The Heart of a Woman

How does Maya Angelou present the challenges of Black sisterhood in The Heart of a Woman? Consider her relationships with the African activists’ wives and her literary and activist friends in the US. What are the limits, if any, of female friendship, and how does Angelou navigate these relationships?

In Chapter 2, “Uncle Tom” emerges as a symbol of someone who rejects the high price of freedom for the supposed “safety” of slavery. How does this symbol operate in the text? Where does Angelou fall on the question of the high price of freedom, both for herself and for others? Use examples from the text in your response.

As well as being a writer, Maya Angelou was also a singer, dancer, and actress. Consider her treatment of music and the performing arts in The Heart of a Woman. How does her experience of these forms relate and compare to her literary endeavors and political concerns?

Discuss Angelou’s depiction of white liberals in The Heart of a Woman. Are there any examples of positive white allies in the text? Why or why not?

Discuss Angelou’s portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in The Heart of a Woman. How does she present their personalities and views? Does she favor one over the other? Provide evidence from the text in your response.

In Angelou’s relationships with Thomas Allen and Vusumzi Make, she encounters (and rejects) their beliefs about gendered domestic roles. What are these beliefs, and how do Allen’s African American experience and Make’s African experience contribute to their understanding of gender norms?

What is the relevance of Genet’s The Blacks to Angelou’s narrative? Consider the content of the play, how it is read by the various individuals involved, and the on and offstage dynamics during the production. Does it resonate on a larger thematic level in the autobiography? If so, how?

Discuss the importance of setting in The Heart of a Woman. How do the different locations to which Angelou travels influence her growth as a person, writer, and activist? What literary devices does she use to connect the settings to her personal experience?