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Literary analysis on everyday use by alice walker
Essays on everyday use by alice walker
Essays on everyday use by alice walker
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Everyday Use is a short story by Alice Walker that tells the story of a family torn apart by different views on heritage. Walker describes two sisters who are very different because of their views on heritage. Maggie is portrayed as a sweet, shy girl who loves her mother and cares very much about others; conversely, her sister Dee is described as a beautiful, but greedy girl who, through her selfish acts, creates distance between her and her family. Because of the way these characters appear, the reader can quickly infer that they are not at all close to one another due to one sister’s selfishness. By using these characters and the events they are involved in the author presents an important theme in the passage. Alice Walker uses character …show more content…
and events to convey the theme throughout the story that selfishness can tear families apart. Walker immediately shows that the family does not act as they should.
The author develops Dee as a beautiful, lively character, who may look good but does not have a humble nature, which is proven to cause problems. The text states, burn than to show consideration for her grieving family. Because Dee is characterized as being selfish by her own mother, the reader can infer that their family is in fact distant due to selfishness. Long after the house burned, Dee returns from school to visit her family. As she arrives her mother “... a look of concentration on her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in toward the red hot chimney. Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. She had hated that house that much” (Walker 53). Here, Dee’s mother is explaining Dee in her own words, expressing how she is selfish because of the way she acts. Dee’s mother knows that Dee has hatred inside her heart, that although her mother had worked so hard for what they had she would rather watch the house burn which proves that Dee’s selfishness can break up the family . Dee’s mother is in high hopes that she had changed for the better when she comes back to visit , but as the reader can tell her high hopes would show to be false and that there is a lesson to be given. The text states, “‘ Dee
(Wangero) looked at me with hatred.’ You just will not understand the point in these quilts, these quilts!’... ‘She can have them mama,’ she said … ‘I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts.”’ Maggie, Dee’s younger, less attractive sister is to inherit her grandmother’s quilts at a later time, but Dee wants them for her own. She argues with her mother for a long time until Maggie speaks up and says that she does not need the quilts to remember her grandmother. The reader can see that Dee is just the same as she was before due to her hatred. Because of the big argument, and Dee still being as greedy and the family is proven to be torn so the reader can infer that the theme is still clear towards the end of the story. By the end of the story, Dee is still as selfish as before. Because of Dee’s selfishness the family is distant and does not have much to do with one another. Alice Walker’s choice to characterize Dee in this way allows the reader to see the extreme effect that selfishness can have on a family. The reasons behind the character’s selfishness paints a clear picture for the reader and teaches them not to act as Dee did. Since Alice Walker portrayed Dee the way she did and selfishness is a big problem for families it is evident that selfishness can tear families apart.
An Author’s Words of Wisdom An analysis of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” Authors often name their written and perfected texts by using the main gist of the story, a specific line, or, often, the message, which is cleverly enveloped in the title. An example of an author who used a certain line to name their book was Steinbeck, in his story about the Great Depression, “The Grapes of Wrath.” An example of a story in which the author uses the message of the story to portray and derive a title was with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” Further, authors come up with titles, and often, readers do not understand or care to understand the idea of the title.
In the story "Everyday Use" the narrator is telling a story about her life and two daughters, who are named Dee and Maggie. The narrator is very strong willed, honest, compassionate and very concerned with the lives of her two daughters. Her daughter Dee is not content with her lifestyle and makes it hard on Maggie and the narrator. The narrator is trying to provide for her family the best way she can. The narrator is alone in raising the two daughters and later sends her daughter Dee to college. The longer the story goes on the more the narrator shows how intelligent and how much she loves her two daughters.
Everyday Use, a short story about the trials and tribulations of a small African American family located in the South, is an examination of black women’s need to keep their powerful heritage. It speaks on multiple levels, voicing the necessity and strength of being true to one’s roots and past; that heritage is not just something to talk about but to live and enjoy in order for someone to fully understand themselves. A sociological landmine, it was written to awaken the concepts of feminism as well as the civil rights movement, while being able to focus on just three women and their relationship to one another. Everyday Use give its black female characters an identity of their own, each in their own right, and observes the internal conflicts of two sisters who have made two very different life choices, all the while scrutinizing the underlying sibling rivalry between them.
Like most peoples families there is a dynamic of people involved, although all from the same environment and teachings, it is ultimately an accumulation of personal experiences that shape us and defines how we perceive our existence. “Everyday Use” is a story of conflict of right and wrong and also family values. Walkers’ narrator, “Mama”, struggles with her disrespectful daughter ‘Dee”. Though “Mama” was quoted to have worked hard like a man to send her to school gratitude is never mentioned. “Clearly, Dee privileges language over silence, as she demonstrates in her determination to be educated and in the importance she places on her name” (Tuten). Since “Dee” had been out of the house and to school in the city she had lost touch with where she came from and had little respect for the family heritage. Maggie having been burned in a house fire had learned to love the shelter that only a family can provide. Being burned makes you like no one else, everywhere you go you feel eyes looking. Since she had not been out of the house and had the time to learn the value of family she regarded the quilts as a part of her heritage.
In conclusion, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” portrays the conflicts and struggles within a family’s culture. The focus is on two characters with completely different personalities and their conflict about a family’s heirloom. Alice Walker shows in her story that one’s culture and values can be affected by the personalities, different lifestyles, and a family’s relationship. The difference between Maggie and Dee’s personalities affect the acceptance of their culture and values. The family relationship and the different lifestyles also contribute to how cultures and values can be affected as well.
Heritage is something that people see in various ways. When many people think of heritage they think of past generation and where their family comes from. Other people place their heritage on the value of things, such as old quits that are made from something sentimental. In Everyday Use this is exactly how Maggie thinks of heritage. She wants the quits that were handmade out of her grandma’s dresses because to her that is a sign of her heritage. Alice Walker’s story is based on heritage. The narrator of the story has two daughters who could not be more different. One daughter, Dee, is beautiful and cares a lot about finding her place in the world, and about fashion. Maggie on the other hand is very practical. She does not see any reason for fashion and is okay with her placement in this world. This is because she is like her mother. Her mother is someone who has had to work very hard to provide for her daughters. She prefers the hard work and takes pride in what she is able to do. When Maggie comes back to visit she brings her abnormal husband with her. She has changed her name and all of a sudden cares a lot about her heritage. She keeps asking to take things that she knows have been in the family for a while. Her mom is okay with this until she tries to take the quilts that she has already offered to Maggie as a wedding present. This is the last straw for her mom and she tells Dee no, which causes Dee to get angry because she knows that Maggie will actually use the blankets and they will fall apart in a few years. Dee leaves angry and then Maggie and her mom move on with their lives. This is a very effective story because they story shows two very different views, creates entertaining characters, and contains a powerful message...
and younger sister, but the mother was too busy being proud of her. daughter's achievements to note. She says, "At sixteen [Dee] had a style of her own, and she knew what style was. She used to read to us, without pity, to the pity. [We sat] trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.
The narrator of "Everyday Use" is the mother, and the story opens with Maggie and her mother waiting for Dee to arrive. The mother?s description of her family?s yard, "a yard like this is more comfortable than most people know" (Walker 1149), shows that she is happy and content with her current surroundings. This land is a part of their family?s heritage, and the mother is comfortable l...
The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the household items that she wants just to show others, instead of putting them to use like Maggie.
In “Everyday Use,” Mama illustrates the relationship between her two daughters. Both Maggie and Dee are like opposite poles, making it seem like their relationship is non-existent. Dee is a well-educated, good-looking young woman; who is so concerned with style, and fashion that she lacks the meaning of family and heritage. Maggie, however, is a simple, scarred young girl who truly understands the meaning behind family, and heritage. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker demonstrates through Mama’s eyes, the strain in Maggie and Dee’s relationship through Maggie’s actions towards her estranged sister’s visit, and Dee’s remarks and dominance over her younger sister.
Author Alice Walker, displays the importance of personal identity and the significance of one’s heritage. These subjects are being addressed through the characterization of each character. In the story “Everyday Use”, the mother shows how their daughters are in completely two different worlds. One of her daughter, Maggie, is shy and jealous of her sister Dee and thought her sister had it easy with her life. She is the type that would stay around with her mother and be excluded from the outside world. Dee on the other hand, grew to be more outgoing and exposed to the real, modern world. The story shows how the two girls from different views of life co-exist and have a relationship with each other in the family. Maggie had always felt that Mama, her mother, showed more love and care to Dee over her. It is until the end of the story where we find out Mama cares more about Maggie through the quilt her mother gave to her. Showing that even though Dee is successful and have a more modern life, Maggie herself is just as successful in her own way through her love for her traditions and old w...
"Everyday Use" is a short story written by Alice Walker. Walker did a wonderful job illustrating her characters. There are all types of characters in this short story from round to static. Her use of simple symbolism prompts the reader to take a deeper look into the story. Walker’s humble way of conveying the theme makes the reader take a second look at him or herself. Walker did an excellent job in writing this story, so she could warn people of what might happen if they do not live properly.
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story about an African American family that struggles to make it. Mama tries her best to give Maggie and Dee a better life than what she had. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” Dee is the older sister and Maggie is younger. Dee is described as selfish and self-centered. Maggie is generous, kind, and cares the family’s history together. She would go out of her way to make sure that her older sister, Dee has everything she needs and wants. Maggie is also willing to share what she has with her sister. Maggie is also shy and vulnerable. Mama is the mother of Maggie and Dee. Mama is fair and always keeps her promises to her children. Hakim-a-barber is the boyfriend
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a narrative about a family and their discovery of heritage’s importance. While reading the story after researching the author Alice Walker, readers can unearth both similar and contrasting traits between Walker and her characters Dee and Maggie. “Everyday Use’s” setting is the first aspect reflective of Alice Walker in a huge way. Alice Walker who “lived in poverty” and was “born into a world marked by racism, sexism, and poverty”(Cummings 1) has a similar setting like Dee and Maggie’s. Both Maggie and Dee lived in poverty as their mother “worked outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing” (Walker 19). From the mother's description of getting water and working outside all day, we can infer the family
Two daughters brought up by a single, uneducated, African American woman in the Deep South during the late 1960’s to early 1970’s amid one of the nation’s largest civil rights movements to date. During this time not only was Mama struggling to control the fate of her own identity in American society, she struggled to manage the relationships she has with her children, allowing one of them to make her feel insecure. Caught between the two very different personalities of her broods Mama does the best that she can provide for her family, physically, mentally and emotionally in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use.”