Comparing Maya Angelous Graduation and Liliana Hekers The Stolen Part

Comparing Maya Angelou's Graduation and Liliana Heker's The Stolen Party    Maya Angelou's "Graduation" and Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" share a common theme. Each author demonstrates through young girls that life's experiences, especially as a child, teach important lessons. Although Angelou's "Graduation" and Heker's "The Stolen Party" share a distinct resemblance, they also differ. The main similarity is that Margaret from "Graduation" and Rosaura from "The Stolen Party" are both excited about a day that they consider special or important. Margaret's big day revolves around her graduation from the eighth grade at the Lafayette County Training School. Margaret and her entire family are so proud of her accomplishments and achievements. Margaret felt high aspirations for the future and high hopes of all her goals being attainable. Margaret brags: My work alone had awarded me a top place and I was going to be one of the first called in the graduating ceremonies. On the classroom blackboard, as well as on the bulletin board in the auditorium, there were blue stars and white stars and red stars. No absences, no tardiness, and my academic work was among the best of the year. I could say the preamble to the Constitution even faster than Bailey. (572)    Rosaura's big day revolves around a birthday party she was invited to by Luciana. Luciana is the daughter of Senora Ines. Senora Ines is a lady Rosaura's mother cleans for in the afternoons. Despite her mother's initial wishes, Rosaura was determined to attend Luciana's birthday party. Heker writes, "She wanted to go to that party more than anything else in the world. 'I'll die if I don't go' she [Rosaura] whispered" (614). Margaret and Ro... ...ade this little girl come to life with words. Margaret was so natural, so life-like, so truthful. Heker's "The Stolen Party" is a work of fiction and is told in third person. Although Rosaura seems realistic and believable, her character was not as fully revealed as Margaret's.    Margaret and Rosaura were both young girls living in environments where certain things or people were not accepted. Through childhood experiences both girls have learned substantial lessons about themselves and the way others view them that should remain with them the rest of their lives.    Works Cited Angelou, Maya. "Graduation." Literature for Composition. 4th Ed.   Sylvan Barnet et al. New York HarperCollins, 1996. 570-578. Hecker, Liliana. "The Stolen Party." Literature for Composition. 4th Ed. Sylvan Barnet et al. New York HarperCollins, 1996. 613-616.