John Updike And Walkers Short Stories Are Culturally Different But Universal Of An American Family And Their Heritage

The father, Bernard is a novelist whose career is on a slow decline. Bernard is also a writing instructor. His wife, Joan, is becoming a successful writer Joan’s success cause tension between her and her husband. Joan and Bernard have two sons, 16-year-old Walt, and 12-year-old Frank.

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

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.

I believe that the short story clearly presents the stereotypes of rural Black women, and the challenges and struggles that African women faced with regard to heritage, personal fulfillment, and family relations as the past collided with the present realities. The concepts of family and Black women within this short story are highlighted by the fact that the three main characters among who the story revolves are all Black women and members of the same family. The clash of the past and future, personal fulfilment, heritage struggles, and the stereotyping of rural Black women is visible in the clear contrast of attitudes and ambitions of Dee and her boyfriend, who represent the future, and mama and her daughter Maggie, who in this case embody the past.

In short stories we have indirect characterization and direct characterization. Direct characterization is given to the reader when the author tells us about a character trait, while indirect characterization is when the reader reads between the lines. This short story speaks to the reader by using indirect characterization and direct characterization with insight to three women & how they perceive their heritage. "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is a short story that reveals the perspective of humanity and the differences between two generations. Mama the older generation, and Dee, Maggie the younger generation. This story is a type of family drama that is surrounded by three characters with three different views of what heritage is to each. The story centers an African American family living in a house that is in a pasture after their first home burns down. After this events Mama became very cynical of Dees actions. In retrospect Dee has changed but Mama isn't able to see past old judgment. An Maggie may seem to live under her older sister shadow or so, we thought. "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is a work of indirect and direct characterization that gives the reader insight of how the author characterizes the characters way of thought. In this story it is centered on how Mama, Dee, Maggie perceive heritage. Mama sees heritage as the skills that a passed down from one generation to next. Dee finds heritage throw preserving artifacts. While Maggie distinguishes heritage through memories.

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 1957, James Baldwin, published “Sonny’s Blues” which told the story of a man struggling to understand why his brother Sonny let his life go in the malevolent direction that it did. Throughout this story one understands how hard it can be to face family who takes a different direction in life. Likewise, in 1973, Alice Walker, a novelist, wrote “Everyday Use”, which told the story of Mrs. Johnson and her daughter Maggie awaiting the arrival of Dee, Maggie’s older sister. Though once Dee arrives it is apparent that she had succumbed to a false understanding of what it meant to be African-American. Collectively, both stories help the reader understand how difficult and inflexible it can become to understand family member’s choices after they

In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker summarizes the representation of the beauty, the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. “Everyday Use” focuses mainly between members of the Johnson family, consisting of a mother and her two daughters. One of the daughters Maggie, who was injured in a house fire and has living a shy life clinging to her mother for security. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with a grace and natural beauty. “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure… (716) She also grew up determined to have a better life than her mother and sister. This takes place when Dee (the only family member to receive a formal education) returns to visit Dee’s mother and younger sister Maggie. Again this portrays a slight issue between two different views of the African-American culture. Alice uses symbolism to empathize the difference between these interpretations, showing that culture and heritage are parts of daily life. The title of the story, Everyday Use, symbolizes the living heritage of the Johnson family, a heritage that is still in “everyday use”.

Native Americans had their own way of passing down wisdom of their culture. They passed their stories orally, that today is read in history books. Even after the written word had spread across the globe, Native Americans still primarily used storytelling to pass down their spiritual, mythological, and historical beliefs. Many people have heard one of these passed down stories, also known as myths or folktales.

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man's ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. "Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition" (back cover) is a great way to show that the author's stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa's American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss

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

Alice Walker, a famous author, stated in her short story, Everyday Use, “Dee (Wangero) looked at me with hatred. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts.” Each person’s identity is shaped from a culture that is built with the offering of everything in his or her surrounding environment. Culture is one of the most important factors, though there are many other contributing factors, that can influence someone’s perspective on the world because all of their opinions, decisions, and morals are all based off of their surrounding environment. In the poem and story, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” and Everyday Use, they both demonstrate how one’s cultural identity is influenced by his or her surroundings, changing the

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 isn’t nearly as educated as Dee is, but is still literate. The entire story centers around Dee’s visit with her new Muslim significant other. The story’s climax is when Dee wants to take two special quilts back home, but those quilts are for Maggie. These precious quilts comprise their culture. Henceforth, Dee does not deserve to take the quilts with her because she has decided to take on a culture that varies significantly from her own and she is already used to getting what she wants.

Janie starts with how her Nanny raised her all by herself. When she was a baby, her grandmother cares for the young one due to the fact that her mother runs away and her father is killed, leaving Janie as an orphan. Her granny cared for her up until Janie was in her mid-teens. Her nanny didn’t want to die and leave Janie to suffer, so she arranged a marriage for her with an older farmer that could hopefully take good care of her. Janie doesn’t agree with the arranged marriage but still goes for it. Janie and her new husband, Logan Kellicks, don’t have a good start in their marriage. He isn’t even into her and treats her horribly. While Janie is stuck with her selfish new husband, she meets Joe Starks, a man who is good with words. They both have an instant connection and run off with each other and marry, returning to Janie’s home town. Joe, who Janie calls Jody, owns a store in the small town. Just like her other marriage, Janie and Jody start having conflicts and are constantly fighting. She wants to leave him but isn’t able to because Jody doesn’t accept her suggestion, and is basically stuck with him. After some time, Jody gets ill. When his in his death bed, Janie gets the opportunity to tell Jody all the anger she was holding inside, and moments after that he died. Janie is left with Jody’s store, which she decides to sell and leave her town again. The town had seen it wrong for

The lock scene presents the question of why Richard married Joan. The Maple's marriage has not disintegrated through time, rather corrupt since conception. The act of 'fixing' the lock forces one to examine whom Richard loved and let slip away. Richards inability to love Joan is present through the “three hardware stores had nothing that even approximately matches the mortise hole it's remat….left" (801). This scene is something of an omission of guilt on behalf of Richard. Although this scene focuses on the lock's removal, hidden within ambiguity is Richard's admission of a love before Joan. Richard's attempt to replace the lock is an attempt to regain his lost love. Moreover, Richard is acting to replace the love for his wife that has disintegrated