When we are young and beginning to develop our identity, we are often benefited by a role model or mentor who helps guide and support our efforts at realizing our own potential. It is exactly this role that is served by Sister Flowers for the young Maya Angelou. Living in racist America in poverty ridden Stamps, Arkansas, as a young girl Maya is raped and closes herself off to the rest of the world. However, she is pulled out of this self-isolation and withdrawal by Mrs. Bertha Flowers. As Angelou (2004, p. 74) tells us, ôThen I met, or rather got to know, the lady who three me my first life line.ö Through her mentoring and role modeling, Mrs. Flowers earns the respect of Angelou by showing her the positive and beautiful world of literature, something Angelou learns is a world she can enter and embrace. In this manner, Mrs. Flowers helps Angelou on her path of development to becoming a wise and compassionate young woman.
In her autobiography, Angelou provides us with numerous instances of the poverty, hard labor, and racism black people of Stamps, Arkansas, are subjected to on a daily basis. She also expressed the violence and sexual abuse she encounters as a young girl, something that makes her shut herself off from others. However, she encounters Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a unique woman filled with a love for literature, wisdom and brimming with compassion for others. As Angelou (2004, p. 74) describes ôSister Flowers,ö she was ôàthe aristocrat of Black StampsàShe was one of the few gentlewomen I have ever known, and has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be.ö In this manner, Angelou learns from Mrs. Flowers that the arts, compassion and interconnection with humanity are possible to achieve in the midst of often harsh and violent conditions.
AngelouÆs mother works hard but she is somewhat neglectful of her children despite loving them. She cannot fulfill
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