2.2 Maya Angelou

Question 1

Genre / mode?

Answer 1

Autobiography, third of seven

Question 2

Audience?

Answer 2

Fans of Angelou, those interested in 20th century history, women’s rights

Question 3

Purpose?

Answer 3

Entertain, teach and inform

Question 4

Vocab for voice?

Answer 4

Knowledgeable, nostalgic, respectful, precise

Question 5

Angelou was…

Answer 5

A poet and activist

Question 6

Generic conventions of autobiographies?

Answer 6

Past tense, chronological, proper nouns, first person, account of real events, writer’s opinions on people and places

Question 7

‘Vivian Baxter was very serious about her delicious meals’ analysis?

Answer 7

Full name, indicates respect and their relationship; possessive; contrasts Jefferson; single sentence paragraph, emphasis; complementary premodifier

Question 8

‘She fervently blessed the food with a brief prayer’ analysis?

Answer 8

Power and importance of religion, American culture; busy woman; hope found in religion / Christianity, Angelou’s hope and trust in her mother

Question 9

‘My landlady, Mre Jefferson, was kind and grandmotherly… Her disastrous cooking exploits’ analysis?

Answer 9

Possessive; name contrasts / parallels to mother, professional and respectful; contrast to mother, complementary postmodifiers; connotations of chaos; subversion of expectations of ‘grandmother’, contrasts Angelou’s mother

Question 10

‘’Gluttonous’ and ‘greedy; negatively describe the hearty eater offered the seduction of her favourite food.’ Analysis?

Answer 10

Seven deadly sins, religious imagery and connotations of wealth, contrast to Angelou; societal norms / gender expectations of women; Angelou distances herself from herself; humorous tone; single sentence paragraph, emphasis; temptation, implies mother’s disapproval of her lifestyle; familiar collocation, fricative alliteration; motif of food