Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise": analyzing female resilience against oppression

Post Modernism

Still I Rise" - Maya Angelou

Which ending would you like to change?

"That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?"

Why would you change that particular ending?

In Ted Wu's view, the above line is a playful one, and has something in close relationship with women. The reason is, perhaps because the poem is about an Afro-American woman's hardships against racist treatment and general societal hatred.

Briefly explain how you would change the ending

Some similar lines such as 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room' 'Cause I laugh like I got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard'

Assist the reader figure these scenes in their mind and personify the lines. A line such as this one that we want to alter addresses a sensitive subject. Female sexuality is one of the central themes that are being addressed. It is portrayed as being used against women in the slave era period.

I would elect to alter the lines below

"That I dance like I've got diamonds

Which you chase after with cries?"

What overall impact would this new ending have on the work?

The general meaning and impact of the work is retained. What the new ending does is to give credence to the previous evidence. The persistent questions are provocative and impressive: 'Does my sexiness offend you?" "Does my sassiness upset you?" Does my haughtiness offend you?." I'm struck with amazement by these questions that she asks. They seem to challenge women's oppression and sexism as one of the ways women are treated wrongly. Maya Angelou went through and overcame these challenges in her own life. Her voice resonates with inspiring confidence and strength in the poem. The words have dealt with the issue of sexism and feminism. Thus, the altered line above cannot and does not change the original intention of the poem:

Does it come as a surprise?

That I dance Like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?"

The phrase "the meeting of (her) thighs is used by Angelou to express the ultimate defiance a woman can have. She is proud of every part of her body and glows with sexiness as she raises her head high. Changing the line further helps to exemplify the author's defiance. While her oppressors may imagine that they have effectively stopped her by subduing her in poverty, she still walks with her head high as if she owns the world; and the diamond treasure that they keep chasing.