Everyday Use By Alice Walker Heritage Essay
The short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker portrays the relationship between a family and their issues concerning their heritage and values that are different to them. Clearly, the author Alice Walker incorporates her personal experiences into her writings. In the short story, the family lived a poor lifestyle and had to adapt to what they had. According to one source, “The Walkers lived in poverty, and as a young girl” (Cummings 1). Along with her lifestyle, Walker is able to include real details in her short story about being poor because she has been through it. Walker explains in her story as the character of Mama, “I never had an education myself. After second grade the school closed down” (21). Tuten explains that, “Commentaries
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Walker finds her voice through her homelife as a child and what she had to overcome. (Cummings 1). Even though Maggie, Dee, and Mama lived through poverty, they did not have to be “Born into a world marked by racism, sexism, and poverty” as the article “Alice Walker” describes (Cummings 1). In the short story, Maggie and Dee were able to go to school to learn skills such as reading unlike Mama (Walker 21). Walker experienced school, she just had to overcome different more severe obstacles. In the short story “Everyday Use,” Mama has two daughters who develop conflict with the family quilts and who will receive them, although in reality, Walker has at least seven children. Walker may have changed the gender of the children to give a more realistic outlook to her stories because boys are not going to fight over the quilt as much as Dee was over Maggie because they won’t see as much value in them as the sisters did. A newspaper article explains, “Walker stresses not only the importance of language but also the destructive effects of its misuse” (Tuten 125). Along with language, Walker stresses heritage and culture in her short story “Everyday Use” through her use of the quilts from her ancestors. Through Walker’s writings, and her personal experiences and life, there are many differences throughout both of
Walker finds her voice through her homelife as a child and what she had to overcome. (Cummings 1). Even though Maggie, Dee, and Mama lived through poverty, they did not have to be “Born into a world marked by racism, sexism, and poverty” as the article “Alice Walker” describes (Cummings 1). In the short story, Maggie and Dee were able to go to school to learn skills such as reading unlike Mama (Walker 21). Walker experienced school, she just had to overcome different more severe obstacles. In the short story “Everyday Use,” Mama has two daughters who develop conflict with the family quilts and who will receive them, although in reality, Walker has at least seven children. Walker may have changed the gender of the children to give a more realistic outlook to her stories because boys are not going to fight over the quilt as much as Dee was over Maggie because they won’t see as much value in them as the sisters did. A newspaper article explains, “Walker stresses not only the importance of language but also the destructive effects of its misuse” (Tuten 125). Along with language, Walker stresses heritage and culture in her short story “Everyday Use” through her use of the quilts from her ancestors. Through Walker’s writings, and her personal experiences and life, there are many differences throughout both of