Basic Information : Synopsis : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : New Words : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References
Basic Information:
Author: Maya Angelou
Edition: epub on Libby from the Sacramento Public Library
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 9780553380170 (ISBN10: 0553380176)
Start Date: December 14, 2024
Read Date: December 22, 2024
144 pages
Genre: Essay, Personal Growth
Language Warning: Low
Rated Overall: 4½ out of 5
Religious Quality: 3 out of 5
Christianity-Teaching Quality:3 out of 5
Synopsis:
A series of essays or reflections on the thoughts which Angelou had in the mid-1990’s
Thoughts:
This is a collection of Angelou’s essays written in the mid-1990’s.
In all ways a woman
In my young years I took pride in the fact that luck was called a lady. So this book starts off. In this first essay, I was wondering if I would get through the book. The essay struck me as a bit strident, too much centered on all the wrongs inflicted upon females. She talks about the only way to survive as a woman is to become and remain a woman command the existence and employment of genius.
But she does make the point that a woman called by a devaluing name will only be weakened by the misnomer. Hence things like lady luck or a woman has a right to change her mind devalues rather than lifts up a female. She then gives advice about how to survive. Her final advice is Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. Maybe the essay is not as strident as I thought.
Passports to understanding
Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere, yet I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure. Then why travel if everything and everyone are the same? She points out that we in America are pretty monolithic in our language and culture. But go to Europe and you experience different cultures in a short distance. As I write this, I wonder if she had ever been to San Francisco and its diversity? But then I forget, she is practically a native there.
She ends with the thought that travel does not prevent bigotry, but it does open the doors to friendship.
The sweetness of charity
She notes that size and type of gift should not matter, except that it should be important, and I like that word important, to the person who receives the gift. The best gift is one which is appreciated. Maybe that is why it felt like when I gave things to my parents, it was met with you shouldn’t have. Not with appreciation. I think this points to that it is important to not only know how to give, but how to receive. Not really Angelou’s words, but the thoughts which lent itself to me
Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence—neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish—it is an imponderably valuable gift.
Angelou thinks that once a gift is given, it should be forgotten by the giver. I think this is in line with the New Testament. A gift lorded over is not a gift but a means of enslavement.
New directions
Talks about the difficulties of Annie Johnson of Arkansas. She had children to raise and no means, so she decides on a way to raise money-by feeding others. Each of us has the right and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead, and those over which we have traveled, and if the future road looms ominous or unpromising, and the roads back uninviting, then we need to gather our resolve and, carrying only the necessary baggage, step off that road into another direction
Style
Content is of great importance, but we must not underrate the value of style. I think it can be summed up by saying it is important to know who we are, but also important to portray what we do properly. Each of us are unique and quill be outed if we try to copy someone else. Style is as unique and nontransferable and perfectly personal as a fingerprint. This is the grease which allows us to move through situations without friction. Angelou also notes that responding positively to situations will disarm negativeness of comments.
In the spirit
She defines what she means by spirit: an invisible force made visible to all life. … I believe in Spirit is one and is everywhere present. … I believe that God is Spirit.
She notes that all which we see and interact with is part of God’s creation. But it is difficult when you come to a person who is mean-spirited to believe and react as this is the same God who created both of us-this is more of a confession than a disavow. since I believe that God created all things, I am not only constrained to know that the oppressor is a child of God, but also obliged to try to treat him or her as a child of God.
Is anyone ever too much?
While Angelou is particularly talking about men who build up women, I think her words can be taken as a warning for anyone who tries to artificially make someone out to be more than they are. The flatterer, for that is what the speaker means to be, exposes himself as a manipulator.
What's so funny
She talks about performers who are crude as being inferior in their self-image. By encouraging that behavior, we demean not only them, but us.
Death and the legacy
She tackles death: both hers and others. Nothing conclusive, but acceptance of her own and a sense of fight against others. She wonders what assurance she has that Jesus will be there to receive her? I find surcease from the entanglement of questions only when I concede that I am not obliged to know everything. I think this is a good thing to remind myself of. What assurance do I have of anything? But it is through faith which we believe.
If I am outraged by another’s death, then the question is what did I do for that person in life? If I employ the legacies of my late beloveds, I am certain death will take itself and me as well.
Getups
Getups-a Southern Black term for clothing which makes you noticed.
She talks about seeing her son at school every chance she got, but like most children, the son wished her mother would not be so different. When people are young, they desperately need to conform, and no one can embarrass a young person in public so much as an adult to whom he or she is related. My comment is that part of maturity is to see the love behind an action. Usually it is too late for a child to recognize that until you no longer have that stage of life. It is the parent’s task to keep loving the child.
She abided by his wishes, but as he grew older and was less concerned Angelou went back to her old outlandish ways and enjoyed herself so much more. She makes this statement: I have lived in this body all my life and know it much better than any fashion designer.
If I am comfortable inside my skin, I have the ability to make other people comfortable inside their skins although their feelings are not my primary reason for making my fashion choice. She notes that we become imprisoned by what others want us to wear, not what we feel comfortable in and what expresses ourselves. Seek the fashion which truly fits and befits you. You will always be in fashion if you are true to yourself, and only if you are true to yourself
She refashions the phrase clothing make the man to clothing make the man or woman look silly and foppish and foolish.
Living well. Living good.
Angelou had a friend who used to be a live-in housekeeper for a rich couple. Over time, joy left the house and the couple grew old and lonely together. So lonely that they just wanted to observe the joy that her friend had with her friends when they were together. Aunt Tee told me that laughter and relaxation had left the house. This is one of the saddest stories I have heard in a long time. No closeness, no joy.
Angelou’s conclusion is that I realize that living well is an art which can be developed. To gain this, the talents you need are: They are a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings, an assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
Forgiveness is part of this-remember your own flaws and remember that you need forgiving as well.
Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art
When virtue becomes redundant
Curious, but we have come to a place, a time, when virtue is no longer considered a virtue. It is interesting that a modern writer would start an essay like this. She then goes on and lists virtues which we do not hear of anymore.The reason why she brings this subject up is that We need to examine what the absence of those qualities has done to our communal spirit,
She notes, like I do and Jesus before us, that if there is a vacuum, something will fill it. If we have excluded the positive virtues, then negatives will flood in. She would like us to bring back the virtues in all of our dealings, whether it is personal or business or political. Since she wrote this, I do not think we have.
Power of the word
She talks about the word Christian. She indicates it is a process rather than identification. It seems to me a lifelong endeavor to try to live the life of a Christian. Being Christ-like is a life-long endeavor. But identifying with Christ requires only an affirmation.
That affirmation is to the statement which Angelou learned to accept: God loves me. I knew that if God loved me, then I could do wonderful things. She goes on to say that with God and one person, you have a majority. Now to live like I understand that.
Further new directions
There are those who cannot stand other people who try to be good. Angelou calls them the mean people. On the other hand, her mother gave her inspiration to push through failure. Angelow wrote a poem after her mother’s death Call Letters: Mrs. V. B. The last stanza of the poem is:
Failure?
I'm not ashamed to tell it,
I never learned to spell it.
Not Failure.
Complaining
Complaining does not recognize what you have. What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. … Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood
At harvesttime
A principle of life is that what you plant will yield something similar to what you have sown. Too many times for comfort I have expected to reap good when I know I have sown evil. … Now, after years of observation and enough courage to admit what I have observed, I try to plant peace if I do not want discord; to plant loyalty and honesty if I want to avoid betrayal and lies. And as the parable of the sower notes, that the seed must fall on good land in order to sprout.
Sensual encouragement
Differentiates between sensual and sexual. Many adults show impatience with the young. They want them not only to grow up, but to grow old, and that immediately. She talks about admonishments like growing up. Whether consciously or not, those admonishments stem from a vigorous dissatisfaction with life and regret for a misspent youth.
Voices of respect
She makes the case for courtesy. This needs to start at home. And at home it starts with approval for our children.
Extending the boundaries
Angelou had been awarded an honor, but she did not have anybody to share it with. This led to a bit of loneliness and an alcohol fueled outburst. After some soul searching, she realized that I came to understand that I had been looking for love, but only under specific conditions. This revelation made her understand that she needed to be open to all who would treat her with love and respect and humor and the things she valued.
Brutality is definitely not acceptable
She is talking about doing violence to her soul through false pretenses of brutal honesty or knowingly provoking something or any of the guises of virtue but in disguise of deceit. I am never proud to participate in violence, yet I know that each of us must care enough for ourselves to be ready and able to come to our own self-defense.
Our boys
She talks about an incident where a man, unknowingly made a racist statement to her. The man was one which would ordinarily be liberal. To Angelou this was a symptom about how insidious racism is in our culture. The man was so embarrassed he did not want to talk to Angelou again. She felt the loss of what it meant to be in friendship relationship with this man. Our young must be taught that racial peculiarities do exist, but that beneath the skin, beyond the differing features and into the true heart of being, fundamentally, we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike.
Her poem Human Family expresses the need to be together in community. The last line is: We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.
Jealousy
One paragraph essay reminding us that like salt, just a little jealousy can enhance, too much is deadly.
Planned pregnancy
Pregnancy, and birth, is a common occurrence. Common, but so mystifying. Her conclusion is that with persistent imagination, each stage can furnish them exquisite gratification.
A day away
We often think that our affairs, great or small, must be tended continuously and in detail, or our world will disintegrate, and we will lose our places in the universe. She says this is not true. There are times she will just tune out the world around her and take a day away break from the daily grind. These are days dedicated to herself. One day can rejuvenate and understand why she is she. Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future
Evaluation:
From the start, it is evident that Maya Angelou’s book of essays is different, much different, than any of the numerous essays I was forced to write during my school days. To start with, hers are a pleasure to read, even if you disagree with the content. How she tells her stories feeding into the points she wants to make is captivating. Next she makes her points with elegance and simplicity at the same time.
When I read the first of her 24 essays, I was not sure I wanted to read more of her book. If all of the essays were going to be talking about how women were being given the short end of the stick, the 144 pages were going to be a long haul. Only the first was about that. The rest were a myriad of subjects, all personal to her ranging from charity to love to humor to death. Oh yeah, and when I went back and reread that first essay, she was talking more that she wanted to be treated as an individual woman rather than a generic version like the song Lucky be a Lady Tonight. It was worthwhile reading the whole book.
Notes from my book group:
Every book has a world view. Were you able to identify this author’s worldview? What was it? How did it affect what Angelou presented? How does this book shape your view of the world we live in?
Which essays resonated with you? Which ones left you flat?
Which ones did you agree with? Disagree with? Why?
What is Angelou’s vision of who God is? How does it compare with your own?
Angelou notes that since I believe that God created all things, I am not only constrained to know that the oppressor is a child of God, but also obliged to try to treat him or her as a child of God. This is a hard saying. Can this be lived out? How? Is this how you view God working?
Angelou talks about lack of faith and death. How does she connect faith and death? How does the closeness of death increase the belief of the afterlife?
Angelou says that I realize that living well is an art which can be developed. What is living well? What is the art she is talking about?
we have come to a place, a time, when virtue is no longer considered a virtue. She lists a series of virtues. Do you think any of them are obsolete or unimportant? Why are they or why are they important today? When we do not honor these virtues as a society, what happens in our society?
You sow what you plant. Too many times for comfort I have expected to reap good when I know I have sown evil. How did this statement affect you?
We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike-From her poem Human Family. In what ways do you find this is true? What are the implications of this statement?
Jealousy is compared to salt-a little bit makes a relationship interesting, but too much poisons it. Is she right about jealousy? In what ways does jealousy make a relationship better?
How do you want your life to change because you read this book?
Have you ever taken a day for yourself? What was it like? What was the result?
Many of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.
Why the title of Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now?
Does this book work as a collection of Angelou’s thoughts? What else should she have included?
In what context was religion talked about in this book?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
What “takeaways” did you have from this book?
Describe the culture talked about in the book.
How is the culture described in this book different from where you live?
What economic or political situations are described?
How did this book affect your view of the world?
Of how God is viewed?
What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
What was memorable?
New Words:
- rectoress-the wife of a rector
- ristorante-an Italian word that means "restaurant”
- Lessons in Truth
- She inspired me to write the poem “Mrs. V. B.”
- Blacks, Blues, Blacks
Good Quotes:
- First Line: In my young years I took pride in the fact that luck was called a lady.
- Last Line: A day away acts as a spring tonic. It can dispel rancor, transform indecision, and renew the spirit.
- Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere, yet I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure. Chp Passports to understanding
- Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence—neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish—it is an imponderably valuable gift. Chp The sweetness of charity
- since I believe that God created all things, I am not only constrained to know that the oppressor is a child of God, but also obliged to try to treat him or her as a child of God. Chp In the spirit
- The flatterer, for that is what the speaker means to be, exposes himself as a manipulator. Chp Is anyone ever too much?
- I realize that living well is an art which can be developed. Chp Living well. Living good.
- Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art. Chp Living well. Living good.
- I knew that if God loved me, then I could do wonderful things. Chp Power of the word
- What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. … Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. Chp Complaining
- We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. Poem: Human Family
- In all ways a woman
- Passports to understanding
- The sweetness of charity
- New directions
- Style
- In the spirit
- Is anyone ever too much?
- What's so funny
- Death and the legacy
- Getups
- Living well. Living good.
- When virtue becomes redundant
- Power of the word
- Further new directions
- Complaining
- At harvesttime
- Sensual encouragement
- Voices of respect
- Extending the boundaries
- Brutality is definitely not acceptable
- Our boys
- Jealousy
- Planned pregnancy
- A day away.
References:
