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Characterization Of Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Decent Essays

Characterization is considered to be an element of literature. Analyzing characterization is the key to finding a fictional story’s theme, and it is made known through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization tells the personality or traits of the character, while indirect presents the character by their actions. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that reveals its theme through characterization and used by exposing the characters values, heritage, and insecurities. The literary sub¬genre of “Everyday Use” is realistic fiction. This story focuses its writing and plot around the values of a rural family. Walker’ story is about two sisters and a mother who live in a rural section of Georgia. The oldest daughter left and pursued a college career and after a while she decides visit her mother. At the end of her visit she intends to leave with some of the family heirlooms two quilts. The mother finds out her daughter only wants the quilts as a pretense of displaying heritage. Alice Walker story exposes the theme of heritage. Throughout the story, Walker uses indirect characterization to describe Dee, and direct characterization to describe Maggie and Mama, in order to reveal the different ways that people embrace their heritage. The indirect characterization of Dee shows how she embraces her heritage superficially. While Dee is shown to be spoiled and selfish, throughout the story her indirect characterization is shown through her own

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