Theme Of Marriage Is A Private Affair By Alice Walke

Respect – is an important positive trait of admiration and acceptance for the abilities and qualities another possesses and portrays that are of high esteem. Nowadays, the idea of respect has been lost because of opinions in the interest of oneself. In the story “Marriage is a Private Affair”, Okeke portrays his disgust and anger towards his son as a sign of his disapproval of his son’s marriage whose wife is of a different tribe, and in the story “Everyday Use”, Dee portrays selfishness and disregard to her mother and sister who are seen as poor due their set-back in life because of unforeseen events in their lives. The comparison of the two stories “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “Marriage is a Private Affair” by Chinua Achebe showed difference

Both stories show two contrasting settings, yet these settings are significant to both stories’ main characters. Okeke is an old man who lives in the rural areas of Africa and his son lives in the cosmopolitan area of the city in Lagos. In Africa, people are segregated by different tribes, which there is an indifference in culture and mindset. As a result, some tribes show flexibility while others display strict traditional values. The countryside where Okeke lives has strict traditional values where two different tribes cannot marry each other: “…when it comes to marriage, its not quite so simple… is not peculiar to the Ibos” (Achebe 11). This is deem has sinful and disrespectful towards their tribe’s values, which for the son’s wife it’s “something of a joke that a person’s tribe could determine whom he married” (Achebe 9). Traditional tribes involve the village, which are comrade of people who are involve in tribes’ views and

Dee character in “Everyday Use” showed disgust and disregard to her family’s background. Her behavior portrays her as being better than her mother and sister Maggie, due to her physical physique and strong literacy. Dee’s appearance is “…lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” (Walker 9). Dee uses this to her advantage to get whatever she wants. She speaks down to her family with pity and with no respect or care. Maggie is not as fortunate as Dee and struggles with self esteem. Dee’s arrival back home is of disregard to her culture, a change to her name, and demands toward her family for items she wants from her mother’s home, which are for Maggie’s marriage. Dee rudely states “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts… She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker 65). Courage from Dee’s mom made her stand up to Dee to say no and to respect her choice and that the quilt belongs to Maggie, which passes from generation to generation. For Okeke, he wants what is best for his son which is an arranged marriage. Okeke is a controlling father who is strict with his own values and has no regards for his son’s view of whom he wants to marry. Okeke wants for his son a good stay home Christian wife regardless of knowing if there is love. Living in the rural area of Africa, Okeke has standards to uphold whilst living in his village. Okeke’s son, however