Question

All Questions from Poem"Still I Rise" written by Maya Angelou:
1) The writer addresses ‘You’ several times in the poem. Who is meant by ‘You’, and how can we tell?’
2) ‘I’ve got oil wells,’ ‘I’ve got gold mines,’ ‘I’ve got diamonds.’ What is the effect of repetition here and the particular images used?
3) In some of the other similes the speaker compares herself to moons, suns and other natural phenomena. What do you think she means to convey by such images?
4) What do you understand by ‘the huts of history’s shame’?
5) What are the inherited ‘gifts’ that the writer brings with her?

Answer 1

what are the inherited 'gift' that the writer brings with her

Answer 2

1) The poem is about the rebellion of black slaves against the white masters. Thus, the 'You' in the poem refers to the oppressive white colonialists and plantation owners who felt that the African-Americans are inferior to them and treated them as slaves. The angry nature of the poem and the lines 'You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise.' are indicative of this idea.  

2) These lines illustrate that the Poet is rebellious and happy even in the face of adversity. The imagery used is of significance as these are the commodities that attracted the white colonialists to their lands.

3) The use of such similes by the Poet is to show that the inner strength of the slaves cannot be destroyed by the oppression and also the uprising of the slaves and the hopes within them are as certain as the fact that the moon is rising and the sun is rising in the sky.  

4) This line indicates how the history of a certain event is partial to a certain sector of society. The history of oppression paints a picture of shame and humiliation for the slaves and the Poet shows that they will rise from such an absurd history and paint their own picture for the future generation.

5) The 'gifts' refers to the freedom that the Poet has got due to the struggles of her ancestors. These 'gifts' will be used by the Poet and her future generation to help her people reach greater heights.