Point Of View In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

“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.

A daughter who uses her mother's gifts in contrast to a daughter who preserves them, is far more valuable just like in “Everyday use” by Alice Walker because heritage values can be preserved. From here on, Walker utilizes a prideful tone which later shifts into an authoritative tone by illustrating a proud mother who becomes defensive because of her modern daughter’s opposing views.

Point of view is described as the perspective from which a story is told (Literature, G25). In the story "Everyday Use" the point of view is that of first person narrator or major character. The story is told by the mother in the story. The theme of this story is that of a mother who is trying to cope with changing times and two daughters who are completely different. Having the story told from momma's point of view helps to reveal how momma feels about herself and how she defines her daughters Dee and Maggie.

In the story, she introduces two sisters with almost opposite personalities and different views on heritage: Maggie and Dee. She uses the contrast between the two sisters to show how one should accept and preserve one's heritage. Beyond the contrast between two sisters there exist the judge figure mom, the narrator and the Dee's irony. The irony on Dee's opinion is the key to understand the story and why the mother let Maggie keep the quilts, which symbolize the heritage.

     Pride is the theme that seems to separate this family the most. It's having pride versus not having it. Maggie doesn't have it. She does not speak for herself when Dee wants the quilts. She lets mama speak for her. Like a scalded dog, she hides behind Mama when Dee arrives. Mama compares Maggie to a "Lame animal…run over by a car…"(Walker 88). Pride mostly comes from respect and she doesn't get much. Dee maybe has too much pride. This probably comes from "the world not knowing how to say no to her." She has looks and she's what one would describe as

Have you every heard of a book called “Everyday use”.Its made by an excellent artist named Alice Walker.Its a story about 2 sisters,Dee and Maggie.Dee is the oldest and she went to college to learn more about her culture,Maggie is the younger one seen as the dumb and shy one in story,and she is helping to make a new life with their mom after their last house burnt down.My family and the family in everyday use share similarities and differences when it comes to respect,being spoiled,and strength of mothers.

The two sisters, Maggie and Deem have different opinions about their heritage. To Maggie, heritage is everything around her that is involved in her everyday life. Whereas, Dee believes that her mother’s family heirlooms are to frame on the wall, or display, as a reminder of her family history. Maggie proves her knowledge of her heritage while the family is having lunch together. When Dee asks her mama if she can have the churn top and a dasher that was made by Uncle Buddy, Maggie corrected her by saying, “Aunt Dee’s first husband whittled the dash. . . . His name was Henry, but they call him Stash” (Walker 283). Maggie shows that she knows her heritage by knowing the family members name along with personal detail. Additionally, when Dee asks “Can I have these old quilts?” she can not name the family member that made them (Walker 284). Maggie is standing by the door and

The character of Mama in the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker endures through intense times and takes advantage of what she has. She is a lady that tells things how they are, only plain truth. She can be entertaining now and again and intense at others. She is self-portrayed as “a large, huge boned, women with rough, man-working

Heritage is defined as something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth. In “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, the theme of the story can be considered as the meaning of heritage or even the power of education. Alice Walker uses many symbols and motifs such as the following: quilts, education, knowledge, Asalamalakim, and the renaming of Dee. In the story, African heritage and knowledge takes a major role.

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.

Through contrasting family members and views in "Everyday Use", Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding our present life in relation to the traditions of our own people and culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one's heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects or mere appearances, but by one's lifestyle and attitude.

As far as the narrator is concerned, Dee was named after her aunt Dicie, who was

Maggie didn’t have the education her sister had therefore she was less educated and sustained in her condition. The difference between Maggie and Dee is that Maggie appreciates her life, although she has low self-esteem. Maggie does not wish to change her lifestyle .Maggie and her mother both grew up uneducated and both remain proud and have a close relationship with each other. Which Dee is slight jealous because of it. Maggie also appreciates her family heritage more than Dee. In the short story mama and Dee had argued over quilts therefore Maggie steps in and said "she can have em mama like somebody used to never win anything or having or reserved for her I can remember grandma dee without the quits". This shows how Dee was selfless and didn’t care what flew out her mouth, she just wanted what she

Everyone has Family struggles, every family faces situations in which are tough to take and move on from. Family is the one thing that will never be forgotten, family are the people who will stick with you and support you in every way possible as long as you do not forget who is your family. This is what this family faces. This family faces tough times, rough times, good times many situations in which can break them apart but at the end succeed in getting over the obstacles they faced along the way. Each person has its own opinions on how they look at things and the perspective of each person. The story, “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker, would be told differently if told by Dee, Maggie, and Hakim a Barber point of view.

“Everyday Use” is a fictional short story by Alice Walker that tells the story of two daughters who have different views on heritage. Walker describes the two girls as being extremely different on the inside and out. The first daughter, Dee, is well educated and gorgeous girl who does not understand the real meaning behind heritage. On the other hand, maggie, the second daughter, is the complete opposite of Dee by understanding heritage while having little education and being physically scarred by their old house burning down. Though these characters are sisters, it is obvious that they are nothing alike. This is how Walker wants the reader to perceive her characters and understand their purpose throughout the story. To accomplish this, Walker uses these character’s actions, interactions, thoughts, and feelings to develop apparent differences between the two girls.