The Idea of Displacement in Maya Angelou’s Work

Maya Angelou- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

One of the major ideas we discussed around this book was the idea of displacement. In this passage, Maya and her peers are listening to a white man speak to their class. In this scenario, Maya is feeling displaced in a place where she normally feels at home. When the white man comes into the school, he speaks to them in a condescending way, talking down to not only the students but also the African American race.

This racism is one of the many things that make Maya feel displaced throughout the book. Angelou writes, “Who decided that for Henry Reed to become a scientist he had to work like George Washington Carver, a bootblack?” (179). This quote describes the main issue that much of the audience has with this man speaking. For a white man to come into an African American school and tell them who should and should not be their role models based on the color of their skin is acting as though they don’t have the ability to think for themselves. Maya is irritated by this because her own role model is Shakespeare, who is not only a white man, but also extremely intelligent. Unlike many others in the room, Maya chooses to see this as a challenge for what she can and cannot do. As the book progresses, she continues to make strides against white stereotypes.

Shakespeare- Hamlet

In the passage, Hamlet is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about how unjust and unreasonable man is. Earlier in the play, Hamlet had heard from an unreliable ghost that his father was murdered at the hands of Claudius, his uncle. In class, we spoke about Hamlet’s distrust in human beings and related this to his constant procrastination. His distrust stems from knowing the information he heard was from a ghost whom, before that moment, he believed did not exist. His second source of distrust comes from his uncle, someone whom he thought he could trust and who suddenly takes his father’s crown and his mother’s heart. At the end of this passage, they are beginning to discuss the “Mousetrap Play” that will test what he has heard from the ghost. Even when the play is successful, Hamlet still holds onto the information and his anger. Hamlet holding in his anger makes him more and more lethal to society because not only does he have the responsibility to look out for himself, he also must do what is best for the country.

Still I Rise- Maya Angelou

This poem resonated with me the most because, after reading about everything that Maya went through, it was hard for me to believe that a person like that could go through life and still have the strength to stand back up. As a child, other people put her down so much that she began to do it herself when others weren’t around. I related to this part of the book myself, so upon reading this poem, it inspired me to research more of Angelou’s poetry. I began to see a common theme: being yourself. In our current society, expressing yourself and being different from the average crowd is something that is frowned upon. This fact has always confused me because the media tells you that it’s good to be different, but then shames you for it. After reading this poem and watching many videos of Maya, I was astonished at the amount of confidence she had, especially after putting herself down for so long. Angelou writes, “Does it come as a surprise/ that I dance like I’ve got diamonds/ at the meeting of my thighs?”. Her confidence inspires me to be myself more often, and every day I find new pieces of myself that I never knew how to express.

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