Maya Dialectical Journal

1. “I knew that once I put it on I’d look like a movie star. I was going to look like one of the sweet little white girls who were everybody’s dream of what was right with the world.” (Pg.4)
• Mayas Easter dress symbolizes her need for acceptance throughout the whole book. Maya thought she wasn’t beautiful because of how dark she was and her hair texture. Maya thought that if she wore that dress people would think of her as being a beautiful girl. She also thought that should would be so beautiful that she would meet the standards of white beauty. But Maya soon realizes that wearing a white women throughways will not make you look a movie star.

2. “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the …show more content…
Maya also foreshadows and sets the tone thought the rest of the book. As Maya begins to experience life in Stamps she realizes that whites and blacks are segregated to the point where black people does not even know white people exist. And that it is only the beginning for what the rest is to come.

3. “During these years in Stamps, I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare. He was my first white love.” (Pg.14)
• Maya’s first love is William Shakespeare. Throughout the book her love for literature plays a significant role in giving her the confidence she needs. It also provided a type of fantasy; escape for Maya when she wanted to avoid the world. Maya continued to quote and make references to authors she read. So literature is being used as a motif throughout the story of her life.

4. “Until I was thirteen and left Arkansas for good, the Store was my favorite place to be.” Pg. (16)
• The store symbolizes a common gathering place in Stamps. Here at the Store Maya witnesses the cycle of life and hard labor. It took Maya until the age of thirteen to realize what the store meant to her. Because without the store she would have never learned the rewards of hard work and loyalty and the importance of a strong

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