ENG 1102 Week Three - Everyday Use” by Alice Walker & Marriage Is a Private Affair

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Week Three - Everyday Use” by Alice Walker & Marriage Is a Private Affair Chinua Achebe Discussion questions: “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker 1) How does the concept of heritage play a central role in the story? In what ways do the Do characters perceive and value their family heritage differently? - The concept of heritage plays a central role in the story as the story highlights the fact that heritage can not be invented. Although Dee wears an African-inspired outfit with natural hair and has selected a foreign-sounding name, she lacks personal experience with African customs. Dee views heritage as something she can pick and choose which details make up her heritage. On the contrary, Mama can see through the inauthenticity of her Dees identity. Dees' unwillingness to engage with the cultural symbols in Mama's home makes it impossible for her to connect with her actual family roots. Dees' outward appearance covers up her superficiality by reflecting an identity that does not exist, as the disappearances that emerge throughout the story ultimately suggest that outward appearances can be misleading and tend to distort the true significance of identity or item. 2) Compare and contrast the characters of Dee, Maggie, and the mother. How does each character represent different attitudes toward heritage and cultural identity? - Mama is a string-loving mother, sometimes treated and burdened by her daughters. She resents the education, sophistication and superiority that Dee has acquired over the years. Her fantasy of Dee expressing gratitude to Mama highlights the distance between the two and how underappreciated Mama feels. Mama rejected a traditional gender role when she worked to raise and provide for her daughters and took on an alternative, masculine persona → she is proud of her handy nature and ability to work the land. Mana taking on an alternative persona can be compared to Dee embracing an alternative persona when she renames herself “Wangero.” Dispute Man's willingness to operate outside of conventions. She lacks a broad view of the world and is somewhat intimidated by Dee. - Maggie is nervous and is selfless. As a child, she was burned in a house fire. She lives at home and is untouched by the outside work, causing her to be shy and lack education. She desires to be meek and awkward in doorways rather than get involved in life around her. Although she will get married, Mama doesn't believe that even marriage will help Maggie become a strong and clearly defined individual. Maggie's relationship with Dee is filled with jealousy and awe, as Mama recalls how Maggie had always thought Dee had been gifted with an easy life. Although she never says it out loud, it is clear that she believes that it is unfair. However, the only time Maggie expresses this is when Dee attempts to take the quilt that is supposed to be for Maggie, as she drops the plate and

slams the door behind her. Maggie highlights that she indeed has a will, but it only comes through when what she desires most will be taken away. - Dee searches for personal meaning and a strong sense of self. Dee comes across as arrogant and indecisive, and Mama sees even her admired qualities as extreme and annoying. Dee is also portrayed as condescending, professing her commitment to visit Mana and Maggie no matter what ramshackle shelter they decide to inhabit. Far from signaling a brand new Dee to truly be an act of resistance, the new persona, Wangero, comes across as an attention-seeking poly in keeping with Dee’s usual selfishness Dee says she is reclaiming her heritage, but she has rejected it more violently than ever before. She cuts herself off from her family, and instead of honoring and embracing her roots, she looks down on her surroundings, believing herself to be above them. 3) Explore the symbolism of the quilts in the story. What do they represent for each character, and how do they serve as a metaphor for cultural identity? - The quilt symbolism of cultural identity 4) Analyze the generational conflict in the story. How do Dee and her mother view their heritage differently, and how does this difference lead to tension between them? 5) Discuss the theme of cultural appropriation as it relates to Dee's desire to take the quilts. How does the story address the appropriation of cultural artifacts and the commodification of heritage? 6) Explore the significance of the title, "Everyday Use." How does it relate to the themes of the story, and how does it encapsulate the central conflict? 7) Consider the symbolism of the characters' names, especially the transition from Dee to Wangero. What does this change signify in terms of identity and cultural connection? 8) Analyze the mother's perspective and narrative voice. How does her point of view shape the reader's understanding of the story, and how does it contribute to the themes explored? 9) Explore the idea of loss and transformation in the story. What is lost, and what is gained by the end of the narrative? 10) Consider the story's setting in the rural South and its socio-economic context. How do these Factors influence the characters' perspectives on heritage and education?

Marriage Is a Private Affair by Chinua Achebe Discussion Questions 1) How does one's culture influence their belief system? 2) What is the teme(s) of the story a) Religion b) The idea of generations c) Conflict d) Intergenerational trauma e) Duty/responsibility to the family f) Love and marriage g) Tribal traditions h) Individual vs. community i) Identity i) In the story identity isn't indvalutsic but is community based as everyone follows the same customs and traditions 3) How does the sentence “marriage is different today” connect to the title of the story a) Back then → marriage is for the community, not for love b) Marriage is a private affair → you marry for love, more selfish kind of act, c) Sentence shows the difference in ideology and perspective between the two generations d) Also shows the difference between how people who live in cities are more open minded than those who live in rural areas or even from their family who lives in rural areas as they are more exposed e) Marriage used to be arranged, while now marriage is personal it is a personal decision 4) Comment on the villagers suggesting that the father should find a native daughter for his son a) Highlights the lengths that people will go to to upholds traditions b) The father views his way of life as “the right way of life” → the father wants to protect his son but the son views things differently c) The couple met in the city so both of them were outside the trees → the city is symbolic of a multicultural melting pot of people 5) What role(s) do traditional values play in the story a) The father is upholding traditional values

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