In the short story “Everyday Use” the author, Alice Walker, wants the readers to believe that Dee is the antagonist. Although this is true, after the readers go back over the story and even read it again, they will find that all Dee is trying to do is better herself. Mama, the narrator, is a sympathetic character, because she shows sympathy towards Maggie throughout the short story. Mama’s gender, values, age, motivation, and sympathy all play a big role in the story and and take a part in the main conflict between herself, Dee, and Maggie. The narrator, which is mama, is an African-American woman who grew up in the early twentieth century. She tells the audience, in great detail, about how hard she had to work during her childhood and on into adulthood. In the story mama states, “I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. My fat keeps me hot in zero weather. I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing.” She makes a point to tell the readers these things about herself to show how proud she was. Since Mama …show more content…
In the short story, Dee wants quilts that her grandmother hand stitched just because they will look good hanging in her house, but she does not have an attachment to them like Maggie. Maggie, on the other hand, values the quilts because they represent her grandmother’s African-American culture (or so mama says). Really mama had already promised Maggie the quilts for when she marries John Thomas. Dee was very upset when mama told her this. Dee’s remark was, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She would probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” Of course after this is said Mama immediately takes up for Maggie in sympathy. Mama is holding a grudge against Dee because she went to college and is trying to better herself. This is why Mama is not considered a reliable
...made for, she no longer offers much imagery to the reader. The story comes to an end as the mother reminds Dee that she was once offered the quilts and refused them because she thought they were "old fashioned and out of style" (880). She also turns the table on Dee by snatching the quilts out of Dee's hands and dumping them into Maggie's lap. She tells Dee to get a couple of the other quilts, and with that said, Dee storms out.
In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Dee becomes angry with her mother because she won’t allow Dee to take quilts that she had already promised she would give to Maggie. I do not believe this feeling is justified one bit. The mother sent Dee to a school in Augusta for her to be happy since their house burnt to the ground, that must have been expensive; when Dee comes to visit is seems as if she has changed. Dee seems to be very unappreciative. Mama tells Dee that she has already promised Maggie they could be hers then asks “Why don’t you take one or two of the others?”(Walker160). Dee blows up on the narrator. She could have just told Dee that she could not have any quilts at all and also, Dee did not give a good enough reason for her to have the quilts instead of
... attempts to change the way Mama and Maggie perceive tradition by using the quilts as a wall display. Mama refuses to allow it, Dee was offered the quilts when she was in college and didn’t want them at that time. Mama gives the quilts to Maggie as her wedding gift to be used every day as they were intended, knowing how much Maggie appreciates them. I agree with Mama and Maggie for keeping family memories and objects in daily use. It is important to maintain your family history in your everyday life to preserve those special memories.
In the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker tells the story about a girl named Dee that moves away from their rural life to attend college. After returning home from college, Dee faces conflict with her mother and sister due to the change in lifestyle Dee has become accustomed to. Throughout the story, Walker introduces characters important to the story and adds character history to help the audience understand the conflict between the characters. Because each character is different and has their own personal experience, conflict arises in the short story. In the short story "Everyday Use," Alice Walker develops the story by using characterization, conflict, and symbols to show
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
Maggie is nervous and intimidated by Dee, who, in turn, is bold and selfish. Maggie values the sentiment of the family quilts, while Dee wants to display them as a symbol of her heritage. Dee wanted the quilt just she can have something to show her background, but at the same time Maggie is nervous to tell Dee how she really feel about her taking that partial quilt. So mama offer her and other quilt because she believes that Maggie will honor the quilt more and not to just to use it as an item to decorate her house. After all the back and front about the quilt Dee is determined to get the quilt, it wasn’t sitting right with mama in the story it stated” Mama looks at Maggie, she is struck by a strange feeling, similar to the spirit she feels sometimes in church”. Overall, dee just want the quilt so she can boast to her friends about her heritage.
One situation in particular that Mama brings up is the time when she offers to Dee to bring some of the ancestral quilts with her to college. She claims, “I had offered Dee a quilt whe...
In every family there seems to be a child that is bestowed with all of the positive aspects of her parents. Unfortunately, for every perfect child there is, it seems that there is one child that is less talented and less beautiful. In the short story, "Everyday Use", these two character descriptions fit perfectly in relation to the characters of Dee and Maggie. Dee is the gifted and beautiful child, whereas Maggie seems to have been left behind by the gene pool and luck. In her short story, "Everyday Use", Alice Walker utilizes language, the tragedy of the fire burning down Maggie's family's house, and her portrayal of Dee to pain an extremely sympathetic portrait of Maggie.
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is a story of a black family composed of a mother and her two daughters: Maggie and Dee. Walker does an excellent job illustrating her characters. There are all types of characters in this short story from round to static. Dee is a flat character, yet Walker uses Dee’s character to warn people of what might happen if they do not live properly. Walker describes Dee’s character as arrogant and selfish, and through Dee’s character one is allowed to perceive the wicked effect of an egotistical world.
In Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" Mama is the narrator. She speaks of her family of two daughters Maggie and Dee. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in very different manners, the reader can choose which character to identify most with by judging what is really important in one’s life. Throughout the story three themes consistently show. These themes show that the family is separated by shame, knowledge, and pride.
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.
Quilts symbolize a family’s heritage. Maggie adheres the tradition by learning how to quilt from her grandmother and by sewing her own quilts. Maggie also puts her grandmother’s quilts into everyday use. Therefore, when Dee covets the family’s heirloom, wanting to take her grandmother’s hand-stitched quilts away for decoration, Mama gives the quilts to Maggie. Mama believes that Maggie will continually engage with and build upon the family’s history by using the quilts daily rather than distance herself from
She hears that Dee tells Mama that she is going to put the quilts to “everyday use”, but she does not seem too upset about it. In addition, Maggie does not seem too upset because she knows she can make another quilt. Maggie has been with Mama her entire life, and has already learned how to quilt from Mama, her grandmother, and Aunt Dee. An indication in the story is, “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts”(321). Maggie knows the history that the quilts have and Dee does not understand the family, as Maggie
She becomes upset because she can feel the disappointment in Maggie’s heart. Dee says “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts….She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker 1014). Here Mama feels a sense of confusion, because as said before Mama gave Dee an opportunity to receive one if not both of the quilts and she said she wasn’t interested in the quilts. The audience can almost feel the sense of confusion by Mama when Dee makes that statement, because Mama wants the quilts to be used. When Mama hears Dee say that she replies with “I reckon she would….I hope she will!” (Walker 1014). Mama’s feeling are completely uprooted and she was firm on giving Maggie those quilts. After all Grandma Dee and Big Dee taught Maggie how to quilt in the first place. Mama knows these quilts belong to Maggie, so she instilled in herself and gave the quilts to Maggie. Mama knew she had done the right thing and she knew they would be taken care of and
“Everyday Use” is a short story written by Alice Walker that tells of two sisters and their heritage. Walker describes the two sisters as different throughout the story. Dee is the older sister who has always gotten what she wanted and has changed her name to Wangero to honor her heritage; conversely, Maggie is the younger sister who has always given up what was hers to keep Dee happy. Though these characters are sisters, Walker quickly lets the reader know that they are nothing alike. Dee’s feelings and interactions demonstrate her selfishness, while Maggie’s actions and interactions prove how selfless she is. Walker uses these traits to highlight the differences between the sisters throughout the story.