Story elements such as themes or characterization sometimes get lost in stories. In some cases they are overshadowed by other things taking place within the story. Other times they are not strongly built upon or clearly defined. As a result characters may seem flat or static, themes become mudded, and conflicts are left unresolved. These elements become underdeveloped and in whole; give the story a weak foundation. This leaves a detachment to the book from the reader. This detachment is what gives some readers a hard time getting into a story and relating with it. Such is not the case in the short story, “Everyday Use”, by Alice walker, where the author uses a strong, much defined use of theme, characterization, and conflict to set the scene …show more content…
Dee goes on into the world and leaves home to go to college. She tells mom of the changes the world has experienced, but she has not noticed because of her living in the same old world. She continues to urge Maggie in following her footsteps when she says, “You ought to try and make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and mama still live you’d never know it” (Walker 7). The mother raises Maggie in the lifestyle of her ancestors. They live simply in the country and know skills like milking and quilting. Some would have to think if given the choice where on the spectrum of life Maggie would want to be or if she feels conflicted. She can either live the same simple life of her mothers or the new experiences of the outside world. The story ends with the quote, “Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses. But a real smile, not scared. After we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed” (Walker 7). This scene seems to hint that Maggie is happy living with her mom and would probably continue her heritage. In a critical essay the writer supports this thought by saying, “Readers praise the "simplicity" of Maggie and her mother, along with their allegiance to their specific family identity and folk heritage as well as their refusal to change at the whim of an outside world that doesn 't really have much to do with them” (Fight vs. Flight). Maggie is considered a strong person for continuing her heritage and choosing to live like her ancestors. She becomes a human embodiment of her peoples
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
Have you ever seen the Disney movie Cinderella? Cinderella was always jealous of her step sisters always being up lifted, while she was always degraded by her step mother however, at the end everything changed for Cinderella just as it did for Maggie. There are a numerous of themes throughout the story “Everyday Use”. Race is showed when Dee leaves home and comes back embracing her African American cultural. Family also plays a major role in “Everyday Use”. In “Everyday Use” Maggie’s characterization presents her as ignorant; however, a closer look reveals Maggie ignorance is not a representative of her potential but, rather her mother’s bias.
Point of view is described as the perspective from which a story is told (Literature, G25). In the story "Everyday Use" the point of view is that of first person narrator or major character. The story is told by the mother in the story. The theme of this story is that of a mother who is trying to cope with changing times and two daughters who are completely different. Having the story told from momma's point of view helps to reveal how momma feels about herself and how she defines her daughters Dee and Maggie.
When we meet our narrator, the mother of Maggie and Dee, she is waiting in the yard with Maggie for Dee to visit. The mother takes simple pleasure in such a pleasant place where, "anyone can come back and look up at the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house." (Walker 383) This is her basic attitude, the simple everyday pleasures that have nothing to do with great ideas, cultural heritage or family or racial histories. She later reveals to us that she is even more the rough rural woman since she, "can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man." (Walker 383) Hardly a woman one would expect to have much patience with hanging historical quilts on a wall. Daughter Maggie is very much the opposite of her older sister, Dee. Maggie is portrayed as knowing "she is not bright." (Walker 384)
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.
Not too long ago, grandparents will tell family stories to their grandchildren. Parents will also tell their children family stories. Those family stories will contain family history, struggle and heroism of family members. Also, those stories will pass down the family values and traditions to the next generations. Now a days, most parents read stories from books to their children. Family story telling is an almost lost tradition because it is not practiced anymore. In her short story “Everyday Use”, Alice walker illustrates the importance of keeping a tradition alive other than preserving it.
Walker shows that in mother and daughter relationships adaptation to change can be hard in a variety of ways. First, Dee, Mother's oldest daughter, comes home to visit her mother and little sister Maggie. When she shows up, she introduces herself as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (416). Her mother is confused about why she wants to change her name, since it was the one that was passed down. Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had. Instead, Dee "read to us without pity; forcing words, lies other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (413) and tried t...
Lex Luger, a retired wrestler and television producer, reflects that “Many times, the decisions we make affect and hurt your closest friends and family the most. I have a lot of regrets in that regard. But God has forgiven me, which I am very thankful for. It has enabled me to forgive myself and move forward one day at a time.” Luger believes that you shouldn’t dwell on what you’ve done but grow from it and move forward with your life. At times, we can feel taken for granted, but there is always a way to move beyond the situation and feel better about ourselves. Dee, Alice Walker’s main character, has hurt both her mother and sister, but Mama, as all mothers do, overlook their children’s shortcoming and forgive. Dee unappreciative her whole life not caring about the hard work her mother and sister Maggie has put in to help her have a better life, making sure she had and education and was able to go to a good college in Dee wanted to do was forget about and where she came from only caring about herself; which drove Mama and Maggie to shift a lot in the story. Mama finally becoming of herself speaking up for Maggie you would say her overlooked daughter. While Maggie got a sense of happiest on the inside to finally ends up with the quilts compared to always having Dee get any and everything she wants. Now Dee has realize that her bratty and spoiled ways aren’t
hairdo and brightly colored clothing. Maggie remains traditional: the. unchanged, unaffected bystanders, and a sn Nowhere in the dialogue does Walker's. characters directly mention their feelings about Americanization. of the African tradition. But Walker somehow gets the reader to believe.
How does the difference between the way Dee (Wangero) and Maggie would use the quilts represent their two different ways of defining and treating their family’s heritage? Does the narrative give approval to Dee’s way or Maggie ’s?
An interesting thing about Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is the fact that it seems to be told from the Mama’s eyes, rather than from one of the, arguably, main characters. This only allows the reader to see Mama’s bias in the entire situation. Because of this bias between her children, the reader can see the stark contrast of the two sisters. Alice tries to portray the importance of embracing heritage and the vulgarity of disregarding the purpose of things for one’s own pleasure.
"Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe."(61) She is afraid of being weak and unable to project her happiness with the life she has chosen. Maggie attempts to remain quiet and reserved during the visit of her sister. The difference of their lifestyle interpretations is one of humble to extravagant. Unlike other young women, Maggie continues to live in an un-educated world where happiness is formed in the heart, not with possessions.
Chang, Lan Samantha. "Hangzhou 1925." Ploughshares 30.1 (2004): 100-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
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...
Maggie lives with a poor and dysfunctional family and a hopeless future with only the small possibility of change. The environment and setting she grows up in do not support anything more than a dull, dreary and pathetic future for her. An old woman asks Maggie's brother Jimmy: "Eh, Gawd, child, what is it this time? Is yer fader beatin yer mudder, or yer mudder beatin yer fader? (Maggie, 10)" while he runs to Maggie's apartment one night. The lack of love and support of her family hinders Maggie's ability to live a happy and fulfilling life. Without knowing that someone loves her no matter what she does or how she acts Maggie may feel desperate enough to change her situation by any means she can, and without any useful guidance. Even without any positive influences Maggie grows up different from the low-life's living with and around her. Crane explains Maggie's uniqueness in the passage "None of the dirt of Rum Alley seemed to be in her veins. The philosophers up-stairs, down-stairs and on the same floor, puzzled over it" (Maggie 16). Maggie's uniqueness gives her the chance to improve her life, but only a slim chance. Even though Maggie differs from the people around her they remain sleazy, making it harder for her to change her life because she must go outside of her community for help.