Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” talks about traditions, relationships and identity. In this piece by Alice Walker the three characters; Dee, Maggie, and Mama show us the struggles that African Americans during this time went through. Alice Walker's modern classic "Everyday Use" tells the story of a mother and her two daughters' conflicting ideas about their identities and ancestry. The mother, Mama narrates the story of when one of her daughter Dee, visits from college and clashes with the other daughter, Maggie, over the possession of some heirloom quilts. In addition, the three characters represent the different aspects of their culture. Each character has a different personality. Dee is very outgoing and educated whereas Maggie and Mama are not educated. In “Everyday Use” Mama's thoughts about her daughters are expressed through the fire that took place. Mama expresses how she feels each daughter is towards her and in the short story you can see how she treats each daughter.
In every household there seems to be that one child that is treated like royalty while the rest are not. There is no exception in Alice Walker's “Everyday Use.” Mama, the main character who the story is shown through treats one of her daughter better than the other. According to Mama, “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure.” From this we see that Mama perceives Dee as being better than Maggie just because of how she looks. Mama thinks that Dee is prettier than Maggie. In addition, it is as if Maggie is the ugly duckling of the family. Mama feels that Dee is better off than Maggie. She thinks that Dee has a lot going on for her whereas Maggie has nothing. From this we can see that Mama doesn't worry as much about Dee because she knows that Dee can handle herself where as she worries about Maggie since she knows that Maggie is not educated nor does she have beauty.
Alice Walker, "Everyday Use"
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Alice Walker 's _Everyday use_ is a story about a mother and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Mama, the narrator, of the story gives us a good description of both daughters by showing their different strengths and weakness. Dee and Maggie are as different as day and night but Mama love them both. Dee the older daughter is very beautiful, independent, confident, and educated but she is also arrogant, selfish and self centered. Maggie on the other hand, is uneducated and unattractive with burn scars on her face arm and leg leading to her having a low self esteem and being shy. Mama, an African American is a strong hard-working, independent, uneducated, and self sufficient woman who despite all these great qualities still have a low self esteem and lacks self confidence.…
- 1002 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In her story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker is telling the story though the eyes of Mama, who is the narrator of this story. The story begins by describing the beautiful garden, which is like an extended living room on a common day. Then Mama introduces one of her two daughters, Maggie, whose life is held away by her sister. This story tells about many different themes and issues in common daily life. One of the major themes in “Everyday Use” is contrasting ways of life and thinking.…
- 632 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When two daughters are raised alike yet live differently, there is a fine line of distinction between the traits and aspirations of the two, as Alice Walker drew portraits of three women in a family in "Everyday Use". Maggie Johnson was the youngest of the two daughters, and her older sister Dee had gone to college and hadn 't been home in over a decade. Maggie stayed at her mother 's side, to make a life for herself that seemed suitable for her. In this story, Maggie is a fragile young woman, however a strong character that is opposite of her sister Dee, who underestimates Maggie for the person she is.…
- 1509 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" is a short story about the clash between a mother and daughter. Dee is the child returning home to visit. The visit is not exactly pleasant and ends after a stand-off between her and Mama. Many readers see Mama as finally standing up for her own ideals while also refusing to conform to the rules Dee wishes her to follow. Dee follows different rules of society and religion than her mother does in order to become her own person. The rules Dee follows are shallow compared to the old-fashioned ways of her mother.…
- 1709 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Mama tries to be influential on the cultural side towards her daughters Dee, who renamed herself to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo and Maggie, who still lives at home with Mama. But Maggie turned out to be the only one who is exactly like Mama. Everyday Use contains antecedent action in its exposition to show readers that Mama is the back bone of the family. As they grew up, they didn’t have very much. Mama only has 2nd grade level of education but very willingly, she wants her children to do better than she did. Therefore, Mama supports them. Throughout their lives Mama tried to instill values in Dee and Maggie. Walker shows the juxtaposition between Maggie and Dee to reveal to the reader how people can develop different values throughout their lives, even though they come from the same…
- 813 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” Mama, the narrator of the story, is rather distant with her daughter Dee and dreams about reconciling with her on a television show. Specifically, she imagines Dee expressing gratitude for all that she has done for her, while embracing her (Mama) “with tears in her eyes (Walker 315).” It is obvious that Mama doesn’t understand her daughter’s life choice to adopt an African lifestyle and feels that Dee is rejecting her origins and family. Furthermore, the reader can see that Mama has a troublesome relationship with Dee by the amount of tension between them. This strained relationship becomes clear when Dee “went to the trunk at the foot of (Mama’s) bed and started rifling through it (Walker 320).” The narrator…
- 578 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Alice Walker’s story Everyday Use deals with the relationship between a mother and her two daughters Maggie and Dee. In this essay we will be examining the characters, analyzing how each person’s personalities and actions affects their relationships with their family.…
- 1022 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
An essay discussing Alice Walker's famous 1973 short story Everyday Use. The essay contrasts the characters of Mama and her eldest daughter Dee. Walker analyzes how Dee's preoccupation with her African heritage (such as exchanging her given name for an adopted African name) is ironically artificial when compared with Mama's more traditional, less pretentious lifestyle.…
- 1510 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
In the story, "Everyday Use," Mama was a big-boned woman with work-worn hands. Mama's extra weight would help insulate her during the winter months. Maggie, her daughter, was rather plain and simple. She had burn scars all over her body and walked like a three-legged dog. Dee, her other daughter, was light-skinned with pretty hair and a stylish figure. Dee came to visit one day and was wearing a long dress accompanied by allot of African jewelry. Dee did not want to admit her roots came from a poor family. Whether or not she was comfortable in that dress, she had to be socially acceptable, now that she was college educated. She went into the house and started taking things without even asking permission. When she started to grab the quilts, Mama stopped her and told her she had already promised Maggie the quilts. Dee threw a fit and mentioned that Maggie would probably use them instead of displaying them for their aesthetic value. Dee showed that her idealistic values meant more than the everyday needs of her family.…
- 526 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The lives of the characters in Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use” have quite big differences. The three main characters are “Mama,” Maggie, and Dee. The events that occurred in each other’s lives developed growing up in a unique setting. Mama never made it out of the second grade so therefore she was less educated. Dee made it to college and was always smarter than Mama and Maggie. Maggie was always self-conscious growing up because of the scars and burns she received from the fire.…
- 680 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Mrs. Johnson’s narration is honest and forthright. The reader sees the story”Everyday Use” by Alice Walker through Mama’s eyes. Dee and Maggie,Mama’s daughters do not make life any easier for her. Throughout the story, the element of surprise is kept going by not mentioning her full name. As the narrator, Mrs. Johnson provides information about her life and the differences between her daughters. Her life has been harsh and filled with hard work, much evident to a common day African American Woman.…
- 360 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Alice Walker's short story "Everyday use" tells the story of a mother and her daughter's conflicting ideas about their identities and heritage. Mrs. Johnson an uneducated woman narrates the story of the day one daughter, Dee, visits from college. Mrs. Johnson auto-describes herself as a "big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands."(180,Walker). Contrasting her auto-description, she describes Dee as a young lady with light complexion, nice hair and full figure that "wanted nice things."(181,Walker). The arrival of Dee to Mrs. Johnson's house causes mixed emotions on Mrs. Johnson. Dee Johnson and Mrs. Johnson have differing viewpoints on heritage and each value possessions for different reasons. Dee's superficiality and materialist ways clash with Mrs. Johnson's appreciation and understanding of her heritage. The conflict between the two characters depict the meaning of the work which is that heritage is to be valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance.…
- 1181 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is about two sisters and a mother. Despite the family being poor, the mother works hard to provide for the both of her daughters. Dee is the eldest daughter and despises where she came from. Dee later on gains an education, attends college, and obtains a degree all because her mother and the community raised enough money to send her to school in Augusta. In the story she is going through an identity crisis and changes her name to "Wanegro." On the other hand, Maggie, the younger sister, is a shy young girl. The mother offend compares herself and Maggie to Dee, the successful daughter, which illustrates the jealousy she has towards Dee. At such a young age, Maggie is still suffering from a tragic event. Maggie is intimidated by Dee; solely since Dee carries many accomplishments and her appearance. Dee is said to be “self-conscious of her scars and burn marks and jealous of Dee’s much easier life” (Everyday use, 256). Soon after, Dee remembers the quilts made by her grandmother. She attempts to obtain the quilts and her mother decides to give the quilts to Maggie. The quilts are a symbol of customs in their family. In many different cultures there are a variety of customs that follow along with the generations. The short story exposes that the two sisters are attempting to reach the same goal, but in unlike methods. In some ways it also shows that one is trying to be better than the other.…
- 1053 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
An individual can lose all sense of self when denied the basic connections that life provides. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” a young woman named Dee struggles to find her foundation. Unfortunately, her identity begins to disintegrate as a result of her isolation. Through the utilization of character development, Alice Walker illustrates Dee’s distinct inability to connect with the people around her.…
- 824 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The character I have chosen from Alice Walker's novel, 'Everyday Use,' is Mama. Mama is a single parent raising two daughters. Mama describes herself as a “large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. She proudly tells of her ability to kill and clean hogs as “mercilessly” as any man. I believe these skills were acquired out of sheer survival and necessity. Mama starts the story recalling the dreams she often has in which she and Dee reunite on a television talk show. In this dream she has described herself almost as if it is the woman that she wished she was for example she states she is “a hundred pounds lighter, her skin like an uncooked barley pancake.” Although she says the way she looks in the dream is the way her daughter would want her to be, I think she longs for that as well.…
- 417 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays