Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis

Alice Walkers “Everyday Use”, is a story about a family of African Americans that are faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it. Two sisters and two hand stitched quilts become the center of focus for this short story. Walker paints for us the most vivid representation through a third person perspective of family values and how people from the same environment and upbringing can become different types of people.

Jacques Derrida had once said that culture is something in which "everything is arranged so that it is this way." I believe that culture is the opposite as it creates the way in which you perceive external forces rather then it being the external forces arranged in a specific way. Culture therefore allows one to become informed about foreign cultures to which one is then to perceive the culture a specific way. Culture is the multitude of many factors in which it consistently informs one 's perception of the world surrounding them as well as the individuals.

Most people want their family to be a source of love and care; however, conflicts can occur when one family member has different values from the rest. Throughout Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use," she shows how education affects family dynamics. Walker describes Dee as having hatred towards her family and their values before receiving a higher education. Education not only separated Dee from a true sense of herself, but she also lose a sense of heritage and morals that can only be taught by one's family. Although Mama struggled and only obtained a second-grade education, she still found it important to send Dee off to college.

When Dee comes to see her family she asks for the churn top, dasher, and the old quilts which had all been made by her family under the guise that to her “they’re priceless!” (Walker 498) and she would “hang them” (Walker 498) instead of use them. In reality, Dee only wants the quilts to showcase in an effort to seem more cultured. Dee’s transformation into Wagnero and new style were all done in order to make her seem more genuine as an African American woman who prevailed despite adversity. This is further proven by the mother as she had in the past “offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt” (Walker 498) and was told “they were old fashioned.” (Walker 498) Wagnero’s decision to ignore the quilts before and come back to hang them up for posterity proves she is not looking to reconnect with her heritage but looking to flaunt it. Contrastingly, Maggie wishes to keep the old quilts as she genuinely wished to, “’member Grandma Dee”. (Walker 498) Maggie does not show any inclination to use the quilts for anything other than their practical use and as a memory of her grandmother. It could be said the machine stitched quilts are fake as they were not hand sewn like the older quilts, similar to how Wagnero’s persona is artificial and Maggie’s is

In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” the author uses symbolic objects to represent something larger than what it may seem which becomes a shortcut to the overall theme of the story. Both the daughters and mama each have different views on what the symbolic meaning is. The narrator who is also known as Mama tells the story which has to do with the identity and ancestry. The symbolic item in this story are the hand-stitched quilts, and the story takes off when the daughter, Dee, sees the hand-stitched quilts to be something that is fashionable and not as something that should be seen as very valuable. The quilts are known to be very unique and seen as authentic art. Many critics have analyzed the story focusing on different areas of

In the short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker there are a select few of themes and symbols. Alice Walker’s story telling on Mama, Dee, and Maggie’s life from when they were young until the present is crafted beautifully. The relationship between the three main characters is written throughout as Mama and Maggie sometimes have problems with Dee’s actions and responses. The most important theme in my opinion is the true definition of Heritage and understanding it. When Dee arrives at Mama’s house to visit she certainly doesn’t leave a good first impression with her new ways of life.

“Quilts designed for everyday use, pieced wholes defying symmetry and pattern, are signs of the scarred generations of women who have always been alien to a world of literate words and stylish fantasies” (Backer Jr. & Pierce-Baker 49). This quote perfectly describes why quilts are often used as symbolism. Since they are pieced together and mended over many generations, quilts are able to stand as a symbol for each generation that has worked on the quilt. Dee desires the quilts because it shows the craftsmanship of her ancestors, however, Dee wants only to display the quilts and not to use it. This is in severe opposition to Maggie who has already been promised the quilts. Dee replies “’Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!’ she said. “‘She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use’” (Walker 490). Mama sees no problem in this and even explains that she is tired of keeping them since no one has been using them. Eventually, Maggie caves and says that she can remember her grandma without the quilts. This fills Mama with joy and she decides to give Maggie the quilts she promised and she told Dee to grab a different quilt. Dee was angry and stormed off to the car. As she was leaving she told the family that they don’t understand their

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 two stories that I picked to compare are "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker and "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin. Both stories have characters that seem to be caught in a world they don’t necessarily like and would like to change.

In Alice Walker’s classic short story Everyday Use, Walker takes her readers through a yester-year, yet contemporary African American experience in the rural southern America; A dynamic human experience that takes roots in despair, oppression, and resilience. In this first-person narration, our narrator anxiously awaits the arrival of her daughter, but in the meantime, we’re brought along a recollection of rough times of our narrator’s family. Through Mama’s memories, and dialogue with Dee, a theme of cultural conflict is revealed. Mama’s recollection of the past and her dreams reveals to the reader how tough life has been growing in the south. In Mama’s narration, we learned that her education level did not progress past second grade due to

Growing up I was raised within a culture, following rituals performed by those before me. As an individual, I pictured and experienced my heritage in different ways. Within my family, traditions were served to enhance our natural heritage. Sometimes in my longing to know more of my heritage, I sometimes disallowed myself the genuine experience of my family tradition. With this I sometimes fight with easiness and complexity, old ways and the new ways of my heritage. Everyday Use by Alice Walker was published in 1973; it tells the story of Dee a young girl struggling to find her on heritage. For her, it was about fighting for a change and changing the lives of others who were okay with the way things were. Mama, the narrator, is a loyal and caring

Analyzing “Everyday Use” Alice Walker has written award winning stories, some of which were made into movies. One of her stories is Everyday Use is a great book which actually makes the reader think that they are actually in the story. The tittle of the story plays a big role in the story because the moral of the story is that the quilts should be given to someone who will be using them and not just keep them. To better perceive Everyday Use, it will be helpful to look at the point of view, the setting and the symbols.

"Everyday Use," is created by the author Alice Walker. The story involves the mother and her daughters who experience ideological differences in their heritage. The narrative as narrated by the mother explores heritage and culture with the clear symbolism of the two sisters as stated by (White, 2012). Dee an educated and college student comes to visit home and begins an argument with Maggie over the ownership of the quilts. The author makes use of the family items, traditions, and actions of the daughters as symbolism in the narrative.

The short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a retelling of the classic country mouse and city mouse story with a cultural spin as it also includes dialogue on racial issues of the 1940’s. Walker uses characterization to juxtapose the country mouse, Mama, with the city mouse, Dee. Mama is more traditional; she lives on a farm, she can’t read, and the things she owns are things either she or her family has made. While on the other hand, Dee likes the finer things in life; she graduated from high school, she enjoys fashion, and she considers herself to be above the rest of her family. When Dee visits Mama and her sister again for the first time in a while she treats them poorly and attempts to take home with her items she believes to be of cultural

The story Everyday use would seem very different if told from someone else but not Mama. Think of having a friend/girlfriend that is very smart and sophisticated. Then going to visit her family with her. Also getting there and her family nothing like her. They do not think the same act the same and/or look the same. Then they are arguing over something that seems pointless and useless. Everything they eating looks nasty and/or taste nasty. Alternatively, being the younger sibling that is under their older sibling that is better than you in almost everything. Even being the older sibling use to getting everything a teen should want never being told no, and finally being told no you cannot. If the story “Everyday Use” by