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Life in Stamps, Alabama is very difficult and callous for the Negro people. The Negroes must work long hours at ridiculously low pay just to survive, and often it just was not enough. Angelou explains in the early chapters of I know why the caged bird Sings, just how hard life in Stamps is and how her people are able cope. Angelou conveys this so that the reader will have a greater understanding of what the times she lived in were like; she is also trying to teach us about the circumstances in which her people worked and the spirit that they demonstrated. By describing this, Angelou further enhances the flow of her plot, helping the reader to realize just how oppressed and hopeless life was for the Negro people. Also, Angelou's recollection of the common workday contributes to the tone of soft subtleness set in the early chapters, of the small community of Stamps.
There are many different devices that Angelou uses to communicate her message. Angelou uses figurative language to bring the reader to further understand the point she is trying to make. Angelou has strong use of onomatopoeia, at the beginning of the annotated passage, she wrote The lamplight in the store gave a soft make believe feeling to our world which made me want to whisper... By saying that she wanted to whisper she further expresses that the delicate light given off by the lamplight is subtle and with the use of the word whisper and because of the way that is pronounced, the word whisper was used very effectively in this sentence. Another example is in the paragraph that states The sound of the new morning had been replaced with grumbles the use of the word grumbles is very effective because it gives the reader a sense of the discontentment that the cotton pickers experienced at the end of the day. Also, the most powerful use of onomatopoeia is at the end when Angelou wrote, I winced to picture them sewing the coarse material The fact that she winced definitely makes the reader realize the determination and pain the Negroes went through just to make something of themselves.
Angelou uses powerful diction, her choice of words is strong and the way they are used proves very effective in grabbing the readers interest. Angelou stated In those tender mornings the Store The use of the word tender is very fitting because of the emphasis on the lamplight being gentle and soft, by saying tender mornings Angelou further adds to the effect of the subtlety of Stamps in the morning. Also, She writes, the murmurs of waking people were sliced by the cash register as we rang up the five-cent sales. Angelou's use of the word sliced proved effective because it not soft and subtle like the rest of the passage, it causes the reader to notice a change in surroundings from a quiet scene being drastically interrupted by the noise of a cash register. A very strong example of diction was found when the workers were done their working day and went back to the store and fold down, dirt disappointed, to the ground. This phrase was the most effective, not only were the cotton pickers defeated but they were also dead tired.
The transition Angelou made from being up right, to folding down straight to the ground provides the reader with a greater feeling of disappointment and sympathy for the Negro cotton pickers. Angelou expresses her feelings in an exceptional way. Her use of the literary language is well organized and well thought out; with her constant usage of devices, especially figurative language and diction. Rather than this passage being filled with similes and metaphors and other obvious figurative language devices, Angelou embeds words and composes phrases that communicate her message in a quiet subtle way. Angelou's diction is also very effective, her usage of powerful adjectives aid the reader in understanding the passage and the conditions in Stamps.
In closing, this passage is written almost like a waltz, it flows smoothly and begins and ends on the same note. The feeling of the passage is one of calmness and mellowness, which are usually associated with the morning, when the sun rises and a new day begins. Philosophically speaking, the lamplight in itself is a metaphor for the sun; it slowly rises or gets brighter, and then begins to set or dim.
Free research essays on topics related to: figurative language, angelou, cash register, stamps, diction
Research essay sample on Figurative Language Cash Register
