visit to the dentist maya angelou resumo

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Mariana coelho | nº19 | 12ºg, visit to the dentist – review.

Maya Angelou’s Visit to the dentist is a story that takes place in the United States of America, probably in the South, during the peak of racism towards black people. I can assume it is set in the South because racism was more extreme there, and because of the kind of language used by the characters (slang, certain abbreviations, word choice). It is a part of the book I know why the caged bird sings , the author’s autobiography.

In this episode, Marguerite (Maya’s real name) has a toothache and her grandmother, Annie, takes her to the closest dentist, Dr Lincoln. However, the dentist is white, and it wasn’t common for white doctors to treat black patients. Annie is confident that he will treat her granddaughter, as she had lent him money during the Great Depression, and he would surely repay her. Despite this, Dr Lincoln refuses himself to treat Marguerite, stating that he would “rather stick his hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s”. While Marguerite is sent outside, and Annie persuades him to give them 10 dollars for being so unfair, she imagines her grandmother growing bigger with magic and kicking the dentist out of town. Then, Annie takes her to the black dentist by bus, using the money Dr Lincoln gave her.

In this story, we can see the two sides in which America was divided at the time: blacks and whites, represented in Annie and Dr Lincoln. He embodies the typical evil and racist white man, with a narrow and conservative mind, refusing himself to treat the girl for the colour of her skin. He is the portrait of an intolerant society and the unfairness of racial segregation. On the other side, Annie represents the refusal of being subjugated to the power of a white man, demanding to be treated like a human being. She shows the fight of a whole people living in an intolerant world and demanding to be heard.

In the middle of this, Marguerite comes as a beckon of hope. As a child, she sees this fight through a veil of innocence, and has the clear sight of a simple mind. Her faith in her grandmother is heart-warming, and she is the key character that reminds us of why Annie’s fight is not pointless: it’s for the future generations, for the children of today that those fights are not pointless.

Although the story is set in other times with a different society, it reflects on today, and deals with timeless subjects. With a quick look at it, the story appeared to me as a bit boring and weak. However, after fully analysing the plot and the characters, it became clear how deep it really was. As most of the work by Maya Angelou, it deals with a theme that is still today controversial: racism. And racism goes beyond the discrimination of an individual for the colour of their skin. It is a sense of unfairness for those who suffer it, and the empowerment of an exclusive group of people that don’t deserve that power. In this story, a little girl is denied medical care. Today, thousands are denied food, shelter or humane treatment. We are all human after all, and the way we look should never define the rules we have to live by.

In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this story, but not as much as I enjoyed thinking and reflecting about it. It was extremely rewarding and made me grow as a person. I highly recommend this story to anyone who is interested in knowing more about American racial segregation in the 20 th century. I rate this story four out of five stars.

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Good Mariana! A 20 as well!

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Maya Angelou- Visit to the Dentist

Created on October 8, 2022

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MAYA ANGELOU

SHORT STORY " VISIT TO THE DENTIST"

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” “. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” by Maya Angelou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jDKAXG8cb4

Autobiografias I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) Gather Together in My Name (1974). Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976 The Heart of a Woman (1981). New York: Random House All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (2004). Mom & Me & Mom (2013). New York: Random House

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” “. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFZx4GOu4WY

Autobiographies -I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) -Gather Together in My Name (1974). -Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976 -The Heart of a Woman (1981). New York: Random House -All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). -A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002). -I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (2004). -Mom & Me & Mom (2013). New York: Random House

1. What is the main theme of this story? 2. When did it take place ? 3. Why did the black dentist refuse to treat the girl? 4. Would you justify Dentist Lincoln's behaviour? why? /why not? 5. How did Momma react? 6.What did she do to solve the problem?

Look for some information about "THE GREAT DEPRESSION " Share the main ideas in class.

Look look for some information about the Great Depression. Share the main ideas in class.

Using these words , write your predictions about the story that you are going to read.

Revising linking forms . Here is the link: https://wordwall.net/play/36619/292/361 Bearing in mind the short story"Visit to the Dentist" ,choose the correct linking word to complete sentencesGameshow quiz - A multiple choice quiz with time pressure, lifelines and a bonus...

In groups of 4 , imagine a different end for the story ; Come to a conclusion and write your text ( between 150 and 180 words) Then share it on a padlet. Don't forget to post all the activities .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlY90lG_Fuw

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

• Literature Notes
• Chapters 24-25
• About I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Introduction
• Chapters 1-3
• Chapters 4-5
• Chapters 6-7
• Chapters 8-9
• Chapters 10-11
• Chapters 12-13
• Chapters 14-15
• Chapters 18-19
• Chapters 20-23
• Chapters 26-29
• Chapters 30-32
• Chapters 33-36
• Maya Angelou Biography
• Critical Essays
• Form in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Settings in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Style in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Women in the Maya Character's Life
• A Note on Southern Fundamentalism
• Full Glossary for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Essay Questions
• Cite this Literature Note

Summary and Analysis Chapters 24-25

The double-ended tragicomic scenario involving Maya's aching tooth epitomizes Angelou's ability to interweave serious theme with gentle humor. Against the cruelty and lack of professionalism of a dentist (ironically named Dr. Lincoln) who would vilify a suffering child and refuse her medical attention because of her race, the author inserts bits of hyperbole and personification:

"I prayed earnestly that I'd be allowed to sit under the house and have the building collapse on my left jaw."

"I had frozen to the pain, my family nearly had to tie me down to take the toothbrush away."

". . . the pain was my world, an aura that haloed me for three feet around."

"If one was dying, it had to be done in style if the dying took place in whitefolks' part of town."

"How could one or two or even a mouth of angry tooth roots meet a wagonload of powhitetrash children, endure their idiotic snobbery and not feel less important?"

A greater irony rests on the fact that, during the Depression, Annie Henderson served as unofficial small business loan officer to blacks and whites. Because Dr. Lincoln was one of the recipients of her largesse, she expects a reciprocity that he is unwilling to provide. Not only must she identify herself with the disrespectful use of her first name and endure the haughty white attendant's shutting the door in her face, she must counter her granddaughter's degradation and dehumanization when the dentist sneers, "I'd rather stick my hand in a dog's mouth than in a nigger's." In the aftermath, Annie takes some of the sting from the incident by glorying in her modest retribution — the extortion of ten extra dollars in purported interest.

The fantasized version of the dialogue that Maya concocts to salvage her family's pride expands the motif of hyperbole:

"When you get settled in your next place, you will be a vegetarian caring for dogs with the mange, cats with the cholera and cows with the epizootic."

". . . she waved her handkerchief at the nurse and turned her into a crocus sack of chicken feed." In Maya's mind, Grandmother Henderson looms all-powerful, even supernatural — capable of neutralizing the ugliness that exists in the real world. Maya concludes, "I was so proud of being her granddaughter and sure that some of her magic must have come down to me." The poignant truth is that, for all Annie Henderson's land ownership, shrewd business acumen, and philanthropy toward Stamps' citizens of both races and for all her bravado in facing up to Dr. Lincoln and his rude white nurse, the prevailing atmosphere of distrust, bigotry, and hatred prevents her from receiving her share of community respect and status. Living on society's fringe, she remains largely unacknowledged, except by her black neighbors, son, and grandchildren.

Angelou, a master of language, strengthens the historic significance of her autobiography with strict attention to detail. For example, her narrative features entertainment and trade names from the period. In addition to the list of popularized fictional characters, such as the Green Hornet, Mickey Mouse, the Katzenjammer Kids, and the Shadow, in this chapter she names "Milky Ways, Mounds, Mr. Goodbars and Hersheys with Almonds," "Mum and Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder," and "Greyhound." Likewise, Annie peppers her speech with the dialect common to southern blacks, as in "He tole that little snippity nurse of his'n," "I figger," and "I ain't gonna mess around in no niggah's mouth." These touches, like period relics, anchor the narrative in a time and place and provide the texture of verbal authenticity.

The maturity of her grandchildren puts an unfair burden on Annie Henderson. After Bailey's close encounter with the decayed corpse, she knows that he faces the "humorless puzzle of inequality and hate." Concealing her motives beneath her "African-bush secretiveness," Annie scrimps to accumulate enough money to return first Maya, then Bailey a month later, to California. The order of their going suggests that Momma worries more about the vulnerability of Maya than that of Bailey.

crushed aspirins or oil of cloves home remedies applied to an aching tooth or gum.

R.O.T.C. Reserve Officers' Training Corps, a military body which demands exacting posture and decorum.

epizootic an epidemic within a herd of animals.

crocus sack a burlap bag, often called a "croker sack" or a "gunny sack."

peckerwood worthless, untrustworthy riffraff.

Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall and George McCready three significant screen actors of the 1930s and 40s. Rains (1889-1967) earned fame early in his career for his performances in The Invisible Man, Notorious,Robin Hood, The Prince and the Pauper, and Casablanca. Herbert Marshall (1890-1966), an urbane British leading man who lost a leg in World War I, starred in I Was a Spy, The Dark Angel, A Bill of Divorcement, and The Little Foxes. George McCready (1909-73) left banking to act in Gilda, Paths of Glory, and Commandos Strike at Dawn.

D'Artagnan one of the heroes of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" one of Edgar Allan Poe's most dismal tales of horror, which features the theme of premature burial.

"blows and scores" ago that is, after a protracted history of assaults and retaliations.

djinn a spirit, or jinni of Muslim lore which, like the supernatural servant in Aladdin's lamp, can be summoned to assist humans.

Previous Chapters 20-23

Next Chapters 26-29

Visit to the dentist

Visit To The Dentist (Maya Angelou‪)‬ Ana Matos

• JAN 19, 2021

Maya Angelou

• © Ana Matos

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Saturday 8 November 2014

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