Alice Walker Everyday Use Summary

In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” the author takes up what is a persistent subject in her work: the illustration of the coherence as well as the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. “Everyday Use” focuses on an encounter between family members. This reunion takes place when Dee and her boyfriend return to visit Dee’s mother and her sister Maggie. The author uses symbolism to emphasize the difference between both daughters and illustrates that culture and heritage are parts of daily life.

In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the author describes different ideas about one’s heritage. Culture and heritage is at the main point of the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker as symbolized by the quilt. The bond that Mother and Maggie share is brought by their common talent to make works of art like quilts. Dee does not have similar capacity because she does not appreciate manual labor nor believes in her heritage. The idea of pride in culture, heritage, and family is the main theme of the story. The line between being proud of whom one is and exploiting one’s self is broken and blurred by one character. The other two keep their firm ground in living out their values, rather than using it simply as a conversation starter.

Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use” is a story decipating family and heritage. She released the story with a collection of other short stories called In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women. This collection revealed Walker to be one of the finest of late twentieth century American short-story writers (Phy-Olsen). According to Cowart, the story address itself “to the dilemma of African Americans who are striving to escape prejudice and poverty.” One of the main characters, Dee, made drastic changes and would like her mother and sister to see things her way. Dee’s statement to her mother and sister regarding their disregard of heritage is very ironic considering the fact her name is a part of the family’s history, her new behavior, and her

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.

Alice Walker is a writer of many powerful short stories, novels, essays and poetry. She used her work to bring black women’s lives to the main focus, such as the rich and important in the US American Literature. In the short story “Everyday Use” written by Alice walker, she showed the conflicts and struggle throughout the African- American culture. “Everyday Use” addresses the dilemma with African Americans, trying to escape prejudice and poverty. The short story “Everyday Use” focuses on the encounter between a mother and her daughters. The setting of the story takes place in the driveway of the mother’s house. The mother and her youngest daughter Maggie wait for her oldest daughter Dee and her male friend to visit from school. Alice

In “everyday Use,” Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, “,Everyday Use”, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans.

In “everyday Use,” Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, “,Everyday Use”, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans.

The profundity of the love of parents towards their children cannot be measured. This relationship is like no other. The love of a parent for a child is ongoing surpassing affliction. Our parents can teach us a galore of things. They have the power to show us how we are to be, who we should be, what not to be. Parents could also point out to one traits that one objectifies, soon realizing, that those traits are not of one 's own if not of ones parents which one is reflecting. In the short story "Everyday Use" the author Alice Walker depicts a mothers conflicting relationship with her two daughters Maggie and Dee. The mother feels that Maggie holds the traditional ways of living life and Dee her oldest daughter has broken away from her family 's tradition in effect losing her heritage. The reader may think of this relationship as the typical mother daughter hiss of the rebel child versus the obedient child. However, this challenging relationship shows the reader the struggle to keep hold of African American culture within a family. In "The Queen of Mold" Ruth Reichl informs the reader about how she found that people 's eating habits match their personality through her mother 's deadly cooking. Her mother 's love and daring personality shines through her experimentation with food. Both Walker and Reich make use of characterization to highlight the different ways both mothers showed their love demonstrating that heritage, education and love are essential in a child 's life.

Walker entertains African Americans and Americans about the relationship between these two sisters and their mother. One daughter is named Maggie and she stays at home with her mother and help her with the chores around the house. She was also burnt in a house fire so she does not het out much. “Mamma”, has another daughter, Dee. Dee is very beautiful, and outgoing and really completely opposite of Maggie. Dee leaves home and experience life for her own, and becomes a pro black person. When Dee comes back she wants things from here house to treat them as artifacts at her own home. Especially this quilt. Dee wanted it, but the mother wouldn’t allow it. She wanted Maggie to have it. Maggie kept this quilt and Dee left, but not without talking

The short story, “Everyday Use”, was written by Alice Walker. She has a well-known reputation worldwide from being a novelist, poet, short story writer, activist and feminist. Many of Walkers writings discuss issues facing African Americans. For her short story, “Everyday Use”, Walker focuses points on African Americans lacking understanding for their heritage. She uses a quilt as a symbol of heritage for her characters, Mama, Maggie and Dee.

Alice Walker attempts to depict the different ways of viewing heritage and identity of an African American family. During the first read, the audience sides with the narrator and Maggie against Dee/Wangero. The reader can see Dee/Wangero antagonist of the story. However, this is not the only way to interpret “Everyday Use”. Walker has created a more complex story than just right and wrong. After further analysis, the reader comes to understand that Wangero view of her cultural heritage and identity as a black woman in America is different than the view that Maggie and the narrator have. Wangero values the quilts differently than her family, however that does not mean she is the enemy in the story.

Thesis: In Alice Walker short story “Everyday Use”, Mama embodies the idea of everyday use by being dedicated, skilled, and a hard working.

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a short story written to exhibit the contrasting natures of individuals in a southern family. In this story, three characters of the mother, Dee/Wangero, and Maggie are highlighted. Similarities between the mother and Maggie are drawn throughout, describing both characters as loyal to their southern cultural roots.

Parents are often asked by their kids, which child is their favorite? Most of the time the parent professes that their love is equal. However, in the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the author presents Mama with a conflict between her desire to give the quilts to her elder daughter, Dee, who has become sophisticated and arrogant or her younger daughter, Maggie, who is innocent and crippled socially. They are disagreeing over who should receive these quilts because that hold great prestige due to their age, and ultimately Mama decides to entrust them with Maggie with due to her greater sense of culture and heritage. Walker is trying to explain the importance of humbleness and love for one’s family through the actions of Mama and Maggie.

“Every day” by Alice Walker demonstrates a relationship between a mother and her oldest more educated daughter Dee and her younger less prominent daughter Maggie. Dee has ultimately abandoned her true heritage and pursued a brighter and what Dee considers more African heritage. “Everyday Use” is ultimately a story about Dee’s struggle with racial identity and family heritage. In the story, Dee arrives home from college trying to collect artifacts from her mother’s home.