Alice Walker Everyday Use Analysis

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” tells the story of an elderly black narrator who sees her daughter for the first time in many years. The story is told in first person so as to provide a clear understanding of what the narrator is feeling during her long awaited confrontation with the daughter who has rejected the poor, rural life that she was raised in. I found the portrayal of the mothers rural, poor, and simple life to be very powerful when placed in contrast with the Dee’s desire to leave her social position to find something better. The mother is content with being poor, she did not choose this life, so she has come to terms with it. Dee, on the other hand, resents the life she was raised in, and she fights to pull herself out of it.

Dee’s selfishness is also portrayed by her cultured verbal skills. Dee can talk her way through anything. Dee often manipulates others with her verbal skills. This is shown when she reads to her mother and sister “without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice” (Walker 289). This statement further demonstrates the fact that Dee’s family feels inferior to her. Mama describes the situation as if Dee has some kind of power over her family because she is scholarly and her family is not. Dee uses her education to make Mama and Maggie feel less important without, necessarily meaning to.

Mama understands the past and the significance of a family heritage. Her heritage including her memories of her mother and grandma making quilts together by hands.

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” , Walker juxtaposes two different daughters in their quest for a cultural identity. The narrator, their mother, talks about how each daughter is different; Dee went off to college and became well-educated, contrary to their impoverished and low status as black women in the south. Meanwhile, Maggie has is not-so-well-educated, but can still read. The entire story centers around Dee’s visit back home and is told through their mother. The story’s climax is when Dee wants to take two special quilts back home, but those quilts are for Maggie. These quilts are gigantic representation of their culture. Dee does not deserve to take the quilts with her because she has decided to take on a culture that varies significantly from hers and it she is very ungrateful toward her mother and sister.

Dee, from Walker’s “Everyday Use,” is Mama’s older daughter who not only has a judgmental, insensitive attitude towards Mama and her younger sister Maggie, but also believes she appreciates her family heritage more than Mama does, when in fact, Dee is the one who is “uneducated” and lacks an understanding about what her heritage truly is.

     Mama who is the narrator is a woman who can do any chore that a man can, because of

In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker focuses on a rural family and their different interpretations of the African- American heritage. The story begins when Dee, the educated older daughter, comes to visit her Mama and younger sister, Maggie. The two sisters are completely different physically, mentally, and emotionally. Dee lives an educated and financially stable life with her boyfriend in the city, away from her family; while, Maggie lives an uneducated and poor life at home with her mother. Some may argue that there is no difference between Dee and Maggie’s Interpretations; however, Alice Walker uses characterization and different types of symbolism in her short story to show the difference between Dee and Maggie’s interpretations

After reading “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, you can understand how great this story is. There is a great lesson that is being taught in this story. The way Dee looks at her house as if it is only a collection of artifacts, and how disgusting and horrible it is, shows how she undervalues the worth of family. The way Dee wanted nice things, showed how she thought how being rich was important. After all, she was wrong, family and being love is more important. It was great to see Mama stand up to Dee, over Maggie’s quilt. I was shocked that Wangnero never really wanted to have the same culture has her family. It is disappointed that kids would leave their family tradition just to have materialistic things.

Through contrasting family members and views in "Everyday Use", Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding our present life in relation to the traditions of our own people and culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one's heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects or mere appearances, but by one's lifestyle and attitude.

The fear of loosing the culture and heritage leads Dee back home. The possessions that she asks for are a small way to regain a portion of life she has forgotten. Dee does not accept the lifestyle that Mama and Maggie are living. ?You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It?s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still

Just as the argument over the quilts shows Dee as intrinsically immature, it directly points out that the mother and Dee have, in fact, great value within them. Dee’s mother, for instance, is at first silent to Dee’s demands to have the butter churn and wooden benches. When Dee takes the quilts, previously promised to Maggie, the mother then becomes defensive. The mother questions Dee’s intended use of the quilts in an effort to deter Dee from her insistence of owning

Throughout the story, Mama as a character lacks character motivation, letting Dee to take things as she pleases and say things when she wants. This lack of motivation is disintegrated near the end of the story, turning into a crown of motives that Mama wears to make sure that Maggie gets what she deserves, while Dee is presented with a reality check. “‘The truth is,’ I said, ‘I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.’” (Walker 5). Once Mama realized that letting Dee take sentimental objects from the family was not something her cultural experiences agreed with, her motives changed and she began to defend Maggie, the rightful owner of the beloved

Heritage in Everyday Use The sisters in Alice Walker’s Everyday Use are very contrasting. There are multiple ways in which these two differ.

n the short story "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, a mother and one of her daughters argue over who should get some old quilts. The quilts are valuable to the family, made from clothing family members wore, going as far back as the Civil War. While who gets the quilts seems most important, there is actually a character who gains more by the end of the story. The mother starts the story feeling unimportant and ignorant, especially in the eyes of her daughter, Dee. But by the end of the story, the mother gains pride and self-respect in a way she never has before.

In 1973, Alice Walker used her short story, Everyday Use, to share two separate points of views on heritage. Some people change their lifestyle, but show concern for their family’s physical mementos. In contrast, others continue to live by the same principles that they learned during their upbringing. Dee and Mama are completely black and white when it comes to their viewpoints; however, after reflecting on my own values, I see that I am gray in my opinion on the double meaning of heritage.