Rhetorical Devices In Maya Angelou's Graduation

Words: 770
Pages: 4
Open Document
Graduation- Rhetorical Devices
Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” essay shares the epitome of racial pride in the 1940’s. Written from the point of view of Marguerite Johnson, who is a younger Maya Angelou, she describes the anxiety and preparation of her graduation from junior high into the proud Negro race. Angelou traces her maturation throughout the day through her ever-changing use of juxtaposition, irony, and historical allusions.
The use of juxtaposition is used strategically by Angelou to describe her views of her social status. Angelou’s shows her views in the beginning when she juxtaposes the superiority of the white Central school to the black Lafayette County Training School. She implies that her school distinguishes itself by “having neither lawn, nor hedges, nor tennis courts, nor climbing ivy” and by default, the white school does. By saying what her school doesn’t have, Marguerite juxtaposes the social opportunity for blacks …show more content…
By alluding to how the white kids would become “Galileos and Madame Curies and Edisons and Gaugins,” rather than just saying that the white kids would become legends, Angelou indicates her knowledge to prove that she is just as worthy as becoming someone great. While singing the songs of pride to the Negros, Margaret realizes that she is proud of who she is and realizes that she should not throw away the efforts of “Black, known and unknown poets” whose “auctioned pains sustained [them].” By stating that Blacks had sacrificed their lives for her happiness, she is maturing by becoming grateful for what has been done for her to be able to succeed regardless of any obstacles. The little Margaret has changed and has become a matured, angelic poet who is proud to be able to graduate into the Negro race. The historical allusions present Angelou’s intelligence and also boosts her morale to accomplish great things in
Show More

Related Documents: Rhetorical Devices In Maya Angelou's Graduation

Critical Thinking, Reading, And Writing

Long1 McGraw­Hill Chapter 1 Critical thinking, reading, and writing ● Most college work still requires an ability to understand and reflect intelligently on written texts, and subsequently, to respond in writing to them. ­Preponderance: the quality or fact of being greater in number, quantity, or importance. ­Learning the tools of critical reading and writing not only teaches you the “what” of an issue, but also helps you think about and respond intelligently to the relative strength of the…

Words 8037 - Pages 33