why has Mrs. Flowers remained ''the measure of what a human being can be''?
interpret
Maya finds Mrs. Flowers a unique role model. She is a black woman who refuses to bend to the stereotypes placed upon black women at the time. Maya finds Mrs. Flowers to be intelligent, self-aware, proud and sincere.
Mrs. Flowers instills a sense of pride both in Maya, and in her identity as a black African American woman. To Mrs. Flowers, academics, afternoon tee and literature were not merely white past times. She showed Maya that intellectual and emotional enlightenment were her right as a human being.
Maya aspires to be like her one day. Like Mrs. Flowers, Maya wants to hold her head high not simply as a black woman but a proud and intelligent human being.
