Human Family: By Maya Angelou

I note the obvious differences

in the human family.

Some of us are serious,

some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived

as true profundity,

and others claim they really live

the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones

can confuse, bemuse, delight,

brown and pink and beige and purple,

tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas

and stopped in every land,

I've seen the wonders of the world

not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

called Jane and Mary Jane,

but I've not seen any two

who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

although their features jibe,

and lovers think quite different thoughts

while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

we weep on England's moors,

and laugh and moan in Guinea,

and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,

are born and die in Maine.

In minor ways we differ,

in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

Analysis: How can a poem so simple, be the answer to so many problems. When I took English, my teacher assigned us to do an analysis of this poem. My initial response was that this poem was a bit cliche because it's obvious, no one is the same. Every human has distinct physical features, and characteristics that build the foundation of their individual self. But, what if the poem was saying more than that?

We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.

I recognize the nature of that sentence when I go to the movies and see people of all races enjoying the same content, when there's a car accident and everyone is making a path for the ambulance, and when I’m in the library watching everyone trying to meet deadlines. Sometimes I wonder if this basic concept could solve the major problems in the world. In the same English class, we read a poem named “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy. In the poem, the soldier illustrates his experience of killing another soldier. As the soldier reflected, he realized he killed an innocent man because society perceived him as the “enemy.” In the last stanza of the poem, the soldier stated, "Yes; quaint and curious war is! / You shoot a fellow down / You'd treat if met where any bar is, / Or help to half-a-crown" implying that, if he had met his opponent somewhere else such as a bar, they could have formed a friendship. He even went to the extent of considering if the soldier’s involvement in the war was only because he needed a job, just like him.

We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.

As humans, we are all able feel emotions. Each religion has different beliefs, but many share the same values. In college, we all have different majors, but our ultimate goal is to be successful. Going forward, as a society, we should not focus on areas we differentiate and instead recognize the commonalities we share. For the benefit of us all.