Everyday Use By Alice Walker

In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the author describes different ideas about one’s heritage. Culture and heritage is at the main point of the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker as symbolized by the quilt. The bond that Mother and Maggie share is brought by their common talent to make works of art like quilts. Dee does not have similar capacity because she does not appreciate manual labor nor believes in her heritage. The idea of pride in culture, heritage, and family is the main theme of the story. The line between being proud of whom one is and exploiting one’s self is broken and blurred by one character. The other two keep their firm ground in living out their values, rather than using it simply as a conversation starter.

“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.

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.

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 the words of Karl Marx, the founding father of Marxism, Marxism principally believes that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” In essence, Marx asserts that every day is a tale of conflict between society’s upper and lower class. While controversial in the real world, this notion is not far-fetched in the realm of literature. For example, Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” shows prominent signs of tension between classes. When examined from a Marxist perspective, Walker’s characters in “Everyday Use” highlight how each class values items and how survival needs and societal expectations differ among classes.

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”.

In “everyday Use,” Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, “,Everyday Use”, tells that how a mom little by little refuses the cursory values of her older, successful daughter at the aspect of the useful values of her younger, much less lucky daughter. On a deeper outlook, Alice Walker takes on the theme of heritage and its norms as it applies to African-Americans.

From the beginning, the mother introduces Dee as her more educated daughter and states how she reminds them every chance she got:

Walker entertains African Americans and Americans about the relationship between these two sisters and their mother. One daughter is named Maggie and she stays at home with her mother and help her with the chores around the house. She was also burnt in a house fire so she does not het out much. “Mamma”, has another daughter, Dee. Dee is very beautiful, and outgoing and really completely opposite of Maggie. Dee leaves home and experience life for her own, and becomes a pro black person. When Dee comes back she wants things from here house to treat them as artifacts at her own home. Especially this quilt. Dee wanted it, but the mother wouldn’t allow it. She wanted Maggie to have it. Maggie kept this quilt and Dee left, but not without talking

To begin, “Everyday Use” is about a family consisting of a mother and two daughters who have different views on heritage. The story represents the struggles that African American women encountered in the 1960s. During this time period, The Black Movement ascended that

In “Everyday use,” by Alice Walker, Dee’s attempt to pursue the actual meaning of true black identity is flawed. In the short story, Dee was described as fashionable; brilliant, yet blind to the reality of her heritage. She, as many other African American young people, became entranced by the idea of honoring their “roots,” and in doing so, Dee only abandoned her true family; adopting an African name and the culture that it entails. Dee’s attitude towards her mother and her younger sister shows that she is only appearance; lacking true substance, and effectively betrays her family history in favor of fashion. Dee believed that in coming back home that she would get her way; as she was used to as a child.

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, Maggie’s sister, Dee, comes home from college to visit her family. The two sisters get in a fight about who should receive the family heirlooms. Eventually, the mother steps in and stands up for Maggie who was originally supposed to get the heirlooms. Maggie depicts a weak personality due to her events that occurred throughout her life.

Introduction: The short story called ‘Everyday Use’’ has multiple similarities and a few differences from my family. When I read this story I actually thought Mama’s family and mines was related,because we’re so much alike. Mama’s girls (Dee and Maggie) didn’t really have a bond they basically passed words more than they bonded. You’d think because they were sisters, they’d get along. I think this short story ‘’Everyday Use’’ the author Alice Walker did a very splendid job with this story with the specific details she gave in the story. Everyday Use was a really interesting story, it really caught my attention by reading the whole short story.