Essay Maggie Character Analysis from "Everyday Use"

“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.

What’s Maggie’s smile have to do with anything? Why is it important for me to know the significance of Maggie’s smile? These are some questions that I would like to know the answer to as a reader of the short story Everyday Use (for your grandma) by Alice walker. In order to get to the bottom of what’s behind Maggie’s smile there is some analyzing to do. The author used a great approach, by setting the stage with a background of the characters. In my opinion all the main characters that play a major role in the buildup of Maggie’s smile ,are Dee the oldest sister, Mama (which whom is never given a real name), and their ancestors. There are other things which contribute to the importance of Maggie’s smile, but won’t make any sense without the characters background. With that being said Maggie, Dee, and Mama were in a house fire which resulted in a complete contrast between the two sisters. Maggie suffered from third degree burns whilst escaping the house fire. From then on out the oldest sister Dee was the center of attention, which made Maggie self-conscious.

Alice Walker demonstrates the importance of heritage through Dee's thoughtless actions and Maggie's actions during her daily life.

The short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, the story is about two sisters and a mother. Despite the family being poor, the mother works hard to provide for the both of her daughters. Dee is the eldest daughter and despises where she came from. Dee later on gains an education, attends college, and obtains a degree. In the story she is going through an identity crisis and changes her name to "Wanegro." On the other hand, Maggie is a shy young girl. At such a young age, she is still suffering from a tragic event. Maggie is intimidated by Dee; solely since Dee carries many accomplishments and her appearance. Soon after, Dee remembers the

Dee's physical beauty can be defined as one of her biggest assets. The fact that Maggie sees Dee "with a mixture of envy and awe" (160) lets the reader know that Dee has the more favorable appearance. The simplistic way in which Walker states that “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure,” (161) gives the reader the idea that Dee's beauty has made it easier for her to be accepted outside her family in society, “…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,” (160). One is left with the impression that Dee's appearance is above average. Walker plays on Dee's physical beauty to contrast the homeliness of Maggie and her mother. Walker goes so far as to describe her feet as being more favorable as if God only wanted Dee to have pretty feet, “Her feet were always

Maggie the younger sister lived with her mother and liked the life of her living with her mother. Dee didn't like that poor old-fashioned life and she wants to be rich and to forget about this poor family and to live her actual way of life as an African-American. Mama liked their way of life and didn't want to change it and also Maggie liked it and didn't want to change it.

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

     Maggie is shamed from her scares of being burnt by their previous house. As her mother describes, "She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to

In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the two main characters, Maggie and Dee, are sisters who are very opposite to each other. Throughout the story, the girl’s differences become evident through their physical appearances, personalities, lifestyle decisions, and the way they feel about their heritage.

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” introduces a clash between generations. Now and then, Maggie and Dee.

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 author of “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker, portrays that society values people like Dee more so than Maggie. The two sisters in the story are described as two complete opposites in personality, how they carry themselves, and even overall appearance. Walker describes Maggie with a quote, “she has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground” (71). This description of Maggie relates to someone who is clearly shy, not very confident, and appears closed off to the world. Society does not appear to value people who are not very confident and not open to the world in general. Describing the illiteracy of Maggie also adds to the view of society valuing Dee over Maggie.

In Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” she uses a tactic to set a mood for the reader by bringing in the character Maggie. Walker's use of language when describing Maggie creates a picture of a physically scarred and unintelligent girl. Maggie's physical scarring is pointed out

It is crucial to first fully understand the character Maggie in “Everyday Use” and “Recitatif.” This will help the readers have knowledge of the characters so that they will have a first-hand grasp on the physical similarities of these characters. In both stories, Maggie is described as having a physical deformity. In “Everyday Use,” Maggie is described as having “burn scars down her arms and legs” (Walker 315). Mama still remembers how she carries out Maggie, badly burned out of their previous house. When Maggie showed herself wearing the pink skirt and red blouse later in the story, she is described by Mama as a “lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks” (Walker 316). The reader becomes aware that she

Ultimately throughout Maggie’s life, she was influenced by her environment. Her life would have evolved in a completely different way than in Maggie: A girl of the Streets. The environment in which one grows up in is crucial in life. The environment is one where children learn from and it influences who they will be. For some people their environment influences them for the better, and in other cases, like with Maggie, it is for the worse. All abuse, the poverty and survival of the fittest environment lead to her early death. Had those factors not been there she most likely would have lived a