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Sufferings and Survival : A Study of Maya Angelou’s Autobiographies A dissertation submitted to Bharathidasan University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Submitted by K. SORNAMBIGA (Reg. No. 4254/Ph.D.K-5/English/FT/October 2012) Under the Guidance of Dr. K. PREM KUMAR Assistant Professor Post-Graduate & Research Department of English BISHOP HEBER COLLEGE (Autonomous) (Nationally Reaccredited at the A+ Level by NAAC) Recognized by UGC as ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ TIRUCHIRAPPALLI – 620 017. October 2014 Dr. K. Prem Kumar M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of English BISHOP HEBER COLLEGE (Autonomous) (Nationally Reaccredited at the A+ Level by NAAC) Recognized by UGC as ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ TIRUCHIRAPPALLI – 620 017. Certificate This is to certify that the dissertation entitled Sufferings and Survival : A Study of Maya Angelou’s Autobiographies submitted by SORNAMBIGA K (Ref. No. 4254/Ph.D.-k5/ English/FT/October 2012) to the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English is her original work, based on the investigation carried out independently by her during the period of study under my guidance and supervision. Signature of the Research Supervisor Declaration I, the Research Scholar hereby declare that the dissertation entitled Sufferings and Survival : A Study of Maya Angelou’s Autobiographies is a record of first hand research work done by me during my course period 2012-2014 under the guidance of Dr. K. Prem Kumar, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English, Bishop Heber College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli – 620 017 and it has not formed the basis for any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or any other similar title. Tiruchirappalli Date : K. SORNAMBIGA Acknowledgement I would like to express a deep sense of gratitude to my guide and convenor, Dr. K. PremKumar, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Bishop Heber College, Trichy, for his able guidance and parental concern. My thanks are due to him for the continuous support of my PhD study and research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm and immense knowledge. Besides my guide, I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee: Dr. Suresh Frederick, Associate and Head, Department of English, Bishop Heber College, Trichy and Dr. Cheryl Davis, Assistant Professor, St. Joseph College, Trichy, for their encouragement, insightful comments and hard questions. I wish to place on record my gratitude to Dr. D. Paul Dhayabaran, Principal, Bishop Heber College for permitting me to do research in the institution. My sincere thanks also go to Mr. A. Varam Viji, Superintendent (SF), Bishop Heber College for he.lping me to do Ph.D in this prestigious institution. I sincerely thank Mr. R. Raja who has executed the job for word processing with professional touch. I would like to thank my mom K. Shanthy and dad P. Kasiviswanathan because of whom I am what I am today. I’d like to thank other family members for their kind words and deeds. I thank everyone who helped me complete my thesis in one way or other. I extend my gratitude to my husband S. Kanakasabapathi for his moral and emotional support. Last but not the least I thank my sweet little kid ‘Keshav’ for having made me forget the exhaustion that comes with any research work through his playfulness and love. Above all, I thank ‘existence’ for having blessed me with this life and a sensitive mind. K. SORNAMBIGA. Contents Chapter Title Page No. Certificate Declaration Acknowledgement I Introduction 1 II A Study of Black American Writings and Maya 19 Angelou’s Autobiographies III Sufferings and Survival: A Study of Maya Angelou’s 74 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name and Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas IV Sufferings and Survival: A Study of Maya Angelou’s 132 The Heart of a Woman and All God’s Children need Traveling Shoes V Conclusion 178 Works Cited 197 Introduction Literature is a term that does not have a universally accepted definition, but which has variably included all written work; writing that possesses literary merit; and language that foregrounds literariness, as opposed to ordinary language. Etymologically the term literature is derived from the Latin word “literature or literatura, which means "writing formed with letters", although some definitions include spoken or sung texts. Literature can be classified into fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, short story and drama. The works are often categorised according to historical periods, or according to their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations. Literature may consist of texts based on factual information, journalistic or non- fiction, a category that may also include polemical works, biographies, and reflective essays, or it may consist of texts based on imagination such as fiction, poetry, or drama. Literature written in poetry emphasizes the aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language such as sound, symbolism, and metre, to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, ordinary meanings. The works written in prose applies to ordinary grammatical structure and the natural flow of speech. Literature can also be classified according to historical periods, genres, and political influences. While the concept of genre has broadened over the centuries, in general, a genre consists of artistic works that fall within a certain central theme; examples of genre include romance, mystery, crime, fantasy, erotica and adventure, among others. The reading of good literature can bring a human more closely in contact with the real world than he could ever have been brought without a degree of personal experience for which the span of most lives is insufficient. And because of this literature, far from making a man anti-social can equip him to lead his life among his 2 fellows with an adequacy, satisfaction and understanding he would not otherwise have known. Thus literature enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires, and in this respect it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become. According to William J. Long, “Behind every book is a man; behind the man is the race; and behind the race are the natural and social environment whose influence is unconsciously reflected” (2). Literature finds its place in the studies of youth and the affections of men and women by virtue of the fact that it is one of the fine arts. All art forms are any expression of life in forms of truth and beauty. They are the reflections of some truth and beauties which are in the world, but which remain unnoticed until brought out to the human beings’ attention by some sensitive human soul. In the broadest sense, perhaps, literature means simply the written records of the race, including all its history and sciences. Mayhead Robin in his Understanding Literature states that “Literature can take us out of the track of weary routine, by leading us to understand something of that whole vast body of human living in which our day-to-day concerns have their place” (9). American literature is the body of written works produced in the English language in the United States. Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from which a few hardy souls tentatively ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century, this nation extended southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific. By the end of the 3 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world—its fortunes so interrelated with those of other nations that inevitably it became involved in two world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of the United States moulded the literature of the country. American literature at first was naturally a colonial literature, by authors who were Englishmen and who thought and wrote as such. These volumes often glorified their author, they were avowedly written to explain colonizing opportunities to Englishmen. In time, each colony was similarly described. Only some works were written praising America as a land of economic promise. Writers acknowledged British allegiance, but others stressed the differences of opinion that spurred the colonists to leave their homeland. More important, they argued questions of government involving the relationship between church and state. The utilitarian writings of the 17th century included biographies, treatises, accounts of voyages, and sermons. There were few achievements in drama or fiction, since there was a widespread prejudice against these forms. The wrench of the American Revolution emphasized differences that had been growing between American and British political concepts. As the colonists moved to the belief that rebellion was inevitable, fought the bitter war, and worked to found the new nation’s government, they were influenced by a number of very effective political writers. Some magazines and pamphlets spurred Americans to fight on through the blackest years of the war. Based upon Paine’s simple deistic beliefs, they showed the conflict as a stirring melodrama with the angelic colonists against the forces of evil. Such white and black picturing’s were highly effective propaganda. Another reason for 4 Paine’s success was his poetic fervour, which found expression in impassioned words and phrases long to be remembered and quoted.

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