Graduation

Introduction

"Graduation" is an extract of Maya Angelou's autobiographical book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. Despite the fact, that the book is autobiographical in character, this meticulous extract is to a large extent talked about in the midst of literary circles for the reason of Angelou's exercise of both objective and subjective narration (Bloom, pp. 51).

Discussion

All through the life, graduation, or the development to the subsequently individual point of growth, is every so often recognized with the spectacle and condition of the solemn inauguration service; however on several occasions the commencement day passes by softly and innate like taking a breath. In the touching autobiographical composition "The Graduation," three rhetorical strategies are utilizes by Maya Angelou; an animated tone, descriptive assessment and distinction, and fluent sentences satiated with lurid symbol and appealing metaphors - to look at the individual development of people trapped in the misfortune of ethnic prejudice.

In a suggestive tone, Ms. Angelou draws an unforgettable image of a small community of black people who were waiting for their graduation day fifty-five years ago. She illustrates the anxiety of those children "visibly with anticipation" with their teachers acting "respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors” (Angelou, pp. 13). Even though, the book is autobiographical, narrator's voice used, in initial six paragraphs to depict how "they" - children with black skin living in Stamps behaved and felt, as the tone of the narrator changed from the seventh paragraph.

In the passage “Graduation”, Angelou uses a certain style of writing to make her purpose effective to the reader. Figurative language is Angelou's main way to write a purposeful passage. She goes from writing similes and metaphors, to hyperbole and pathos. No matter what type of figurative language it may be, Angelou always keeps emotions in mind. “But Amens and Yes, Sir's began to fall around the room like rain through a ragged umbrella” (ibid). The purpose for an umbrella is to stop the rain to get through, but in this case, the umbrella does not have any importance. This is like the man's speech; his words are not meaning anything to many people. No one wants to listen to his negative thoughts about the Negro community. “..but now a bright sun spoke to our souls”. The sun noticeably cannot speak to a soul; however, the sun symbolizes hope. The Negro community was felt down, but after the Negro National Anthem played, ...