Mama And Maggie In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Tuten shows her readers that what Dee wants is superficial and that Maggie has a better understanding of heritage. Susan Farrell states in her article that in the story, Mama’s views of Maggie are not accurate. She makes the point that perhaps Mama’s views of Dee are not accurate either, because the story is told from Mama point of view and we never hear Dee’s side of the story (179). Farrell believes that Mama views Dee as a sort of goddess, she may even envy her. Susan states that, “Dee inspires in Mama a type of awe and fear more suitable to the advent of a goddess that the love one might expect a mother to feel for a returning daughter” (180). Later in the article, Farrell makes the point that what Mama’s thinks Dee wants may not actually be what she wants. This could just be a perception of what Dee wants. Farrell also points out other instances in the story that shows Dees actions contradicting Mama’s thoughts.

From the beginning of the story we see that Mama, who describes herself as "a large, big-boned woman with rough, man working hands" (68) has no illusions about the type of woman she is; however, she still has enough depth to dream about being reunited with her daughter Dee on television in a fantasy

Momma's point of view defines how she feels about her daughters and the degrees of separation that exist between the two girls. Momma describes Maggie as a partially educated child who does not look as appealing as her older sister. Maggie was burned in a house fire that left her scared all over her body. She does not wear revealing clothes, nor does she attract men as Dee does. Dee, on the other hand, is described as an educated young woman who is ready to take on any and every adventure. Momma says that Dee used to read to her and Maggie without pity (94). She describes Dee as the stylish child; she always prepared dresses out of momma's old suits and is always up on the current style. Momma likes the different qualities Dee possesses, but she is slightly threatened because they are unfamiliar to her. From the description that momma gives of her daughters the reader can feel the differences that exist in her thoughts about her daughters.

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

Dee’s selfishness is also portrayed by her cultured verbal skills. Dee can talk her way through anything. Dee often manipulates others with her verbal skills. This is shown when she reads to her mother and sister “without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice” (Walker 289). This statement further demonstrates the fact that Dee’s family feels inferior to her. Mama describes the situation as if Dee has some kind of power over her family because she is scholarly and her family is not. Dee uses her education to make Mama and Maggie feel less important without, necessarily meaning to.

Dee is a controlling person who always wanted everything to herself only and don't want anybody to take something more than her. And that appeared when mama said that the quilts which were handmade by their grandma Dee, that she would give it to Maggie, Dee was very angry for that and she wanted to take the quilts herself not because she wanted, just because she don't like anybody to take something more than her and wants everything for herself only. Dee was well educated and didn't liked her mother's and sister's way of living so she traveled and when

The disparity of the outward imageries by Mama is a small manifestation of her cloaked animosity and resentment as compared to her hyperbolic soliloquies. Even in her dreams she says Dee wants her to be “a hundred pounds lighter, [her] skin like an uncooked barley pancake; [her] hair [glistening] in the hot bright lights” (60). Mama refers to Dee being embarrassed and ashamed of her mother’s appearance. Mama indicates that she can never be what Dee wants her to be in stating “Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue” (60); rhetoric corroborated by Mama’s admission that she “never had an education [herself]. After second grade the school was closed down” (61). However, Mama shunned Dee’s quick tongue, acquired from her education; Mama recalls “[Dee] used to read to [them] without

The way the burning house, her stuck-up sister, and society influenced Maggie make her unique in relation to others. Maggie was so damaged from her home burning down that she turned into a meek and undervalued young lady. Maggie is so unsure that her mother says she walks like a dog run over by a car: “chin on chest eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house on the ground.” This demonstrates that Maggie absence of self-confidence make her frightened to look. She imagines that on the off chance that she can’t see the individuals around her, then they can’t see her. What’s more, Maggie’s discernible scars have impacted on the way she conducts herself. As indicated by Mama, when she was pulling Maggie out of the fire, her arms were adhering, “her hair was smoking, and her dress was tumbling off her in minimal dark papery pieces.” This is huge light of the fact that indicates how much the flame really physically scarred her. This additionally clarifies why she is so apprehensive about individuals seeing her. Maggie’s apparent compressed version of confirmation in herself is created basically by the fire. The barbaric way Maggie’s sister, Dee, presents herself awful impact on Maggie’s certainly. At this point when Dee inquired as to whether she can have some unique quilts and Mama says no on the grounds that she

When we are first introduced to Dee, we learn that she no longer wants to be called by her given name but instead she would want to be called ‘Wangero’. Dee comments, “I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppressed me” (Walker 62). Although Dee may have only known that she was named after Grandma Dee, Mama could have “carried back beyond the Civil War” (Walker 62) the name of her daughter. This offended Mama because it was the beginning of how Dee began to reject her heritage. In addition, Mama also realizes how Maggie acts around Dee because of the way she treats her. When Maggie gives into Dee’s wanting of the blankets, Mama sees that Maggie is hurting and Dee couldnt care less. Mama comments that Maggie answered Dee “like somebody used to never winning anything or having anything reserved for her” (Walker 65). These conflicts lead mama to take a stand against her daughter as well as drawing her closer to Maggie. This showed Dee that she could not just barge into the house and take things she did not even truly know the meaning of. Therefore the reader understands that Dee’s actions led Mama to act differently with both of her children, all for the sake of honoring her heritage and

Maggie is the younger sister of the two. Parallel to Mama, Maggie also suffer from insecurities. Dee is lighter than Maggie with nicer hair and a fuller figure. Maggie was burned in the house fire and she shuffles when she walks. She is described as being shy, unable to make eye contact, and does not like to be seen when other people are around. The story tells how “she stand hopelessly in the corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arm and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (p.315). Maggie’s thought of her sister is that she has always held life in the palm of one hand, that’s “no” is a word the world never learned to

The beginning of the story involved a lot of characterizing on the youngest sister Maggie. Before her older sister Dee arrived at the house, her actions showed that she was scared to see her sister. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. 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” said the mother.

The short story “Everyday Use” was written by Alice Walker and published in 1973. The story is told in first-person by “Mama,” an African-American woman residing in Georgia. Mama lives in a small but comfortable house with her physically scarred younger daughter, Maggie. Mama is preparing for the visit back home of her eldest daughter, Dee. Dee is educated and driven; however, we come to learn that most of her accomplishments come at the cost of her mother and her sister Maggie. Mama’s relationship with Dee is strained, and this creates conflict later in the story. “Everyday Use” depicts the complications between a mother and daughter’s relationship. The story examines the feelings a mother has when she believes she is not needed anymore or respected. Mama’s feelings towards both daughters are illustrated through two of Mama’s character traits, her low-self-esteem and lack of worldliness. However, because Mama has such a strong character and understanding of her family, she undergoes a significant change in her life, which then makes her into a dynamic character.

The behavior of overlooking her sister's, Maggie, and Mama's feelings since her childhood to the present indicates Dee's character as a person who disregards others. Mama ponders that while the house where they used to live burned to the ground; Maggie was burning, her "hair smoking and dress falling off her in little black papery flakes." Although she saw that Maggie needed her sister's aid, Dee stood "off under the sweet gum tree" at a distance (87). Walker reveals that Mama still finds Dee carrying her self-centeredness when she excludes herself from the pictures and "never [took] a shot without making sure the house is included" (89). Dee wants to capture the signs of poverty from her past so that she can show how much success she has gained in spite of being poor to her friends. Dee is so egotistical that she declares her sister is "backward enough to put [the quilts] to everyday use" (91) whereas she considers herself smart and would appreciate the quilts by hanging them. Her coldness and lack of concern make

She critically describes wary, weakening Maggie’s restrictions, and Dee causes an even more detailed evaluation. Mama feels resentful about the education, style, and arrogance that Dee has developed over

Maggie, the youngest daughter, saw herself as a shy, introverted youthful woman. She had scars mentally and physically from when their house had burned down some years before, and she is very ashamed of them. Once Dee and her