?Still I Rise? By Maya Angelou Essay, Research Paper

Rising Up

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou is directed towards blacks on

how to be proud of their ancestry, themselves, and their overall

appearance. The poem is a special and motivating poem that

African-Americans (and other races for that matter) should read

and take to heart. According to African-Americans, Maya Angelou

states that no matter what white Americans (slave owners) say or

do to African-Americans (slaves) they can still rise up to make a

better life for themselves and their race as a whole.

One reason blacks should rise above their oppression is so

they can better themselves and in turn make a better life for

their next generation, just as their ancestors tried to do.

“Bring the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the

hope of the slave” says Angelou is taking the lessons learned

from their ancestors and dreaming and hoping to rise above

slavery. They felt that if they rose above slavery, their

children and grandchildren would not have to partake in torture

and pain. White Americans had and still have a different

perception of the previous quote and they feel that what their

ancestors had given them will help them to fulfill their dreams

and in doing so slaves would be needed to keep their dream alive.

Self love and assurance are also a major component to rising

above others as Maya Angelou explains in her poem. She expresses

herself by saying sassiness, which means to talk to someone

disrespectfully, can help a person achieve personal satisfaction

that may help them take on tough situations. Many slave felt

intimidated by their masters and they felt that what their

masters said about them was true and without their masters they

would be in a worse situation.

The appearance, shape, and style of an African-American is

another way that whites try to downgrade the African-American

race. Many blacks in the past and the presence have a problem

with their shape, hair, and overall appearance due to the way

whites despised their looks. Maya Angelou is trying to help other

African-Americans see the beauty within themselves and not let

the hatefulness of white Americans influence how they feel about

themselves by saying “You may shoot me with your words, You may

cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But

still, like air, I’ll rise”. Some white Americans may interpret

the previous quote differently by saying they can talk to the

slaves the way they want, they can give the slaves an evil look,

they can also be hateful to the slaves, but no matter what the

slave masters will continue to be better and rise about the

slaves. In my opinion from what I have seen and heard from white

Americans the main reason they dislike the way African-Americans

look is because they know deep down in their hearts that the

black race as a whole is beautiful.

Maya Angelou says as a people we must believe in ourselves

and take pride in what we do to try to overcome what our

ancestors went through. As a race we must find strength within

ourselves to never let our race lie victim to the torture of

another race. Also, our race must always remember what our

ancestors went through so that we can stand tall with pride.

Never should we allow other races to see our pain, tears, and as

Maya says “soulful cries” unless it is a result of overcoming

obstacles and hurdles that pose a tremendous burden in our lives.

I agree with what Maya says and how our race should try to better

ourselves. She has good points on how the white race perceives

our race and how they hate to see us succeed.