Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay - 888 Words

People identify themselves by their colour, culture, language or religion. The identity goes back to generations and it doesn#8217;t start or change within the individual. It is an evolutionary process where each person brings upon some changes. This is best described in Alice Walker#8217;s short story, #8220;Everyday Use#8221;, where three characters, a mother and two daughters, are portrayed differently, each with its different qualities and philosophies on life that are often seen in generations. Heritage is an important part of a person#8217;s life. It tells the person where it came from and helps the person reach its destiny, almost like a road map. In this story, Dee has trouble understanding the meaning of heritage.†¦show more content†¦#8216;She#8217;d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.#8217; #8216;I reckon she would,#8217; I said. #8216;God knows I been saving #8216;em for long enough with nobody using #8216;em. I hope she will!#8217; I didn#82 17;t want to bring up how I had offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style. #8216;Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they#8217;d be in rags. Less than that!#8217; [#8230;] #8216;Well,#8217; I said, stumped. #8216;What would you do with them?#8217; #8216;Hang them,#8217; she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with quilts.#8221; (2245) The above shows how Dee has a different point of view on certain things. She wants to show that she is #8216;modern#8217; by exposing #8216;good, valuable#8217; things. She may have an appreciation for art, but this actually shows that she is of limited intelligence because she thinks that quilts could only be hung. Another example would be when she was taking pictures of the house. She behaves like a nervous tourist around unknown culture, capturing it all on film for some kind of display. She also changes her name from Dee to #8220;Wangero Leewan ika Kemanjol.#8221; (2243) To the great surprise of her mother, she says the following: #8220;I couldn#8217;t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppressShow MoreRelatedEveryday Use By Alice Walker852 Words   |  4 Pagescomes or belongs to one by reason of birth. In â€Å"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 African heritage plays a major role in the story, â€Å"Everyday Use†. Alice Walker emphasizes the meaning of heritage by havingRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1372 Words   |  6 PagesEverday Use† research paper In â€Å"everyday Use,† Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two daughters. At this facet, â€Å",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. Everday Use, is set insideRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1102 Words   |  5 Pagespoem â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† can be read similar to Alice Walker s short story Everyday Use† both are compared by the women’s ways of showing their strengths and how they identify their values, expressions and strength. Advertised in the general outlines of the plot, both literary themes talks of a quest for freedom, the characters identity and self-expression. Adrienne Rich â€Å"Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers† Alice Walker â€Å"Everyday Use† Comparison Paper Analyzing the two types of literatureRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1372 Words   |  6 Pagessociety as a whole, but more specifically in the African American Community. Alice Walker gives slight insight into   what being forced   to assimilate is like. She says in her short story Everyday Use: She will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. Statements such as these are a regular occurrence in her works. Walker often speaks on the ever so disheartening topic of cultural assimilation and theRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker996 Words   |  4 PagesIn the short story â€Å"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 â€Å"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 mainRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1721 Words   |  7 PagesIn her short story â€Å"Everyday Use,† Alice Walker summarizes the representation of the beauty, the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. â€Å"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. â€Å"Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicerRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1655 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"everyday Use,† Alice Walker tells a narrative of a mother’s frustrating relationship together with her two dau ghters. At this facet, â€Å",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. Everday Use, is set inside the late ,60s or mid ,70sRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1735 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker and â€Å"Brownies† by ZZ Packer are two different short stories with different lessons but both talk about the topic of race. Both stories talks about the time in the 20th century when slavery just ended but racism are still active between African Americans and Caucasians. Walker described a story about a single African American mother who is waiting for her daughter to arrive from college. Packer described a story about these African American fourth graders who are inRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1111 Words   |  5 Pagestheir culture. Alice Walker highlights and distinguishes the dissimilarities and clichà © of country African American women with the actualities that make up their lives. Characterized by short, compound sentences, with long adjectives and use of literary elements, her style is eloquent co nversational and authentic. Alice Walker’s short story, Everyday Use is stylistic, ironic and narrates profound interpretation of unique views and approaches to African-American culture. Walker’s use of characterizationRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1725 Words   |  7 Pages17 April 2017 Everything is Not What it Seems Sometimes people forget that heritage has to do with truly understanding their past. Many often misrepresent it, especially the younger generations who just accept its presence. Alice Walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† revolves around an African American family that consists of three women, who are very different from each other. The story begins with Maggie and Mama waiting in the yard for Dee, the main character, to visit from Augusta. Dee is