The main literary strategy Walker uses in the writing of Everyday Use are irony and symbolism. Mama and Maggie value the quilts discussed in the story, not as folk art, instead for what they are intended to be used for, a source of warmth. Mama would rather give Maggie the quilts and let her put these quilts to use even though they may end up ruined because she knows that she is the one that will appreciate and love the quilts the most. Dee wants to in a sense save the quilts from the harm that she is sure that her sister, whom she seems to think is intelligently inferior will ruin but she does not understand the true value and worth of these quilts. Dee’s sudden interest in her heritage and want to embrace different objects from her family’s past is obviously seen by…
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…
She thinks to herself, “I didn’t want to bring up how I has offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style”(320). The mother is in disbelief at Dee, who only wants to use her heritage as something for show and tell. Those same blankets she had once refused she now wanted because they fit her own aesthetic, and not at all for the value and meaning behind those quilts. The mother then decides to do something unheard of and, “hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snactched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap”(321). The mom has chosen her true heritage over the false, glamorized one that her eldest daughter has decided to create. She gives the quilts to Maggie because in her heart she knows that Miss Wangero does not deserve them, that Maggie can truly appreciate them and know who she is and where she’s come…
Have you ever not seen eye to eye with your mother? In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”, we are shown how many of the choices we make and the things we value create our identity. This story focuses on two characters, mama and her daughter Dee (Wangero), who struggle to see the same way about their heritage. Dee wants the things made by her grandmother, to not admire it as an artifact, but rather to remake it. She wants to take them, and change them to match her lifestyle as it is today. She loves them for the way they look. Mama, on the other hand, views the things from her mother as artifacts. She loves the items more than how they look. She admires the quilts because of their everyday use. Transformations take place between these characters. Dee’s transformation is more external than it is internal. She shows her transformation in the way she speaks, the clothes she wears, and her judgement. Mama’s transformation is more internal. She begins to see Dee’s real thoughts, and she stands up against her. When she takes the quilts away from Dee, she doesn’t only stand up for herself, but Maggie, as…
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that describes a mother and her two daughters that have different personalities. Mrs. Johnson’s daughters, Dee and Maggie, grew up in the same house around the same time but have experienced different lives. Throughout the story, the mother depicts the different personalities and physical features of her two daughters. The traits that each daughter possess are displayed when Dee returns home for a visit.…
In the story “Everyday Use”, Dee is portrayed as a girl who “made it”. She was seen by her mother and Maggie as a talented girl. Her only flaw was her selfishness towards her younger sister Maggie. In the story, she pays a visit to Maggie and her mother and have dinner. After dinner, Dee goes rifling through a trunk and two quilts catch her eye. She demands her mother to hand them to her. Although they were to be passed onto Maggie, she allows Dee to keep the quilts. In the end, Dee gives the quilts back.…
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.…
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.…
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.…
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short, yet powerful story about a simple, rural family that’s changed with the return of one of the daughters. Maggie and “Mama” continue to keep the tradition of a simple and hardworking life that seems to be passed down from generations, but we see that Dee has been a black sheep since a young age and holds resentment toward her family because of their lifestyle. Mama was raised into this lifestyle and has become satisfied and happy with it. With her man-ish skills she readily adopts the chores of the life she’s accepted, but like any parent, wants the best she possible can for her dear daughters. Maggie, like her mother, lacks many natural gifts like beauty or brains, but in her simplicity she, too, can find happiness. Dee is the lucky child of the two. She is the firstborn, and although she holds her disdain towards the surroundings of her youth, she was given what opportunities that Mama could provide, like schooling. However, on the faithful day of Dee’s return, Mama learns that there are sometimes repercussions to kind acts – or perhaps her kindness was wasted. When Dee’s spoiled nature reveals itself as worse than ever, it seems that these three people are no longer a family.…
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.…
The short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, the story 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. In the story she is going through an identity crisis and changes her name to "Wanegro." On the other hand, Maggie is a shy young girl. At such a young age, she is still suffering from a tragic event. Maggie is intimidated by Dee; solely since Dee carries many accomplishments and her appearance. 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.…
Analyzing characterization is the key to find fiction's controlling idea and central insight--theme. Direct presentation--one character description technique--usually directly shows what characters are like by exposition, analysis, or another character's description. The other way to shape characters is to use the indirect presentation by describing their actions and leaving room for readers to develop their own ideas about the characters. "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is a short story that expresses the conflicts between people's different attitudes and values of heritage. This story is a dramatic story, but one that uses first-person point of view to narrate the story, which gives readers a fresh reading experience. In the story, Dee, a black lady who has been educated, comes to visit her Mama and her younger sister, Maggie. Dee interests in many of the daily-used heritages in the family and wants to take something back for art appreciation. Mama does not refuse any of Dee's requests until Dee wants to have the inherited quilt, which she plans to give to Maggie as a dowry. Dee does not understand the behaviour of Maggie and Mama of putting the treasures into everyday use, and she blames that they do not know the value of those quilts. This work of fiction uses both direct and indirect presentation of Dee, Maggie, and Mama to express the central theme as that the differences between people's ideas toward heritage widely exist in society, from objective-oriented to subjective-oriented and the conflicts in between.…
In the story Everyday Use by Amy Walker, Dee is a frequent trendsetter who believes she knows it all, but fails to know her own self. When Dee visits from college to visit her family, she surprises them in a bright African-themed dress, golden bangles and earrings, and a large new hair. However, this new look is only for physical display, intended to show others that she is in touch with her heritage – something, that for many, does not have to be physically seen to be justified. This new look only displays what she considers her true heritage, which is really empty and false. To make matters worse, Dee also comes home with a new name: Wangero. When her mother asks what happened to her “Dee”, she replies “She’s dead. I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”. However, Dee’s name is a true attachment to her real heritage, as it has been passed down for four generations. Her new name is only created as façade, to transform the old her (who is really still the same) and help embrace a false and temporary identity. When Dee is denied the family quilts she intends to showcase, she says “Maggie couldn’t appreciate these quilts! She’d probably be backwards enough to put them to everyday use!”, but when Dee was granted the quilts as a going away gift for college, she referred to them as “old fashioned” and “out of style”. However, now in tune with the Black Power Movement, Dee sees the quilts as another way to fit in with a trend. Little does she know that the purpose of a quilt is to put it to everyday use and pass down family history. Though Maggie may be “backwards”, she knows how to quilt, unlike Dee. So even if Maggie may subject the quilts to the wear and tear of everyday use, she can replace them and contribute a scrap of family history to the next generation. Granting that Dee may believe that she is more in touch with her family’s heritage…
Tuten argues that there is a use and abuse of language portrayed in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”. The author states, “Dee manipulates and oppresses both her mom and her sister through her verbal skills” (Tuten 125). Dee uses her verbal skills to get what she wants, and this is evident in the way she degrades Maggie to secure the quilts for herself. Although Dee is smooth with her words, she lacks common sense and the knowledge of her family heritage. Maggie gives up the quilts, not because she gives into Dee, but that she knows the true value of the quilts. One can also see that Dee is ashamed and embarrassed by her childhood, and the only reason for her visit is not to see her family, but to see what she can bring back to her home for decorations. Once the mother is able to understand her motive, she tells her she can’t have the quilts and gets upset at Maggie for giving them to…