Maya and Bailey are near-orphans. Discuss this idea, using examples from the text to show how they are abandoned several times.
Schools, Achievement, and Work:
What kind of student is Maya? Prove your answer with examples from the book.
Why does Maya fight for the job of conductor? How did her fight compare with the expectations of the day?
Discuss the importance of role models and how they can affect a child’s life and future. Who were Maya’s role models and how did they impact her?
Discuss how a person’s adult character is formed by both beautiful and ugly childhood experiences. Illustrate with specific examples from the book.
Discuss child and adolescent development, including such issues as race, emotional development, and the difficulty of self-examination and exhuming painful memories.
Describe Maya at the beginning of the book and contrast her to the young lady she becomes at the end of the book.
Use course materials such as your textbook, class notes, films, supplementary readings, etc. to build the framework of theory and research to analyze Angelou’s development. Include quotes and passages from Angelou’s book to illustrate your ideas. You are welcome to bring in outside sources as you see fit. Make certain to clearly identify those sources.
