Introduction

Today I would like to explore how two texts present the field of inquiry of oppression. More

specifically, the global issue of systemic oppression and how this may lead to a struggle for

self-determination. The literary body of work that I’ve chosen for analysis is the American

poem anthology titled “And Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou published in 1986. Here, Angelou

illuminates themes such as self empowerment in the face of oppression, discrimination, and

personal struggle. The non-literary body of work that I’ve chosen for analysis are a selection

of artworks by american artist Barbara Kruger, published between 1981 - 2020. Through

her art, Kruger critiques societal constructs and power structures, more specifically within

gender roles and the harm this causes to individuals. Through Angelou’s evocative poetry,

and Barbara Kruger’s Bold artistic statements, It is shown that oppression, which directly

ties into societal norms and discrimination, can cause individuals to struggle with

their own autonomy and self determination.

Zoom in Literary Extract

I would now like to begin with the literary extract. The literary extract that I’ve chosen are the

first two stanzas from the poem titled “Phenomenal Women,” where we see the speaker

reconnecting with her own value and inciting validation from within, emphasizing female

empowerment.

The first two lines read “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to

suit a fashion model’s size.” Here we see that the speaker claims to have a ‘secret’

regarding her own beauty, and other “pretty women” want to understand how she can be

beautiful without being conventionally attractive. She directly addresses the fashion industry

in line 2, by using form, the longest line in the extract, cementing the idea that the speaker

must shrink down to the fashion world's ideal of what’s considered feminine beauty. Also in
these two lines, Angelou employs alliteration and internal rhyme, introducing the poem as

musical, showing the speaker's confidence. And this ties in with the global issue of The

struggle for self-determination due to systemic oppression because it emphasizes the fact

that beauty standards or societal norms directly deny them full personhood and autonomy.

Furthermore, Line 3 and 4 reads “But when I start to tell them,/ they think I’m telling lies.”

showing that Societal beauty standards are so ingrained in women that they are unable to

believe the speakers' upcoming different viewpoints. The speaker also uses an end stop as

a means to emphasize the psychological impact that women have when facing a struggle for

self determination. On line 5-9 and 21-25 for that matter, Angelou answers her “secret.” We

see that “I say,” is given its own line, showing that she’s in control of what she sees in

herself. Her confidence is further emphasized through her use of anaphora, alliteration, and

rhyme “It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, the stride of my steps, the curl of

my lips.” with the asyndeton showing that the speaker has a list that seemingly goes on

forever. Finally, the refrain on line 10-13 and 26-29 “I’m a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.” rests her case on being independent of society's

standards, that it’s the only way to truly feel self-determined.

Literary Body Of Work

Moving on, we see that the global issue of the struggle for self determination due to systemic

oppression is also present in the body of work as a whole. For example, in the poem “Caged

bird” we see the stanzas contrasting a free bird that “claims the sky” and “floats downstream”

with the caged bird that “stalks down his narrow cage” and “sings of freedom.” This caged

bird is an extended metaphor for the African American community’s past of ongoing racial

oppression, showing that the limitations result in psychological struggle. For example, the

caged bird can “seldom see through his bars of rage.” and stands on “the grave of dreams,”

highlighting the struggle for self-determination in terms of accomplishment and freedom.

enumeration of responsibilities and societal expectations put onto African American women,

only finding freedom in the natural world, outside of society’s control, relating to a sense of a

struggle for self determination due to oppression and societal norms. This poem also makes

an allusion to slavery on cotton plantations. Finally, the poem “Still I Rise,” which depicts an

African American woman rising in the face of oppression, uses an anaphora with a modal

verb and directly addresses the oppressor, saying “You may,” showing the power that the

oppressor has, and the lack of control the speaker has. The rhetorical questions at the

beginning of some stanzas, such as “Did you want to see me broken?” addresses how

society would prefer to see her, yet she asserts her confidence and lack of effect. Overall, in

the body of work as a whole, on top of gender norms, Angelou also addresses the system of

oppression of racism, and how, in these marginalized communities, individuals can feel a

lack of power, hence a lack of self determination.

Zoom in Non Literary Body of Work

I will now begin with the non literary extract. The non literary extract that I’ve chosen is a

black and white art piece showing a woman crying in a cracked mirror with misaligned text

that says “You are not yourself.” And this relates to my global issue of how systemic

oppression may lead to a struggle for self determination, because it shows how difficult it is

to actually be yourself when denied full personhood due to societal constructs and gender

norms. Looking at the general colour palette, we see that it is completely in black and white.

The narrow use of colour refers to society’s narrow thinking regarding what it means to be a

woman, leading to a struggle for self-determination. Looking at the text “You are not

yourself,” we see the use of juxtaposition and Polyptoton, which emphasises the fact that it

is directly addressing the viewer. We also see a use of visual hierarchy, where the text “you

are” and “yourself” are larger and contain more graphic weight due to their misaligned

letters. This refers to the idea that society uses oppression and societal norms as a means
to make women believe that they are “themselves,” even though many feel a lack of self

determination due to their degree of freedom, as the “not” is smaller and less emphasized,

and in a different colour. This message is further emphasized through the mirror. The mirror

is fragmented, causing the reflected image of the woman, who is crying, to be distorted. The

mirror symbolizes the lack of self recognition and self determination woman see in

themselves, caused by the oppression of woman relating to societal norms. This is further

cemented by the vector of the shard directing the viewer's attention to the woman’s hand

lifting the shard, and the fact that the details of her eyes are completely unrecognizable.

Zoom out Non-Literary Body of Work

Moving on, we see that the global issue of the struggle for self determination due to systemic

oppression is also present in Krugers body of work as a whole. For example the work “Never

Perfect Enough,” is a work showing 3 canvases of the same woman at different angles and

colour filters, with her wearing a seemingly excessive amount of clips and rollers. Here, we

see that the woman's gaze is actually never directly at the viewer, so there is no front profile.

This imbalance of her not looking back at the viewer, versus the viewer having 3 different

profiles, symbolizes the judgement that society places on women, which ultimately

incentivizes conforming to meet society’s expectations of being a woman. Also, we see the

use of vector arrows and text on her hair clips and rollers. Here, a semantic field relating to a

pursuit of perfection and inner struggle is used, relating to the global issue of a struggle for

self determination in the face of oppression. Another piece of work is a square composition

art piece with an extreme monochrome close up of Marilyn Monroe smiling in a red frame of

slogans such as “not good enough” and “not skinny enough,” where, in the center is “Not

stupid enough.” Here, the colour red contrasts with the image, and overall puts emphasis on

the slogans. The slogans allude to unattainable standards, which is a use of irony when

referring to the icon of beauty in the 60s. Finally, we also see that the black and white image
portrays society’s judging and strict standards of women, which overall leads to a struggle

for self-determination.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the global issue of the struggle for self determination caused by systemic

oppression is present in both Maya Angelou’s “And Still I Rise” poem anthology, which

illuminates themes of empowerment in the face of oppression, and Barbara Kruger's art,

which critiques societal constructs and norms. The two works show that systemic oppression

can directly contribute to a struggle for autonomy, or contribute to the second degree, in the

sense that oppression in the form of sexism, impacts gender norms, restricting the degree of

freedom that women have. Whilst Maya Angelou illuminates and empowers the marginalized

groups of both Women and African Americans, Barbara Kruger’s main focus is to criticize

through her bold awakening artistic statements. By understanding these narratives, we not

only gain insight into the resilience of the human spirit but also recognize our own

responsibility to advocate for a more just, and equitable world. Thank you.