...Jake Marshall English 1302-25 2-27-12 Jake Marshall English 1302 – 25 27 February Skewed Point of View In Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” the point of view of the story is told through the eye's of Mama Johnson to help point out the struggle between the preservation of her heritage and the living of it. This limited omniscient point of view not only showcases Walker's ability to subliminally influence us to take sides for Mama and her youngest daughter Maggie, but to also show the inherent struggle between the families everyday perception of objects that Mama's oldest daughter Dee sees as something to be maintained and cherished for as along as possible. The point of view through Mama's eyes accentuates the innocent eye point of view by showing her naivety and simplicity to the outside world that Dee has always so thrived in and her lack of ability to understand old heirlooms that she would see preserved to keep the heritage alive she lives everyday. Mama Johnson is first presented immediately as someone who can be trusted through her knowledge of things presented to her firstly by describing her misfortunate youngest daughter Maggie by saying “She is not bright. Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by,” as well as stating she “was never a good singer” and “never could carry a tune” (Alice 163). These blunt observations helps the reader trust what Mama Johnson says because they are things personally significant to her and personal within her life and about...
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...Literature In Chinua Achebe’s short story “Dead Men’s Path” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the reader explores the lives of two individuals whose misguided actions and noble intentions cause grief amongst those around them. While Achebe’s story focuses on modernization and moving forward, Walker’s story is about holding on to the past. Through the authors’ use of conflict, character analysis, and point of view, I was able to recognize the deeper meanings in both stories. The stories do more than just entertain; they reminded us that our heritage is with us everyday and that we shouldn’t change who we are in order to impress others. Achebe’s story is about Michael Obi, a “young and energetic man” who is appointed the headmaster of a village school. He hopes that his ideas and “passion for modern methods” will help turn the school into a place of beauty. After Obi finds a path running across the school compound he quickly works to block it, hoping to impress the inspector. Although Obi’s intentions appear good he ends up making matters worse as conflict arises between the school and the outside village. Another story dealing with noble intentions is Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”. When Mama’s oldest daughter Dee returns home for a visit, Mama is somewhat disheartened after finding out that Dee has changed her name. After the family eats dinner together the author’s use of conflict starts to emerge. As Dee comes across some old quilts she becomes frustrated...
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...Everyday Use by Alice Walker is a story about a dysfunctional family, despite a mother’s best efforts to keep the family united. This is a story about an individual named Dee, who is fortunate enough to attend school in Augusta because the community raised enough funds to pay for her education. Dee shows no appreciation for anyone. Instead, she occasionally returns to her hometown to express her disgust towards Mama, and also collects “souvenirs” to bring back home. Her actions are a reflection of her despicable character because she does not realize how fortunate she is. Her sister, Maggie, was burned from a house fire, leaving scars on her body. Because of this incident, Maggie is suffering from great trauma, whereas Dee is living an “easy”...
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...Edgar Hernandez Professor Ali ENC 1102 March 20, 2014 Amy Tan's, “Mother Tongue” and Alice Walker's “Everyday Use” both share similar traits in their writings of these two short stories. “Mother Tongue” revolves around the experiences Tan and her mother had due to her mother's English speaking limitations, she also revolves her story around the relationship of a mother and daughter. Alice walker on the other hand writes a story narrated by “Mama” the mother of two daughters Maggie and Dee and explains the conflicting relationship she has with Dee, both writers similarly emphasize on the relationships these mother and daughter characters had and they unravel both short stories based on these relationships. Although both short stories share this one similar characteristic it is clear that both writers have opposite point of views of their described mother daughter relationships. To begin comparing, both Tan and Walker use the characters of mother and daughter to evoke the importance the relationship plays in the telling of the story. There are similarities that both these characters share. One of these similarities are shown through the use of words that describe a similar feeling of shame or embarrassment both Dee and Tan have towards there mothers at some point in the stories. In one part of the story Tan describes feeling “ashamed” of her mother's broken English (Tan 345). Walker also shows the character Dee having some sense of shame of her mother and sister Maggie by...
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...Characterization and Symbolism in "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker In Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" the theme of different ideas of heritage shared between Mama, and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie, is proven by her use of imagery, characterization, and symbolism. Walker uses symbolism and characterization throughout the short "Everyday Use" to show differences within her family and heritage. Mama is the narrator of the story and the mother of Dee and Maggie. In the beginning of the story, the reader learns Mama raised the girls alone thus making her a tough, strong woman: "In real life I am a large big boned woman with rough, man working hands (Walker.) Mama is uneducated and has worked hard throughout her life: "I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man" (Walker). Mama is proud of herself and heritage and wants Maggie and Dee to be the same. Maggie is described as being unsocial, shy and unattractive. She has been severely burned which caused physical and mental problems. Mama has sheltered her from the outside world, "Severely burned in a house fire when she was a child, her scarred, ugly appearance hides her sympathetic, generous nature. She lives at home and is...
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...The Symbolism of Quilts Designs used in quilts are not necessarily symmetrically organized; rather the art of quilting reflects an aesthetic understanding by the makers of what the quilt represents for them in their everyday experience. (Barkley-Brown, 1990). The shape of a quilt results from the meaning that the individual quilters give to the pieces that compose it. This art form is known as gumbo ya ya in Creole which means everybody talking at once. (Barkley-Brown, 1990). Alice Walker’s usage of quilts in her short story Everyday Use reflects the importance and significance of a quilt in African-American history. A quilt embodies heritage and personal stories and events; a quilt is similar to a person’s own journey in that each scrap stitched into a quilt represents “a person’s world view [which] is made up of events, circumstances and influences that shape how [she] see[s] and respond[s] to the world.” (Eshbaugh, 2008, August 21). Narrated by the mother of the two main characters, the symbolism of the hand-stitched quilts in Everyday Use represents the conflicts between two sisters who each experience the world and their heritage differently. The story begins with Dee, the eldest daughter, first homecoming since leaving for college. Walker describes Dee as a woman who no one ever told “no.” Dee is well-educated, wears bright colors that accentuates her full-figured body and exudes confidence. However, Dee will never be satisfied in life, and she...
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...inherited cultures, passed down traditions, or in other words, one’s heritage. Today, due to the provisions of technology that allow many cultures to be conglomerated into an endless timeline of bites and snippets, the fine details of individual heritages have become an otherwise ignored understatement. This breeds what is now defined as a belief in modernism and Western inclusiveness, which in turn erodes any opportunity to express one’s individuality. Such expression by an individual then subsequently categorizes him or her...
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...In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker demonstrates the importance of one’s heritage, by showing how ignorant and unappreciative Dee is of the contributions made by her ancestors. Dee is characterized by what she says. On one occasion Mama addresses her by her birth name, Dee. In reply Dee says, “No Mama. Not “Dee,” Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!” Mama asked why and she says Dee is dead and she couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after people who oppress her. Mama then highlights her ignorance of her family’s heritage by informing her on where her name originated. She tells Dee that she was named after her aunt, who was named after Grandma Dee, who inherited the name of her mother as well. A person who possesses real heritage and culture make use of it every day of their life on the other hand Dee exhibits being shameful and ignorant of her heritage. On another occasion Dee addresses her family about some quilts. She is determined to get the quilts, but has no idea or knowledge of how the family’s jewels are infused with the presence of the people who made and used them. It was made clear that mama understands that Maggie, not Dee, should have the quilts because Maggie will respect and appreciate the jewels by using them in the way they were intended to be used and not put on display like an exhibit at a museum. To Dee, heritage is the past, something to frame or hang on the wall, a mere artistic reminder of her family history. In Conclusion Dee is ashamed of her family’s heritage...
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...In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use", The critic Timothy Sexton asserts that the older daughter, Dee, is the "embodiment of the struggle for a unifying identity" (par. 4). In contrast with Dee, the critics Houston A Baker, Jr. and Charlotte Pierce-Baker consider Maggie to be a guardian of history, or "griot" (164). Dee is a selfish and egotistical character with a superficial understanding of her inheritance. She characterizes the confusion and misguidance of young African Americans in the late 60s and 70s. This is apparent in her interactions with her mother and sister. As Sexton notes, Dee "considers herself as cultured, and beyond the abased quality of the lives lived by her mother and sister" (par. 3). She makes her feelings clear when she attempts to "take" the quilts Mama had promised to Maggie: "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts... she'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use" (Walker, 103). By using the quilts for purposes other than their original intent she believes that she is respecting her heritage, but this is not the case: her desire to put them on display is "really not quite so different from the white capitalist cashing in on ethnic artworks" (Sexton, par. 4) Not only is she conforming to the worst of American ideals, but she is rejecting and disrespecting her own cultural heritage-- all under the pretenses of preserving it. It is in this sense that she is the "embodiment of the struggle for a unifying identity," because she has not yet come...
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...mother in the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, she is also the narrator. She describes herself as a hardworking mother who has played the role of mom and dad to her two children. She has a strong passion for her heritage and loves her children more than anything else. She may be uneducated, it doesn’t take away from the fact on her understanding of the importance of family heritage. 2. When we have a first-person narrator, we have to decide if she is reliable or unreliable. Do you trust this narrator? Why or why not? I trust the narrator because mama is a single mother who prides herself on working hard to take care of her two children alone. This shows her type of character. 3. What assumptions does the narrator have about her daughters? Do you agree? Why? She assumes that her daughter Dee doesn’t understand that materialistic have no actual value and don’t display heritage. I agree with her that heritage is more valuable than materialistic items. 4. How would the story be different if it were told from Dee/Wangero’s perspective? I feel the story would’ve been different by showing us her side of her heritage. 5. Mama and Dee/Wangero have different ideas about personal development. What are they? What are the consequences of their differences? They both have different ideas on heritage, mama believes that family items are the true identity of heritage, while Dee doesn’t know much about the past, doesn’t know what heritage is. 6. Based...
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...about what family heritage means, and the value of it? Some people seem to think that family heritage is only family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation that could be viewed by the family as very important. This is partially true; however, there are traditions and legacies that can be passed down to display the family’s heritage and also be cherished as much as an heirloom. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” family heritage is defined as what a person deems “valuable.” Walker begins her short story by using Mama’s point of view. In the story, Mama seems to be an observant and opinionated parent. Throughout the story gives her assumption of what she sees going on in her family. And it is her assumptions that reveals what she values in heritage. Mama sees her daughter Dee or Wangero as being different than her and her daughter Maggie. Mother shows what is important to her from the start of the story by saying “I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon(Walker).” In other words, here she tells us what matters – her home, her family, the place she belongs. She showed how much she wanted to feel love from her daughter Dee. Not only did she want to show her love for her daughter Dee but for her other daughter Maggie as well by taking the quilts that she promised to Maggie from Dee’s arms and giving it back to her. The mother’s longing for family and love displays the mom’s sense of family heritage. She wants the...
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...Characters in “Everyday Use” Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” examines the conflict between family members that are debating over whether to use or to preserve pieces of their family’s heritage. Mama, the mother of Maggie and Dee, is a self-reliant and hardworking woman who can perform any task that a man can. She lives at home with Maggie, who is rather shy and is embarrassed by the burn scars covering her arms and legs. Both Maggie and Mama are awaiting a visit from Maggie’s educated sister, Dee. Upon Dee and her male companion’s arrival, Mama and Maggie stand in awe while gazing at Dee’s exquisite dress and golden earrings. Shortly after her arrival, Dee announces...
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...In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker depicts opposing ideas about one's heritage. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in a very contrasting manner. Walker utilizes symbolism to highlight the dispute between two different points of view of, or approaches to, the African-American culture, showing that culture and heritage are parts of daily life. Through the use of symbolism, there are three of which I will refer to, one being the quilts, the tangible objects of the family heirloom, the yard, which she emphasis on and its physical characteristics, and then there’s the name changing, when Dee changed her name to a traditional African name, Wangero. The quilts were the most compelling symbol in the story. They signified pieces of living history, documents in fabric that chronicle the lives of the many generations and the struggles, such as war and poverty, which they faced. The quilts served as a testament to the family’s history of pride and trials. With the drawbacks that poverty and lack of education placed on her life, Mama sees her personal history as one of her few treasures. Her house embraces the handicrafts of her extended family. Instead of acquiring a financial inheritance from her ancestors, Mama has been given the quilts. For her, these objects have a sentimental value that Dee, despite claiming her desire to care for and preserve the quilts, is unable to fathom. Mama’s yard represents a private space free...
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...Chris Themes of Everyday Use by Alice Walker In the Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use”, two sisters portray their contrasting family views on what they perceive to be heritage. The idea is that a quilt is a part of this family's history. They aren't just parts of cloth put together to make a blanket. The quilt symbolizes their ancestors' lives and tells a story with every single inch of cloth. Understanding the reasoning of why the author wrote this story is very important; valuing the culture and traditions of your family is extremely meaningful. This is shown by the mother’s thoughts on the quilts, “Both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece about the size of a penny matchbox that was from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War. (367-368)"In the story, Walker presents Maggie, who is the younger sister, as an example of heritage in terms of passing it on through the generations with knowledge and respect. Maggie unlike her older sister knew how to sew and appreciated personally and emotionally on how much time and effort where put into the quilts whereas Dee sees the quilt valued only for financial and aesthetic reasons. Maggie and Dee have very different ideas about what constitutes their heritage and for Maggie, the family heirlooms are filled with the presence of the people who made and used them. Dee on the other hand is angered...
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...Hannah Huie Kate Evans Composition II 05 February 2015 Analysis of Characters in “Everyday Use” Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use,” illustrates the importance of family and heritage. Many times in the story, Ms. Walker brings up heritage and the importance of recognizing of what it means to belong to something or someone. Her characters each go through change. Mama seems to switch her favoritism from Dee to Maggie and realizes that Dee is not the perfect child she had come to idolize her as being. Dee comes back home to realize that she no longer able to get her way as she used too and that her place in the household has changed. Lastly, Maggie is recognized as having the gift of knowing her heritage and having the ability to add to it by being able to quilt. As we read through the story we see that Ms. Walker paints a wonderful picture of difference between Dee and the family she left behind. Mama is the voice behind this short story. She narrates and you only see the story through her point of view. As she waits for her daughter Dee to arrive she has a fantasy about her life being on a TV show. She dreams of being a beautiful women, whose hair glistens in the spotlight of the stage, whose witty tongue has the famous TV personality Johnny Carson trying to keep up. As the reader continues they would be able to see that Mama’s true view of herself is not as flattering, she doesn’t mince the truth, and doesn’t have any false illusions about her looks...
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