Life Doesn't Frighten Me

     The poem Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou has a meaning that many people can relate to. In Angelou's poem she tries saying that you should be confident & concur your fears. She uses symbolism and repetition.
     In her poem Angelou uses a lot of symbolism. The symbolism she uses can make you wonder what age she is. " Shadows on the walls, noises down the hall, Life doesn't frighten me at all." (1-3) Young children are usually the ones who are afraid of shadows, noises, as well as other things she says in the poem that sound like fears of a child. "Dragons breathing flame on my counter plane, That doesn't frighten me at all." (10-12) LAter on in the poem the fears become more deeper and makes the reader think what the line really means. " I've got a magic charm, That i keep up my sleeve, I can walk the ocean floor' And never have to breath."(37-40) This line make the reader wonder if the speaker of the poem is a young adult or an adult, and that the childish fears actually is symbolizes other fears when yur grown up. Shadows and noises can be like bullies talking behind your back. The fire breathing dragons can be like people who can attack you... but all those things don't frighten the speaker, obviously.
     Secondly, Angelou uses repetition. She repeats life doesn't frighten me at all a lot of times. The reader can infer that the speaker is trying to find confidence in himself/herself. The speaker mentions their fears but then repeats to themselves each time that they aren't frightened by those things. He/she tries to reassure themselves that they "Can walk the ocean floor, and never have to breathe."
     All in all, Maya Angelou tells her message through out her poem using repetition and symbolism. Being confident and concurring your fears make me think deeper about humanity because, everyone is afraid of something. I as a reader of Life Doesn't frighten Me, I think repeating to myself "I will no longer be afraid of (whatever)" over and over again will eventually make me get over my fears and make me fee more confident about them.