Graduation

            This was an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It is from the graduation scene in the novel.  The speech that is made was very harsh but it was most likely true in the time period. I would guess that many African Americans did not see the point in an education. This is because they would end up with the same crummy jobs so there was basically no point. But Maya Angelou worked past the barriers that were presented to her based on her race and she became a very successful African American woman. Granted she had to face terrible obstacles but these obstacles helped her to become who she is and they were a large influence on her writing. Because she had the courage to do what she did we all get to enjoy her work. One of the problems back then was that black people could only do certain jobs. These jobs were not easy or fun they often held the “dirt” jobs and t was sort of similar to the untouchables in India. It was truly pathetic for it to be like that but it just makes the fact that Maya Angelou so much more important and amazing. She was one of the greats who paved the way for other African Americans.