Read the garduition story and after that answer the 3 question of end of the story - Essay Example

John Q. Doe English 344 8 May 2000 “Graduation” Questions In “Graduation,” Maya Angelou primarily meets readers’ expectations ofa graduation ceremony by focusing on the formality of the event. For most Americans, graduations are one of the few truly formal events that they will attend, followed by weddings and funerals. Angelou relates the formality of the graduation ceremony by describing in detail the yellow dress that her mother sews for her. She also details the tradition of giving graduation gifts that would be familiar to her readers.

Lastly, she describes the valedictorian, Henry Reed, and his speech, usually the highlight of most graduation ceremonies. Angelou surprises her reader by relating her thoughts during the course of the graduation ceremony. She explains how the white politician takes the stage and insults the students by implying that the only jobs for which blacks are suited is manual labor and sports. The most jarring moment for the reader occurs at the end of the essay when Angelou describes the class singing the Negro National Anthem as a form of protest.2. The ancient tragedy Angelou is describing is the tragedy of the slave being sold on the dais during the time of slavery in America.

Angelou depicts the disgrace of this event. Professor Parsons is on the stage, but just like the slave being sold at auction, “his eyes said he was no longer with us.” He is detaching himself from the situation just as his ancestors did. Angelou changes the tragedy by relieving the disgrace at the end of the ceremony. Instead of ending in tragedy as the sale of a slave does, the graduation ceremony ends with a note of hope. As Angelou states, “we were on top again.”3. Like Angelou, I was involved in an event in school that I greatly anticipated.

I was very active in the drama club in high school. We would always put on three plays a year, and each one was a production that took a tremendous amount of effort to create. The technical crew would spend hours after school making sure that the sound and lighting was perfectly timed. The art classes at school would help paint the sets, and various students would build different sets using the tools from the woodworking class. The mothers of all the drama club students would stitch the costumes.

I was always a part of the cast, in minor roles and major roles. One year, we chose a particularly difficult production, Alice in Wonderland. The costumes were very elaborate and took months to create. Because of the psychedelic nature of the play, the sets required bright colors and unusual forms. The lighting and sound were very complex. I had a major role in the play and spent hours practicing my lines with the rest of the cast. After months of work, it was time for the entire production to come together.

We promoted the opening night of the play in the school and in the community. The night before we were to open, I spent a sleepless night going over my lines and blocking in my mind. Opening night came. The cast gathered behind the curtain and got ready for the cueing music. The music grew in our ears, and the curtain parted before us. What a disappointment! When we looked out upon the audience, we expected to have hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back at us from the auditorium. Instead, there were less than 50 audience members, most of whom were parents of the cast and crew.

I experienced such extreme disappointment. This play was the most complex, expensive, and elaborate production we had ever staged at the school, and no one came!