Maya Angelou autobiography

• 5 key devices and main effect

  1 - heavily modified description creates this detailed visual description

  2 - contrast and antithesis betweent landlady and mother, her home vs mother home

  3 - pacing created emphasis and importance on significant moments e.g. pause when climax occurs ('baby')

  4 - retrospective narrative

  5 - low frequency lexis
• Purpose?

  1 - to recount the details of her life but with a veiw to publish the difficulties of life as a single mother, daughter, and young black woman living in a prejudiced society.

  2 - to share the significant moments / expose her struggles

  3 - to reflect on development of career as well as personal development
• Audience?

  1 - fans of Maya Angelou - gain insight, relation to problems

  2 - readers of autobiographies

  Angelou addresses her audience with an appreciative voice, maintaining a sense of humbleness to influence audience o appreceate lifes challenges and parents / those that care for you.
• Context?

  As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
• Voice?

  Retrospective

  Reflective

  Admiration / adoration

  Tonal shift from detached to emotional voice
• Further techniques

  Sensory and hyperbolic imagery and language

  Semantic field of poverty and food

  Juxtaposing language and imagery
• How does Angelou describe her mothers cooking?

  With a soft, delicate and poetic voice.

  Draping the words along as she gently describes her mothers movements.

  This forms a softness between angelou and her mother, a tender relationship.
• Mode

  Autobiography

  Convention = confessional tone, reminiscences and anecdotes

  Angelou is aware of the implied audence as writing with intended publication - therefore there is a subjective perspective
• Topicaltity

  She begins to reveal her living conditions in San Fransico, where she is living with her only son Guy Johnson.

  She mainly dicusses food: from her landlady and then her mothers food

  Her mothers food cannot compare to anyone elses food: the anecdote of 'red rice day' then moves angelou into opening up about her mother being a source of inspiration for her success.
• Context - Mother

  This is an autobiography about reconnecting with her mother who abondened her during her childhood: who in Angelous adult life became a strong vital force

  Her relationship with her mother was one of the most important and complex relationships she had.
• Context - Maya

  Angelou = a world renowed poet, author and activist.

  Angelou was mute from age 7 to 12 due to an extremely traumatic event in her childhood, which helped her develop a love of language and spoken word

  She was mute since she believed her words brought on death
• 'i had a five-year-old son, two jobs, and two rented rooms, with cooking privileges down the hall.' 


  listing immediately establishes her self-reliance and independance - image of strength and determination
• 'my landlady, mrs jefferson, was kind and grandmotherly.' 


  adjective 'grandmotherly' connotes warmth and nurturing, tone of longing: allowing angelou to reflect on her past

  appreceative of supporting figures
• 'no money in my budget for restaurant food' 


  semantic field of money struggles established here: many terms throughout opening contribute toward a sense of poverty and struggle.
• 'were always loyal, if often unhappy, diners at chez jefferson,'

  juxtaposition between loyal and unhappy contribute to sense of entrapment felt .

  she has no other option

  lightening tone through comedic, imagined proper noun 'chez jefferson.'
• 'she understood and encouraged my self-reliance and i look forward eagerly to our standing appointment.' 


  distance

  cinical sounding 'appointment' contributes to distance between the,
• 'after we embraced, I washed my hands and we walked through her formal, dark dining room and into the large, bright kitchen'


  juxtaposing imagery - emphasis to notion that the kitchen and food hold their fondest memories

  illuminating and joyous

  growing warmth and harmony
• 'each grain of red rice is emblazoned on the surface of my tongue forever'


  vivid sensory and hyperbolic lang shows intensity of the flavours, but more significantly the intensity of the memory .

  contextually, in comparison to landlady, this is a welcomed change
• 'you are the greatest women ive ever met.' 


  superlative - significant shift in tone

  pride
• 'Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr Mary Mcleod Bethune, and my mother- yes , you belong in that category. Here give me a kiss'


  triadic list highlights mothers comparison to two key figures of american society alongside her mother to reinforce the respect and admiration she has for angelou

  dramatic irony as angelou goes on to become prominent american figure in history .