Graduation_by_Maya_Angelou

This short essay takes place in Stamps, Arkansas and talks about how a community is preparing for a graduation at the segregated middle school Lafayette Country Training school. This short story is in the point of a view of a young girl graduating from eighth grade named Marguerite. She is describing everybody’s eagerness and joy for this very special day. Marguerite is specifically very proud of all her achievements and accomplishments and describes herself as being the “birthday girl”. She makes it known that her mother and brother are also very proud of her. Her mother made her a Sunday breakfast although it’s Friday and her brother Bailey saved all his money and bought her a leather-bound copy of poems from Edgar Allen Poe and they walked up and down the garden rows reciting lines. Marguerite is particularly excited about her dress while her fellow classmates were wearing butter-yellow pique dresses her mom had smoked the yoke into tiny crisscrossing puckers and embroider it with daisies. In a way Marguerite was telling us her family’s well-being in the community pertaining to economic class, she established that although her family isn’t the wealthiest because they are not able to afford a custom made dress, they do have more money than the common because her mom was able to afford material for the dress than having to wear a handy down. She also made it known that she is in the top of her class and that people from their store was handing her money and words of insight and inspiration. It was the day of the graduation and Marguerite mom, Brother Bailey and Uncle Willie were off to the graduation, Marguerite was so nervous she got to the graduation and sat with her “Comrades” (fellow students). The graduation began and her principal started to speak when he signaled the students to sit down, it didn’t take long for Marguerite to realize something was wrong. That’s when the principal introduced a man named Mr. Donleavy as a guest speaker and another white man came who wasn’t even introduced but sat at the same seat the principal was sitting at. Mr. Donleavy was from Central High the white school; he was talking about all the new improvements and new equipment they were going to have in the fall. He was saying that that the students from central high were the future and they had the chance to become the next Galileo’s, Edison’s and so on, describing them has the heroes of the world. Then Donleavy mentioned that the blacks were good at basketball and football though that some of the best came from Lafayette school. He was pretty much saying that the white school had many accomplishments but the black school only had a little other than sports. His speech just reminded the blacks of “their place in life” as maids, farmers, handymen, and washerwomen. After his speech ended, Marguerite wasn’t excited anymore for her graduation and all the hope she had of becoming something greater all washed away. She didn’t even want to listen to Henry Reeds speech but he got up and faced his fellow classmates instead of the audience and started singing the Negro National anthem... everybody from the audience stood up and started singing and that’s when Marguerite actually understood the words for the first time. She stood up tall with pride singing along with everybody; proud to be a member of the wonderful Negro Race. In my opinion I thought the character had an amazing way of depicting racism and rejection. I agree with Marguerite in the way she is feeling after Donleavy finished his speech, I too would be upset. This short story infuriated me at how the white people thought they were superior to the black people just because the color of their skin. I don’t understand how ignorant and juvenile they could have been and it’s sad to say much hasn’t changed in the world today. However this story is more than just about racism, it is about Marguerites personal growth and coming to terms of her understanding of herself and others and gaining a greater self-awareness. In this local community it is important to know oneself and where you stand in the community. It is expected for the blacks to just be maids or handymen and the whites to be “heroes”. It is clear that Marguerite knows her place in the community and what she should be doing but she advances and has greater admirations and goals set for her. Marguerite is put down by Donleavy speech but once Henry started singing the Negro National Anthem it filled her with pride to be a part of such an amazing community. She realized that she was on top of again and could accomplish anything she set her mind too.