Throughout the story, Maya is discouraged by the segregation of the blacks in her community. Maya comes from a broken home, her parents divorced when she was young. Her and her brother Baily were sent to Stamps Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother Annie Henderson at a young age. Beyond the family issues Maya had come face to face with ridicule, rape, and racism. This was a lot for a young girl and is the main reason that she has become more tolerant and matured much faster then most adolescents.

Maya is first faced with ridicule at a young age; she was not the prettiest girl. From the time she was young and through adolescence, Maya considered herself ugly. She was a tall, somewhat lanky African American girl. She was skinny, and felt that her eyes wer

Maya decides to deal with this by getting fired. She knows that her mother would never let her quit. So she slacks on her chores, but this doesn’t work. Baily suggests that she break some of her favorite dishes. This fortunately works but not without a huge scene.

2. Larry H. Addington, The Patterns of War though the 18th Century, Library of Congress, 1990.

4. Chandler, D.G The Campaigns of Napoleon, Macmillan New York, 1966.

In late spring after Vivian had stayed out all night, Mr. Freeman sent Angelou to buy milk. When Angelou returned from the errand, Mr. Freeman raped her. This was a tremendous amount of stress for an eight-year-old child. Maya had much difficulty dealing with this encounter. “I knew that I was dying and, in fact, I longed for death, but I didn’t want to die anywhere near Mr. Freedman.” When Mr. Freedman is found out to be the one who raped Maya; they go to court. In the courtroom Maya is asked many questions about the rape. She feels very nervous and uneasy about the whole situation. Then the lawyer asks her a crucial question “Was this the first time the accused touched you?” referring to the rape. Maya is so distressed by the question that she remains speechless. She refused to discuss the molestation that took place before the rape because she feared that her family would think she was sinful. However, she also felt badly for Mr. Freem!

e too small and squinty. She was also ashamed of her large feet. Her peers often made fun of her.“The children’s section of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was wiggling and giggling over my well-known forgetfulness.” This passage is from Maya’s experience at Sunday school. They other children are laughing at her because she can’t remember a poem. The mockery didn’t stop with her peers though. Not only children mocked her but elders as well. “Our elders said unkind things about my features” Maya would often take refuge from these comments by imaging herself to be a beautiful wom

Some common words found in the essay are:
Freedman” Freedman, Cullinan Mays', Annie Henderson, St Louis, Episcopal Church, Maya Angelou, Vivian Freeman, African American, Baily Maya’s, Stamps Arkansas, african american girl, strong willed stubborn, willed stubborn outspoken, stubborn outspoken, st louis, rape maya, death maya, american girl, white girls, throughout life, stubborn outspoken intelligent, ridicule rape racism, rape racism, ridicule rape, african american,
Approximate Word count = 1390
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)