Sonny's Blues

Everyday Use and Sonny’s Blues The authors of “Everyday Use” and “Sonny’s Blues” portray a demonstration that explores both sibling and parental relationships that constantly induce love and conflict with one another. Alice Walker, whom wrote “Everyday Use”, shows conflicts through Dee, a modern way of life type of girl, and her mother, a traditional African woman. In “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin tells a tale of Sonny, a heroine addict who loves music, whoms brother does not approve of his simplistic lifestyle. These stories illustrates a central idea of the family traditions and influence versus new and present life. In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker depicts many differences between culture and present day life by using Dee and Mama. Dee is a materialistic girl that lives for a modern and innovative way of life. She only sees her African roots and culture as an appeal. Mama is Dee’s mother, who is an African woman that knows the significance of their heritage and appreciates the importanc of what it means to them. These two characters consistently have conflicting ideas on how they should incorperate their heritage in modern life. This was shown when Dee asked for the quilts that were made from generation to generation from Mama. Those quilts even dated back to the Civil War. The quilts are important because they are one of Mama and their family’s few treasures and Dee wanted to hang them up on the wall like a museum piece. At the same time Mama actually promisesd Maggie, Dee’s sister, the quilts. Maggie gives the quilts to Dee but Mama snatches the quilts from Dee’s hands to prevent her from taking them and hangs them. Mama and Maggie value the quits because they remind of family while Dee only cares for its artistic value. At the end of the story, Dee leaves with her boyfriend to college while Mama and Maggie simply cannot stop her and watch her depart. This scene shows just how much Mama wants Dee to appreciate her heritage but just cannot stop Dee’s