be enough to pay for her trip? e. Suppose Liliana increases her annual contribution to $3,150. How large will her account balance be at the end of seven years?

Essay on The Poetry of Robert Hayden - 1657 Words

Although the majority of Robert Haydens writings address racial themes and depicts events in African-American history, he also wrote short poems that capture his own personal experiences. Hayden has an enormous amount of great poems and short stories, but as I read through many of them, I was touched by two specific poems that I felt I could personally relate to. I chose these poems because I am able to put myself into the story-line and understand what the writer is talking about. I believe that a good writer is able to reach any reader regardless of race, gender, or age. Hayden possessed an incredible skill with his language and the structures of his poems that could almost pull the reader right out of their chair and place them in the†¦show more content†¦The first thing I had learned about Haydens style before I began reading his actual poems was that he frequently used first-person point of view. Many critics mimic the same thoughts when they discuss how a large majori ty of his poems were based on his personal experience. He uses his recollection of himself in relation to something else: other characters, different experiences, and even through works of art. He tends to reflect back on numerous times of his childhood. They are clearly personal and some almost seem biographical as he remembers his past and his family as he grew older. These writing are not usually happy for him or easy to put on paper for everyone to see. They seem to bring up pain, guilt, sorrow and a sense of suffering. His writings reflect what he feels on the inside: lost identity, loneliness, and his longing need for attention. In Those Winter Sundays Hayden tells a story about a son looking back at his father during his childhood. The poem describes a father that through words doesnt necessarily show love or affection towards his family. It captures the need of love from a distant father to his child. Through reading this poem, it is discovered that the love the son was looking for was always present it was just communicated more through the fathers efforts and less through the type of tenderness that is expected from a child. He explains in small details his fathers suffering. The manShow MoreRelatedCommentary on Robert Hayden Poetry Essay957 Words   |  4 Pagespoint compares that of a boy and the perspective of him as an adult. According to the first line, there is an action that precedes the anecdote. As the poem suggests, the father wakes up early every day of the week to do work, including Sundays. Robert Hayden, the author, uses imagery and diction to help describe the scene. The diction helps exemplify the imagery even better, the reader can sense how the speaker’s home felt like as well as the father’s hard work. The speaker awakens to the splinteringRead MoreAnalysis Of Gwendolyn Brooks And Robert Hayden s Poetry1255 Words   |  6 Pages Reflective Writing An Analysis of Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden’s Poetry Many artists are also historians, people who record first-hand experience of history, making note of important events to which many will make reference. Artist do this through music, writing, and orally through passed-down stories and legends. In the area of writing, there are many different types which display historical understanding. These categories divide into poems, prose, short stories, and long stories. The categoryRead MoreHayden’s Way Essay1033 Words   |  5 PagesHayden’s Way Robert Hayden was a man who worked with what he had instead of dreaming of what he does not have. Pursuing what he loves to do even when people would put him down or not acknowledge him. 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Enron Was The Largest Bankruptcy Of America Essay

Enron had the largest bankruptcy in America’s history and it happened in less than a year because of scandals and manipulation Enron displayed with California’s energy supply. A few years ago, Enron was the world’s 7th largest corporation, valued at 70 billion dollars. At that time, Enron’s business model was full of energy and power. Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling had raised Enron to stand on a culture of greed, lies, and fraud, coupled with an unregulated accounting system, which caused Enron to go down. Lies were being told by top management to the government, its employees and investors. There was a rise in Enron s share price because of pyramid scheme; their strategy consisted of claiming so much money to easily get away with their tricky ways. They deceived their investors so they could keep investing their money in the company. Kenneth Lay, former Chairman and CEO, and Jeff Skilling who was also a CEO and COO of Enron, had the major part in Enron when it collapsed and went bankrupt. 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