Indirect Characterization In Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'
Eddie Truong
Prof. Gray
English 28
11 March 2013 Finding The Theme Many stories around the world have a wide variety of theme and issues that are not easily identified. Throughout stories, authors like to describe the characterization of character rather than the plot. The reason authors don’t describe the plot of the story is because through the characterization of the characters, readers are able to distinguish the different issues the author has planted in the story. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that explores the way some people tend to view their family heritage and culture. Even though the title of the story does not give a sense of genre, it is actually a drama story because it has conflicts between different people. This story begins when Mama and Maggie are waiting at their front yard for the arrival of their daughter/sister. When Dee, the sister arrives, she informs her family that she has thrown away her name for another name. When they all get into the house, Dee asks her mom …show more content…
Indirect characterization is shown throughout the story to show the traits of the characters by what they say and what they do. The readers are able to have a sense of who the character is by indirect characterization. For example, “A yard like this is more comfortable then most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room” (108). Through this quote the readers are able to realize that Mama is proud of what she has and the yard was not just a property to her, it is her culture. Another example given is when Mama “snatched the quilts out of miss Wangero’s hand and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (115), and then at the end mama and Maggie sits outside enjoying their sister leave. This shows the readers that Mama believe that Maggie is more qualified to carry on the heritage and their belief of heritage is better than their
Prof. Gray
English 28
11 March 2013 Finding The Theme Many stories around the world have a wide variety of theme and issues that are not easily identified. Throughout stories, authors like to describe the characterization of character rather than the plot. The reason authors don’t describe the plot of the story is because through the characterization of the characters, readers are able to distinguish the different issues the author has planted in the story. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that explores the way some people tend to view their family heritage and culture. Even though the title of the story does not give a sense of genre, it is actually a drama story because it has conflicts between different people. This story begins when Mama and Maggie are waiting at their front yard for the arrival of their daughter/sister. When Dee, the sister arrives, she informs her family that she has thrown away her name for another name. When they all get into the house, Dee asks her mom …show more content…
Indirect characterization is shown throughout the story to show the traits of the characters by what they say and what they do. The readers are able to have a sense of who the character is by indirect characterization. For example, “A yard like this is more comfortable then most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room” (108). Through this quote the readers are able to realize that Mama is proud of what she has and the yard was not just a property to her, it is her culture. Another example given is when Mama “snatched the quilts out of miss Wangero’s hand and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (115), and then at the end mama and Maggie sits outside enjoying their sister leave. This shows the readers that Mama believe that Maggie is more qualified to carry on the heritage and their belief of heritage is better than their