14.

Angelou utilizes literary devices to entertain and inform her audience of the nature of being an African American in this time period.  To reveal the unique unity found within her race,  Angelou  applies many examples of exposition in order to show, instead of tell, her reader just how emotionally involved and invested African Americans were in this fight simply because a black man was one of the contestants.  Starting with the first sentence, “The last inch of space was filled, yet people continued to wedge themselves along the walls of the Store.” Angelou gives an example of the suspense at the grocery store when everyone is gathered to listen to the fight through the radio showing how important this fight is to their race (Angelou 88).  People came from all over in order to listen to this fight surrounded by people they knew would feel just how they felt listening to it.  The use of the capital letter “S” in “Store” used consistently throughout the personal narrative also reveals the unity within the African American race because this gathering place is treated as a proper noun, giving it utmost importance.  The “Store” is a place of safety and community where African Americans can exist purely and fearlessly.  When Joe Louis wins, it is clear that the African Americans only feel like the “strongest people in the world” when they are amongst themselves, inside the “Store” (Angelou 90).  Outside, they do not feel safe enough to show their true emotions and show off since it “wouldn’t do for a Black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road” (Angelou 90).