Still I Rise Maya Angelou

Still I Rise

---Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.


Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

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.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?


Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise





Topic sentence: Maya Angelou’s poem is a powerful poem describing the suffering inflicted over the years on the African-Americans, suffering which has not broken their free spirit.

It is a very unique poem in terms of its structure as well as the way she portrays the themes. Maya Angelou being an African-American herself and growing up during the Civil Rights movement time describes, as the main themes of the poem, the oppression of African-Americans and their efforts towards freedom. The poet utilizes many literary terms such as repetition in which she repeats the phrase “I’ll rise” and “I rise”. This repetition is used so that it reinforces the main themes of the poem. The poet makes sure that these get across to the reader by using a very direct style in her poem and that is achieved by the use of the second person “You may write me down in history”. Moreover by employing the use of similes together with very strong and bold visual images such as “moons”, “suns”, “tides”, “gold mines” and “diamonds” the poet manages to create a very strong impression in the reader. The poet is using metaphors in the poem to describe the torture inflicted on the African-Americans “You may shoot me with your words”. Furthermore some of the images used in the poem, might have a more literal meaning and allude to the origins of the African-Americans in Africa. For example “diamonds”, “gold mines”, and “oil wells” also demonstrate the economic value of these and their exploitation by the western world.
The structure of the poem differs between the first 7 stanzas and the last one. In describing the reaction to the oppression, the poet is using future tense in the first seven stanzas “But still like dust I’ll rise” whereas in the last stanza present tense is used “I rise” to describe the resurgence .We notice a gradual change I the maturity of the oppressed people; “sassiness” to “haughtiness” which implies a different approach towards the people that oppress.
Maya Angelou manages very effectively to portray the oppression that the African-Americans suffered and in a wonderful way demonstrate their free spirit and rise out of the oppression.

Powered by Podbean.com

Agree or Disagree

One's Ego can couse a tragin downfall

I agree because ego basicly means that youthink you are better than everybody else. if you think that you are better than everyone else,some times you won't be better than someone and you understand it you will be very upset
. An example is if you play a game with someone and you underestimate him and lose then you will be very angry at yourself and everyone else.




Nature is filled with harsh cruelties


I agree because nature made animals eat animals for survival and cannot live without eating so they kill other animals. That is an example of how harsh the nature is.Some animals in the jungle are poisonous so if you touch them, you may die.They are poisonous because they have to protect thereselves from preditors.



Those born with social and financial advantages should help people who are not

I agree because the people with social and financial advantages wouldn't like it if they were poor so they should help the poor and not be selfish and care about other people too. Every one wants to have a good life and someone to care about them.Rich the people should help the poor people.

oral summary(The Cask of amontillado)

Freedom Fighter Dies In Prison

Dr Philippe Bazdo lived in Haiti in the Caribbean. He was a close friend of Father Aristide and one of his political allies. He was in his 60s. When the government of father Aristide was overthrown by the army let by Commander Raoul Cedars he was going through difficult times. He was arrested and put in prison.

Dr Bazdo knew that he had no future in Haiti and he decided to write to the president of Russia. He wished to apply for political asylum. The authorities in Haiti were unlikely to object as they preferred him to be out of Haiti .Dr Bazdo sent a letter to Mr. Medvedev:

Dr Philippe Bazdo

Port-au-Prince Prison

Haiti

15 November 1991

Mr. Dimitri Medvedev

Kremlin

Moscow

As you may be aware I was a close friend of and adviser to Father Aristide. I was arrested after the coup and I am in prison because I believe in democracy and freedom. I live in very harsh and difficult conditions and unless I am freed from prison I will not live very long. I plead with you to liaise with authorities in Haiti through your embassy here with a view to granting me political asylum in Russia. I do not expect the authorities in Haiti to object as I am a problem for them, although I am locked up in prison.

I shall be awaiting anxiously you are reply as need medical care which cannot or will not get in Haiti.

Yours sincerely,

Philippe Bazdo

Dr Bazdo handed the letter to his son who visited him in prison and he took it to the Russian Embassy in Haiti and the letter soon arrived at the desk of President Medvedev. Mr. Medvedev replied to Dr Bazdo.

Dear Dr Bazdo,

Your letter of 50 November has been received. I am of the view that your request can be accepted on humanitarian grounds provided you sent medical reports which confirm that you health and life are at rick if you remain in Haiti. Please send medical reports.

Yours sincerely,

Dimitri Medvedev

Dr Bazdo received the letter and had mixed feelings. On the one hand it looked certain that his request would be expected and he would be out of prison but on the other hand his medical condition was deteriorating. As the conditions in prison were harsh he was not sure if he would be released in time. He contacted his doctors through his son and shortly he had in his hands 2 reports, from a cardiologist and a neurologist. According to the reports Dr Bazdo should live a peaceful and comfortable life otherwise he could have a hard attack or a stroke at any time. Quickly Dr Bazdo wrote Mr. Medvedev:

Dear President,

I enclose 2 medical reports from my doctors. I plead with you to contact the new Haiti government and to ask them to release me to travel to Moscow where I will settle for the rest of my life. My life is in your hands.

Yours sincerely,

Philippe Bazdo

President Medvedev received the letter through the diplomatic channels and he decided finally that he would accede to the request. He asked his ambassador to Haiti to lease with commander Raoul Cedars. He agreed to release Dr Bazdo provided he would live for Moscow. Mr. Medvedev wrote to Dr Bazdo:

Dear, Dr Bazdo,

I am pleased to advise that I have given instructions to my Minister of Interior to Grand you political asylum and arrangements are being made for you to travel to Moscow in the near Moscow. I hope your health is satisfactory and you will be able to travel.

Yours sincerely,

Dimitri Medvedev

The letter was on its way to Dr Bazdo.Unfortunatly it never reached him. He had a stroke in his prison cell and died.

oral exercise

http://sayandopost.com/62cpk3zax1.mp3

The Man without heirs

It was summer 1991. I was given the name and telephone of Mohamed Saghir Khan by some colleagues at Barclays Bank in Paphos as the person to contact to discuss with him the best way to arrange his assets and affairs. I was to advise him how best to plan his estate.

On 11th June 1991 I went to his house. He lived in a magnificent stone built house with a spectacular view overlooking Paphos harbor. He had four servants looking after the house and a housemaid called Chryso. As he was a Muslim I had to take my shoes off before I could walk into the house. It was like a house of an Arabian prince.

After a brief introduction he told me that he was worth $50 million and that he wanted to create a charity for the protection of wildlife, especially birds. At the back of his house he had a sanctuary for birds. It was like a small zoo. I met him again a couple of times once in June and once in July. I prepared for him draft Will and draft trust deed in order to discuss them with him with a view to implementing his wishes.

Mr Khan left Cyprus for Saudi Arabia where he had businesses. The next time that I heard about Mr Khan was the following September when I was told that Mr Khan had died at the age of 62. The news came like a thunder to me as when I last saw him he looked healthy and fit.

I made enquires with his housemaid and she told me of the persons that he had dealings with of which she knew. After my contact with them a brother living in California of Pakistani origin and a sister living in Bahrain appeared claiming to be the closest relative of the deceased, being children of a first cousin of the late Mr Khan. I asked for better evidence of their blood relationship with Mr Khan but they told me that Mr Khan was born in Ballugistan an area which at the time of his death was India and later after a war became part of Pakistan. As a result of the war the records were destroyed.

On the basis of sworn statements from these two persons I was appointed administrator of the estate, not knowing what assets it compromised. After detective work on my part I discovered a lot of cash deposits with banks in Switzerland.

Gradually a conflict arose between the two heirs. The brother was trying to claim that he should have everything, as he was a male and under Muslim Law females would not inherit anything. The sister wished to honor the wishes of the deceased and wanted to know about his philanthropist intentions.

An agreement was signed and deposited at the court but the brother, named Jamal tried his very best to break the agreement. This situation was continuing for over a year and I found myself in the middle like a ball being kicked from one to the other.

As time went by I began to suspect that these two persons may not in fact be related to the deceased. I made enquiries appointing investigators in California having noticed that a name was mentioned on a statement of expenses of Jamal. The name was Mohamed Yunis. The inspectors called Taraviras rather quickly came to the conclusion that Jamal and his sister Dina were in fact not related to the deceased. They were children of a Mr Yiakoup who in fact was a friend of the late Mr. Khan and who had died in the 1970s but not blood related. This information was also confirmed by the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh and other agencies.

Immediately I informed the court but Jamal and Dina went to a crooked lawyer who insisted that they were relatives and started a campaign to discredit me and destroy me. He wrote to my employers trying to have me sacked. He complained to my professional body claiming that I was not doing my job professionally. He complained to the Attorney General but all his complaints were not taken up.

The crooked lawyer then conspired with the housemaid of the deceased and she with her husband and another relative of hers went to the police and complained that I drafted a false Will under which she would benefit from the estate of the deceased $1.000.000 and that I had asked her to agree to give me half the money. It was a like presenting the right as wrong and the wrong as right. I was summoned to the police headquarters and after I insisted that a graphologist should examine the handwriting on the Will and my handwriting this was done and it became clear that I had nothing to do with the Will that was produced. In fact it turned out that the handwriting was that of one of those three persons.

After further investigation it appeared that Mr Kahn in fact had no relatives at all. He died intestate without heirs. The case in now before the courts of Paphos and the decision that remains to be decided is whether the millions of dollars will go bona vacantia to the Government of Cyprus or the Government of Pakistan. This depends on whether Mr Khan’s domicile at the date of his death was Cypriot or Pakistani. I hope it will go to Cyprus as the deceased wanted to do something charitable to benefit the Cypriot people. Interestingly, after almost 18 years from his death the matter is still before the courts. The lawyers I expect will make a lot of money! I expect it is like winning the lottery for them.

Romeo and Juliet videos

Romeo and Juliet flipbook

I think that the flipbook idea is interesting but the drawings are really bad. The person that made this video spent a lot of time drawing all those images they are cute. Apart from that is a usuful way to learn the conflict of the story.It's kind of a detailed video of the story and the sound was nice because classical music fits with the play.


Video(9)

This video had a good introduction but when the story goes you can see that the production is horrible and that the diologue is changed and the most romantic part of the play has a wall that looks like the sky at night with some stars. The only thing that I liked was the dancing part because it was funny. The dolls that are supposed to be the actors are really bad and ugly and the dolls look really funny.

Video Shakespear Starwars

It's really funny but if you want to watch a serious video of a Romeo and Juliet it would be really bad. I liked it because it makes fun of the real play and the diologue is kind of funny. Also i liked because its with lego movie.
I liked the action figuers that are supposed to be in the actors. Especially prience and Capulet.

Lego stop motion

I think that the video is horrible!!It only shows violence and hatred.It took a lot of time to take this video but i think if someone liked to make fun of the shakespear play that would be the best video.