1. What path is Annie Johnson following that she dislikes? How does
she change this path?
The path that she is following is the one that she did in her past in which
she thinks it is just a repeat. She changes it by believing in herself to
make a new path for her life.
2. Describe Annie physically and mentally in your own words. Use as
much detail as possible.
She is a very compassionate, strong, and sacrificial woman, in that when
something is not right in her eyes, getting that right and positive is top
priority.
3. Why does Annie carry stones in two five-gallon pails for three miles?
What is she trying to accomplish?
She carries the two five-gallon pails because she is testing herself as a
strong woman in a sense.
4. In what ways does Annie’s business grow? How does Annie’s
personality make this growth possible?
Her business grows by increasing sales almost everyday. Her
personality made this easier than normal because she is very
determined and focused enough to complete such a task.
5. Why do you think Annie succeeds in her business? What are the
main ingredients of her success?
I think she succeeded in her business simply because of her personality.
The main ingredients are consistency and determination.
6. In what was are the details at the beginning of this narrative essay
typical of the year 1903?
The fact that the word negro is a typical word used during that time.
7. What does Angelou mean when she says, “Each of us has the right
and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead, and those
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over which we have traveled” (paragraph 11)? In what way is this
message basic to an understanding of the essay?
This just explains Maya Angelou’s side of equality and that every person
should have a fair chance to succeed at life.
8. Explain the title of the essay. Cite specific details from the essay in
your explanation.
“New Directions” is a perfect title for this essay because its about the
brand new directions the author wants to go and woman and black
people as a whole.
9. Angelou writes this narrative essay in a fairly formal style, using
multi-syllable words (concede rather than yield or let) and the characters’
titles with their names (Ms. Annie Johnson instead of Annie Johnson).
Why do you think Angelou present her essay in this way Describe the
tone she maintains throughout the essay.
She wrote it this way so the audience deeply understands what
challenges everyone and Annie Johnson have to face during this time.
10. The author uses the metaphor of taking a “new road” to describe
Annie Johnson’s decision. Is this metaphor effective, in your opinion?
Why or why not?
She used a “new road” because it pictures a new direction of life rather
than the one in the past. This metaphor is very effective because it
draws a picture just like “new direction”.
11. Over what period of time do you think this story took place? How
does the author show her readers that time is passing in this narrative
essay?
This was probably about a decade because she used many transition
words that show such.
12. Angelou often ends her essays with lessons that she wanted the
readers to understand. How does her lesson in the last paragraph of
this narrative essay affect the story? Does the story itself go with the
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lesson? How did you respond to having the author tell you what to think
at the end of the story?
Her lesson in the essay affected the story because it showed that no
matter what happened in the past (the whole essay), it can be reversed
into positivity (lesson in the last paragraph). Yes the story itself goes with
the lesson.
13. Why does Angelou describe Annie Johnson’s ethnicity as
“burdensome”?
She describes it as burdensome because her ethnicity itself seemed to
bring a lot of issues.
14. What specific details does the author include to indicate how hard
Annie worked for success?
The author includes Annies hardships as a black woman in the
workforce and those challenges showed her strength to overcome all of
that.
15. How do these particular details affect Angelou’s essay?
It makes it have a greater touch and vision on the reader. It had me
thinking, “If she can go through all of that, I can get through anything
today”.
16. Have you ever “changed direction” in your life? How did it compare
to Angelou’s change? Was the change good for you? Why or why not?
I changed direction when I got to college and started reading books to
learn more independently. This change has been very good for me
because my thoughts are way more mature and wise then before when I
hated reading.
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