Analysis Of Everyday Use By Alice Walker

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is a story of a black family composed of a mother and her two daughters: Maggie and Dee. Walker does an excellent job illustrating her characters. There are all types of characters in this short story from round to static. Dee is a flat character, yet Walker uses Dee’s character to warn people of what might happen if they do not live properly. Walker describes Dee’s character as arrogant and selfish, and through Dee’s character one is allowed to perceive the wicked effect of an egotistical world.

Alice Walker used her writing to convey a message to African Americans. She used her character to show that although one might try to remove himself or herself from a race they will always be connected to it. The situation Dee is going through is generational issue for African Americans. They are always on a constant search to find their place in this world. Walker exemplifies this in

While the two sisters perspectives on heritage contrast each other, Walker employs a case of dramatic irony to prove that Dee's perspective is wrong, which automatically proves that Maggie is right, considering their opposite characteristics. Dee

In Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" Mama is the narrator. She speaks of her family of two daughters Maggie and Dee. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in very different manners, the reader can choose which character to identify most with by judging what is really important in one’s life. Throughout the story three themes consistently show. These themes show that the family is separated by shame, knowledge, and pride.

Although Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” is evidently different than Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Revelation,” there seems to be a striking similarity between the main characters O’Connor and Walker chose for their stories. Dee, one of the main characters from Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the Grandmother from O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” and Mrs. Turpin from O’Connor’s short story “Revelation,” all share one major flaw, that is, they feel a sense of superiority to those around them. Their self-glorification and prideful beliefs about themselves and the people surrounding them becomes the central conflict as each story unfolds. Dee’s insulting comments towards her Mama and younger sister Maggie about their lack of education, the Grandmother’s sense of moral superiority and her frequent passing of judgment onto others, along with Mrs. Turpin’s categorization of people based on their socioeconomic status and outward appearance, all illustrate the ugly reality of pride that is ever present in the human heart.

Through humorous comments, the mother paints a picture of what she is thinking, and allows the audience to see her as she is, and not as the world and those around her perceive her to be. Specifically the mother describes the characters appearance, and actions, as well as offers analogies, such as mothers on T.V. To support her view of reality, or how things really were, in her opinion. As the story progressed, she reveals cultural differences between Mama, Maggie and Dee. Walker also points out the importance of respecting your immediate heritage such as parents, and other family, and truly knowing and internalizing the real meaning of racial

Alice Walker creates characters that support the theme. Maggie is a kind-hearted, quiet girl that lives at home with Mama. Dee is a boisterous, stubborn college student that returns home in hopes of retrieving objects that represent

The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the

She shows that you can value things like the quilts in different ways. Maggie and Dee are very different characters. Each one has characteristics in areas that the other doesn’t. The two sisters did not share a bond throughout any part of their life. In fact they did not even say anything to each other until Dee was leaving. There is a constant communication barrier that is put in front of the two of them. Dee intimidates Maggie with her fierce ways of getting her point across. Maggie being the shyer of the two does not have a whole lot to say in order to defend her. She depends on her mom to fight her battles. Throughout this whole piece, Walker uses contrasting characters to highlight

The examination of black women's need to keep their powerful heritage and identity is important to the protagonist in “Everyday Use.” Walker uses the mother’s voice to show the trials and tribulations of a small African American family located in the South. She speaks on multiple levels, voicing the necessity and strength of being true to one's roots and past; that heritage is not just something to talk about, but to live and enjoy in order for someone to fully understand themselves. Unlike Kincaid, Walker gives her black female character’s an identity of their own, each in their own right, and observes the internal conflicts of each mother and daughters struggle with identity. The mother represents a simple content way of life where identity and heritage are valued for both its usefulness, as well as its personal significance. In order to illustrate how the mother viewed identity versus her daughters, Walker quickly acknowledges that the mother has inherited many customs and traditions from her ancestors. She describes herself as a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands (485). She also describes here various abilities including, killing and cleaning a hog as mercilessly as a man. Being able to work hard and not care about being such a lady, is how the mother defines identity at this point. On the other hand, the two daughters each have opposing views on the value and worth of the different items

Throughout the story, Walker personifies the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother (the narrator). Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life where culture and heritage

“Everyday Use” is a timeless short story told my Alice Walker. There are three main characters that are apparent throughout the story; these characters are Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Dee is the character that Walker uses to portray the real world at the time that the story was set. Right from the start, the audience gets the sense of the selfish and condescending nature that Dee holds. The second paragraph sets the perfect upfront picture of Dee by saying “She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her.” (1) Dee represents the role that race plays in shaping identity through the idea of black pride, the physical description, and through the selfish attitude that Dee has.

In "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, Walker shows differences in human character, just by the way they act towards family members. The main character in the story, Mother, has two daughters that she treats very differently, and they treat her differently. One daughter looks down on Mother in a condescending manner, and the other is obedient and kind. In "Everyday Use", Walker shows that in relationships between a mother and daughters, adaptation to change can sometimes be very hard, which leads to pride and protecting what one has accomplished, and finally shows how un-appreciation can hinder these relationships.

The mother does not help Maggie’s embarrassment when she depicts Dee as the “child who has ‘made it’,” and makes Maggie out to be the one who has fallen behind. After the mother finishes describing Dee to the reader she portrays herself as a big-boned, rough woman with man-like characteristics “in real life.” The specific nod at “real life” could add to the reader’s theory that this is a superficial life portrayed as a movie, one where Dee is the star. Dee was also invested in the ostentatious lifestyle -- she wore loud dresses, black pumps, and even a recycled green suit. It is said that by “sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was.”

The attitudes, items, and way of thinking from each character defines the story with great amount of symbolism. Each character has their own personal thought in reacting towards their past down traditons and elements. Most will follow traditions, but there is always that one individual who decides to make a change and lead a family into the upcoming generation. Education was only taught to Dee, who, undoubtedly decides to be the different one in the family. Dee tells Maggie that she ought to try to make something out of herself because living with mama and proceeding with the beliefs and traditions no new day will come in their lives (Walker). Walker describes uses Dee to symbolize the black power movement. The personality traits, style, and speech Dee has establish her identity as a symbol of the Black power movement (White). The quilts are made up of fragments of history such as: scraps of dresses, shirts, and uniforms. Each of these pieces represents those who forged the family’s culture. Clearly this detail is meant to indicate a rough life with great exposure to work (Walker). Maggie’s scars are symbolic to the scars that all African-Americans carry as a result of the “fire” of slavery