On a daily basis, symbols are encountered everywhere. Symbols can be used to identify colors, objects or people. It can have a different meaning to what it really stands for. For example, yellow can symbolize sunshine and happiness and black can symbolize sadness and isolation. Like in the book Divergent, each faction had a symbol that symbolized what they were. The Dauntless symbol represented bravery and force while Abnegation stood for peace and happiness. Symbols are everywhere and are very useful.
In the short story, Mama Johnson who lives a rough life and has no man in her life is mother of both Maggie and Dee. This being said, it gives Mama the responsibility of playing both the father and mother role. Mama Johnson lives with her youngest daughter, Maggie, who is emotionally unstable and is traumatized by her past events, the burning of her house. Throughout the short story, Mama and Maggie get a letter from Dee saying she’s coming down to visit. Once Dee arrives, everything is automatically discomforting. She acts like she doesn’t remember the place when she grew up there her whole life. Dee starts asking for house hold pieces when she knows that Mama uses them daily. Mama being the generous person that she is; she gives them to her. Later on, Dee starts asking for quilts. Mama knows that those quilts are planned out for Maggie but Dee states that Maggie won’t appreciate them. After all, Dee wants to use them as art which shows she doesn’t appreciate her heritage. The story ends by Mama standing up for herself and giving Maggie the quilts. Dee storms out of the house without saying a proper goodbye to Maggie or Mama just because Mama refused to give her the family quilts that were already rightfully reserved for Maggie.
I...
... middle of paper ...
...d no matter what.
Works Cited
Bmad, Nick. “Symbolism in Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’.” Enotes. N.p. 4 July 2007. Web 17 Mar 2014
Eshbaugh, Ruth. “A Literary Analysis of Alice Walker’s short story ‘Everyday Use’.” Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo, Inc., 21 Aug 2008. 17 Mar 2014
Foleylan. “Conflict, Irony, and Symbolism in Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’.” StudyMode. N.p., June 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014
Moore, Julie. “Heritage and Symbolism in Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’.” Yahoo! Voice. Yahoo, Inc., 29 May 2007. Web 17 Mar 2014
Spark Notes Editors. “Themes, Motifs and Symbols.” Sparknotes. Sparknotes LLC, N.d., Web 17 Mar 2014
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Heritage of American Literature Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. 714. Print.
Write Work Editors. “Symbolism in ‘Everyday Use’ by Alice Walker.” Write Work. N.p, May 2006. Web 17 Mar 2014
Author Alice Walker is an African American woman who grew up in the rural south during segregation, as is the narrator in "Everyday Use", Ms. Johnson. Walker feels that one's name should be revered for its symbol of ancestry, as she did when she took back her maiden name to honor her great-great-great-grandmother. In Walker's "Everyday Use," she uses a symbolic quilt to express the differences of understanding one's heritage within a single family.
Ultimately, the dispute over what is considered everyday use is what brings about Alice Walker’s title. In the case of Alice Walker, her title is derived from the idea of the conflict and message of the story. Alice Walker challenges her readers to see the negative outcome of being a materialistic person. She shows how this often harms people’s families, and also hurts livelihoods in convincing people to use things in a good or insecure manner. Alice Walker identifies much in “Everyday Use,” and these things are displayed through title which she selected. It draws people to the story, in craving what the story is about, and it also gives enough information to make the story interesting. Titles reflect a story and show how important it is for people to discuss the messages, certain lines, and conflicts in a story, and Alice Walker’s story really shows all three of these things. Overall, Alice Walker’s choice of “Everyday Use,” for her title is correctly chosen because first it portrays differing ideas, is the indirect source of conflict, and last, identifies the ‘good’ and the
In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker stresses the importance of heritage. She employs various ways to reveal many aspects of heritage that are otherwise hard to be noticed.
In her short story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker portrays an African American family. In that family, there were the mother, her elder daughter who does
DiYanni, Robert. "Literature, Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama." Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1973. 743-749.
In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker used symbolism throughout the story. Symbolism is an object that has a special meaning for person. For example, Puerto Rican flag have one star and the star represent one colonies of United State. It also has three stripes. The stripes represent when you United State freedom us from Spain. The Egyptians use symbols to communicate by writing. Symbols are use in math equations, shape and sets of numbers. In the equation 1+2-4=-1, the symbols - is use for subtraction or to show a negative number, and the symbol + is use for addition.
Symbolism in Alice Walker's Everyday Use. History in the Making Heritage is something that comes to or belongs to one by reason of birth. This may be the way it is defined in the dictionary, but everyone has their own beliefs and ideas about what shapes their heritage. In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, these different views are very evident by the way Dee (Wangero) and Mrs. Johnson (Mama) see the world and the discrepancy of who will inherit the family’s quilts.
Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, wrote "Everyday Use," which tells a story of a rugged, independent mother of two girls who celebrate their African-American heritage in completely different ways. One daughter, Maggie, celebrates her heritage by enjoying and appreciating the use of family heirlooms whereas the other daughter, Dee, feels it is more honorable to display these heirlooms for artistic show. Walker's use of imagery illuminates the story's theme of family heritage and, quite possibly the most respectful way of celebrating such heritage.
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," is a story about a poor, African-American family and a conflict about the word "heritage." In this short story, the word "heritage" has two meanings. One meaning for the word "heritage" represents family items, thoughts, and traditions passed down through the years. The other meaning for the word "heritage" represents the African-American culture.
Alice Walker is a well-known African- American writer known for published fiction, poetry, and biography. She received a number of awards for many of her publications. One of Walker's best short stories titled "Everyday Use," tells the story of a mother and her two daughters' conflicting ideas about their heritage. The mother narrates the story of the visit by her daughter, Dee. She is an educated woman who now lives in the city, visiting from college. She starts a conflict with the other daughter, Maggie over the possession of the heirloom quilts. Maggie still lives the lifestyle of her ancestors; she deserves the right of the quilts. This story explores heritage by using symbolism of the daughters' actions, family items, and tradition.
In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, we hear a story from the viewpoint of Mama, an African American woman, about a visit from her daughter Dee. Mama, along with her other daughter Maggie, still lives poor in the Deep South while Dee has moved onto a more successful life. Mama and Maggie embrace their roots and heritage, while Dee wants to get as far away as possible. During her return, Dee draws her attention to the quilt. It is this quilt and the title of the piece that centers on the concept of what it means to integrate one’s culture into their everyday life.
Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.
The objects that lead to the final confrontation between Dee and Mama are the old quilts. These quilts are described as being made from old material by family members, which enhances their value to Mama, and the detail with which they are described increases the sense of setting.
Farrell, Susan. "Fight vs. Flight: A Re-evaluation of Dee in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"" Studies in Short Fiction. ProQuest, Spring 1998. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth edition. Eds. X.J. Dennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.