The Meaning of Heritage in Alice Walker's Everyday Use 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. There are three women in this short story, two sisters and their mother. One of the sisters is named Maggie and the other is named Dee. Maggie and her mother believe that the word "heritage" deals with their family?s traditions. These traditions are the only ones they have ever known and/or cared about. Dee, on the other hand, believes that "heritage" is about African culture, and she wants nothing to do with her family?s heritage until it is in style. Throughout "Everyday Use," there are examples that show Maggie and her mother have knowledge about their family?s heritage. There are also examples that show Maggie and her mother cherish their family?s heritage and Dee does not. Next, there are examples that show Dee is not concerned with her family?s heritage until it becomes stylish. Finally, there are examples that show Dee embracing her African-American heritage instead of her family?s heritage. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...ly?s heritage. So ironically, while Dee is looking for her African-American culture, and it lies right in front of her eyes. Her sister, mother, grandmother, and herself are all a part of their family?s heritage, which stems from the African-American heritage that Dee is so desperate to find. Works Cited Allen-Polley, Kathryn. "Dee?s Heritage." Ode to Friendship. Ed. Connie Bellamy. Virginia Wesleyan College, 1998. Baker and Pierce-Baker, Houston and Charlotte. "Patches: Quilts and Community in Alice Walker?s ?Everyday Use.?" Alice Walker: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad , 1993. Callahan, John. "Review of Love and Trouble." Short Story Criticism Vol. 5. (Essay date 1974). Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.
In Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use,” symbolism, allegory, and myth stand out when thinking about the characters, setting, and conflict in the story. The conflict is between the mother and her two daughters (Maggie and Dee). There is also the conflict between the family’s heritage (symbolized by the quilt, bench, and butter chum) and their different ways of life. Dee chose a new African name, moved to the city, and adopted a new way of life while Maggie and her mother have stay behind. The quilt (the most important symbol) represents the family’s heritage in that it is made of scraps of clothing worn by generations of family members. The quilt has been sewn by family hands and used on family beds. It has seen history and is history. Maggie and her mother see that that history is alive but Dee thinks it is as dead as her name. Dee does not see that name as part of her heritage. By analyzing these symbols, a number of possibilities for a theme can be seen. Walker could be suggesting that to understand the African-American heritage, readers have to include the present as well as the past. However, the theme could be that poverty and a lack of sophistication and education cannot be equated with ignorance. Lastly, she could be telling her readers that dignity or self-respect rise from and are virtually connected to one’s entire heritage- not just a selected part of it.
Moore, Julie. “Heritage and Symbolism in Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’.” YAHOO! VOICES. N.p., 29 May 2007. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
Alice Walkers “Everyday Use”, is a story about a family of African Americans that are faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it. Two sisters and two hand stitched quilts become the center of focus for this short story. Walker paints for us the most vivid representation through a third person perspective of family values and how people from the same environment and upbringing can become different types of people.
Alice Walker used symbolism to convey the importance of heritage in her short story "Everyday Use," by using the sisters' actions, family items, and tradition. Dee does not appreciate her heritage like her sister and mother. She does not see the importance of family traditions. The churn top, the bench with her ancestor's rump prints, the butter dish, and the quilts are all symbols of their heritage. Dee is only interested in the items because they make great decorations. Heritage is very important factor in a person's life. Everyone should learn to appreciate their family history.
Regretfully, though readers can see how Mama has had a difficult time in being a single mother and raising two daughters, Dee, the oldest daughter, refuses to acknowledge this. For she instead hold the misconception that heritage is simply material or rather artificial and does not lie in ones heart. However, from Mama’s narrations, readers are aware that this cultural tradition does lie within ones heart, especially those of Mama’s and Maggie’s, and that it is the pure foundation over any external definition.
Photosynthesis can occur in any green part of the plant. This green part contains chloroplasts. Chloroplasts separate photosynthesis and other cellular activities. The cytoplasm like liquid, stroma, in chloroplast consists of ribosome, DNA, and enzymes which takes part in photosynthesis. There are two stages in photosynthesis: light dependent and light independent. In light dependent stage, by using light energy water is broken into hydrogen and oxygen. In light independent stage, hydrogen reacts with CO₂. Also, water is reformed. This stage both happens when it is dark or light.
...s a tough-as-nails role model as a mother, could easily stand up for herself against a sassy girl like Dee if confronted. Walker has cast Maggie to remain a doormat to Dee’s antics which raises the questions whether or not she believes that African-Americans in today’s society should remain subservient to a more traditional African heritage or rely on the heritage that they and their forefathers have created for themselves in this country. I believe that Walker message is that a person’s heritage comes more from the connections that bind the generations together than a certain area, culture or country.
The story “Everyday Use” tells the story of a mother and her two daughter's differing views about their identities and heritage. In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker uses descriptive imagery and metaphors to communicate to readers the importance of heritage. She also shows how it is a part of life that is meant to be shared with each generation. The main characters in this story, "Mama" and Maggie on one side, Dee on the other, each have conflicting views on various items of historical and cultural significance. In the story Maggie and Mama are anticipating the return of Dee who has been away at school. They have never particularly got along due to their differences, though they seem to be at least amicable towards each other. While Maggie values their history in the traditional sense, with everyday acknowledgement of how important these things are, Dee portrays their heritage as something that’s meant to be shown off. Although Maggie and Dee appear to both value their heritage, in reality they see the concept in totally different ways.
In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the message about the preservation of heritage, specifically African-American heritage, is very clear. It is obvious that Walker believes that a person's heritage should be a living, dynamic part of the culture from which it arose and not a frozen timepiece only to be observed from a distance. There are two main approaches to heritage preservation depicted by the characters in this story. The narrator, a middle-aged African-American woman, and her youngest daughter Maggie, are in agreement with Walker. To them, their family heritage is everything around them that is involved in their everyday lives and everything that was involved in the lives of their ancestors. To Dee, the narrator's oldest daughter, heritage is the past - something to frame or hang on the wall, a mere artistic, aesthetic reminder of her family history. Walker depicts Dee's view of family heritage as being one of confusion and lack of understanding.
Creativity should be about the pure enjoyment of having been involved, influencing others and being influenced, combining ideas and preserving those that speak to us, discovering and appreciating all that which is greater than ourselves.
A recent debate tackled a particular aspect of creativity studies that focused on whether creativity studies should be included in the core curriculum of education or should be integrated into existing courses. Though some colleges and other institutions have already implemented creativity studies programs. The question of whether this is the right decision is yet to be answered. Many professionals and authors have made claims regarding this issue of creativity studies and have provided effective arguments. Since each one of them has different assumptions about creativity studies and agree only on few aspects of the
Photosynthesis is a process in plants that converts light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in bonds of sugar. The process occurs in the chloroplasts, using chlorophyll. Photosynthesis takes place in green leaves. Glucose is made from the raw materials, carbon dioxide, water, light energy and oxygen is given off as a waste product. In these light-dependent reactions, energy is used to split electrons from suitable substances such as water, producing oxygen. In plants, sugars are produced by a later sequence of light-independent reactions called th...
Creativity is a hard phenomenon to be measured, for it is a complex concept that encompasses a lot of domains; it is not specific to a certain field, rather it is manifested in different ways. Throughout the years, researches have tried to come up with a variety of methods to assess the occurrence and the development of the creative abilities individuals possess, each depending on a different perspective. As mentioned in the previous sections, creativity was considered an exceptional gift only certain people are endowed with, the reason why, at that time, there was no need for assessment, for it was recognized through the exceptional achievement of those “exceptional individuals”; their outcome is sufficient to tell how creative they are. Barboot,
Photosynthesis occurs in plants and some organisms from the Kingdom Protista, such as algae. It is the process of converting light energy into chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugar of the organism. This process takes place in the leaves of a plant specifically in the chloroplast and it uses chlorophyll. In order to make sugar plants require only the following: Light energy, Water, and Carbon Dioxide. Chlorophyll is made into the membranes of the thylakoids. (Clermont Staff, 2000)
Since we are born we have imagination and as we grow up this imagination may increase or decrease. Creativity strongly relies in our imagination. Depending on different circumstances people learn to express their creativity openly while other people close themselves and believe they do not have creativity. Creativity is a natural talent that every single human has. Creativity can be used to solve a complex problem in a different manner or just to find innovative ways to have fun. Creativity is thinking out of the box. Even though creativity cannot be taught from scratch there should be a class that is specific for creativity.