Two Sisters in Everyday Use Often two children are brought up in the same environment and turn out completely different. This is the case of Maggie and Dee, the two sisters in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use." Although the girls were raised by the same woman, in the same home, their similarities end here. Maggie and Dee are different in their appearances, their personalities, and their ideas about the family artifacts. Maggie is not as attractive as Dee. She is a thin and awkward girl. Her mother notes "good looks passed her by" (88). Furthermore, she carries herself like someone with low self-esteem, "chin on chest, eyes on ground" (87). On the other hand, Dee is an attractive woman. Her mother describes Dee as having, "nice hair and a full figure" (87). Dee takes pride in the her appearance. She dresses in fashionable clothes. When Dee arrives for her visit, her mother says, "Even her feet were always neat-looking" (88). Besides their appearances, Maggie and Dee have unique personalities. When Maggie is first introduced in the story, she is nervous about her sisters visit. In fact, Dee's arrival makes Maggie so uncomfortable that she tries to flee to the safety of the house (88). Maggie is also intimidated by Dee, as shown when Maggie is unable to confront Dee about the quilts. Maggie gives in and says that Dee may have the quilts because she is not used to "winning" (91). Unlike Maggie, Dee is a bold young woman (88). As a young girl, Dee has never been afraid to express herself. Her mother remembers that "she would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature" (87). Dee also shows herself to be selfish when she sets her sights on the butter churn. Dee does not seem to care that her family is still using the churn. She states that she will "display part of it in her alcove, and do something artistic with the rest of it" (90). The family artifacts are important to both Maggie and Dee, but for different reasons. Maggie values the family quilts for their sentiment and usefulness. She learned how to quilt from her grandmother and aunt who made the quilts. Her mother has been saving the quilts for Maggie to use after she is married. The quilts are meant to be used and appreciated everyday. Maggie hints that she sees the quilts as a reminder of her grandmother and aunt when she says, "I can 'member them without the quilts" (91). Dee also values the family quilts. She sees the quilts as priceless objects to own and display. Going off to college has brought Dee a new awareness of her heritage. She returns wearing ethnic clothing and has changed her name to "Wangero." She explains to her mother and Maggie that changing her name is the way to disassociate herself from "the people who oppress [her]'? (89). Before she went away to college, the quilts were not good enough for her. Her mother had offered her one of the quilts, but she stated, "They were old-fashioned and out of style" (91). Now she is determined to have the quilts to display in her home. Dee believes that she can appreciate the value of the quilts more than Maggie, who will "be backward enough to put them to everyday use" (9l). Dee wants the quilts for more materialistic reasons. She considers the quilts "priceless" (91). Indeed Maggie and Dee are two sisters who have turned out very differently. Maggie is awkward and unattractive, while Dee is confident and attractive. Maggie is content with her simple life, while Dee wants to have fine things. Maggie is nervous and intimidated by Dee, who is bold and selfish. Maggie values the sentiment of the family quilts, while Dee wants to display them as a symbol of her heritage. Walker has shown that children raised in the same environment can and do turn into unique individuals. Work Cited Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature‑ An Introduction to Reading and Writing 5th ed. Eds. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998. 86‑92.
When two children are brought up by the same parent in the same environment, one might logically conclude that these children will be very similar, or at least have comparable qualities. In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," however, this is not the case. The only thing Maggie and Dee share in common is the fact that they were both raised by the same woman in the same home. They differ in appearance, personality, and ideas that concern the family artifacts.
After evaluating the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, I came to the conclusion that the narrator made the right choice of giving her daughter, Maggie, the family quilts. Dee (Wangero), her older sister was qualified for the quilts as well, but in my opinion Maggie is more deserving. Throughout the story, the differences between the narrator’s two daughters are shown in different ways. The older daughter, Dee (Wangero), is educated and outgoing, whereas Maggie is shy and a homebody. I agree with the narrator’s decision because of Maggie’s good intentions for the quilts and her innocent behavior. In my opinion Dee (Wangero) is partially superficial and always gets what she wants.
In the beginning of the play, Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost from the grave. He tells Hamlet of his uncle's betrayal of him and tells Hamlet that he must kill Claudius to set things right. Through this event, Hamlet...
The quilts play an important role in depicting symbolism of heritage because they signify Dee’s family origins. For instance, Dees’ significant family members all have pieces of their fabric sown on to the quilts as a remembrance of who they were and their importance in the family. Nevertheless, Dee is overlooking important facets of her family history because she does not see the quilts her ancestors made as valuable, hand-made, pieces of fabric that should be passed down and taken care of to keep their history alive. As Mama stated, “In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty years 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.” (1129). Despite her family’s history, Dee continues to misinterpret the...
Maggie and Dee are two sisters that are as different as night and day. When Momma talks of Maggie, it is with a sad and gentle reflection of this daughter's lot in life. "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks." Momma tells us, however that Dee, "She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature. " Where Dee is pretty and bright, Maggie is scarred and slow. Momma seems more content being in Maggie's presence, having more in common with her than with her daughter Dee. She and Maggie tend the house together, ...
Why do people crave power, fortune, and lust when all it leads to is corruption, greed, and/or death? In the play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one character's greed for power and fortune leads to tragedy. First, Claudius murders King Hamlet and attempts to kill prince Hamlet inorder to keep the crown to rule Denmark. Secondly, Claudius sets up a plan that involves putting a poisonous pearl in the winner's victory cup that eventually Gertrude drinks. He also puts poision on the tip of the sword that eventually kills Laertes in the duel. Lastly, Claudius sends Rosencranz & Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England to secretly be killed so that he can keep the crown. One may object that Polonius' death was not the fault of Claudius' greed because Hamlet killed Polonius. However, Hamlet was obsessed with killing Claudius because he wanted to seek revenge for his father. Claudius' Greed for power is to blame for all the tragedies in the play Hamlet.
1)Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, “Hamlet,” critiques the society of Denmark using powerful mononlogues and dramatic action. On the other hand, Wilde’s comic drama pokes fun at the high morality of Victorian Society. One serious theme that I noticed in “The Importance of being Ernest” was the consistent act of deception throughout the entire play. However this lack of honesty was not lonesome for insightful comedy and a visible foreshadowing of upcoming events accompanied it. Meaning that the play was cleverly written with humor and provided us with an obvious chain of facts that would lead up to us unraveling the end of the play. This play critiques the need to lie or exaggerate the truth, in order to “fit in” the norm of English society during the 1890’s. The unique characters in this play portray a nonchalant attitude along with subtle gestures in a tribute to not being (earnest); they were not being honest. Specifically, they all had unique characteristics that made it easier for them to not being honest. Once it starts, it continues and that is evident within the characters of this play. That is why there is always an “Importance of Being Earnest”. One could read Hamlet simply, simplistically even, as a revenge tragedy. Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, is killed by his brother, Claudius, who, overriding the rights of succession, appropriates both the crown and the wife of Hamlet’s father. The ghost of the father reveals everything to his s...
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" (409) cues the reader to Dee's favorable appearance. The simplistic way in which Walker states that "Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure" (410) gives the reader the idea that Dee's beauty has made it easier for her to be accepted outside her family in society. We are 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 "always neat-looking, as if God himself had shaped them with a certain style" (411). In describing Dee's feet, Walker is giving the impression of perfection from head to toe. Dee's outward beauty has "made her transition from poor farm girl to that of an educated, middle-class black woman possible" (Allen-Polley 11). Needless to say, Dee doesn't seem comfortable with her past and therefore has a difficult time accepting her future. It is as though she is not really connected with her family anymore. She simply needs them to fulfill their positions in her recreated past.
As stated by Aristotle, the tragic hero is a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle. Hamlet begins with the noblest motivations, which is to avenge his father’s death but by the end, his situation is so dire that the only plausible final act should be his death. Like the classical tragic hero, Hamlet does not survive to see the full outcome of his actions and more importantly, this is because he possesses a tragic flaw. Hamlet is the protagonist and the driving force of the tragedy. Hamlet embodies all the characteristics commensurate to those defined by Aristotle, which in turn makes Hamlet the quintessential tragic hero.
Maggie and Dee come across as blatantly different characters in the story, but they still have a few similarities. They come from the same background, and both girls grow up in a poor family. Maggie and Dee both want the quilts, but for completely different reasons. They...
Hamlet Essay After reading Hamlet, I have realized that some of Shakespeare’s original plays must be abridged for our production. After careful analysis, I have decided that of the four soliloquies in the play, we should only include two of them. I have discovered that two of these soliloquies are not that important in understanding the meaning of the play. In order to see which two we should include or omit, we have to summarize all four soliloquies. The first one, which begins “O that this too, too sullied flesh.”, is an emotionally violent speech.
In the beginning of scene one, Hamlet is with Horatio at the gravesite of the recently deceased Ophelia. Hamlet questions the gravedigger as to who the grave belongs to, and after tussling verbally with the gravedigger, he admits that it belongs to one that was a woman, but is now dead. Immediately following this, Ophelia’s cortège arrives at the gravesite. After noticing his mother within the procession, Hamlet and Horatio observe the funeral at a distance. Hamlet is grief-stricken when it is revealed that Ophelia is the one being buried. After Laertes leaps into Ophelia’s grave in order to “hold her in his arms once more,” Hamlet is appalled and proceeds to fight with Laertes after leaping into Ophelia’s grave as well.
Hamlet’s plan of faking insanity to avenge his father’s death eventually backfires and he winds up hurting those closest to him. What began as feigned madness slowly becomes reality. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet could be characterized as a respectful, well-mannered son who is mourning the death of his father and shows signs of depression. In the end of the play, Hamlet turns into an irrational, unforgiving maniac who is unaware of the complete and utter chaos that he inflicts on himself and everyone he loves. Instead of controlling his “antic disposition”, Hamlet's antic disposition controls him, resulting in tragedy and death.
According to the narrator (who is also their mother) she describes Dee as being more attractive than Maggie. Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure (p. 256). Dee loves and wants nice things. She is always determined to stare down any disaster in her effort (p.257). Dee is an attractive, beautiful, and confident
As often associated with a tragedy, a conflict usually ensues between a protagonist and another force in the play. A tragedy is ‘a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror’ (Webster's dictionary). Given its structure and depth in characterization, this play will or can be analyzed and interpreted from various perspectives and beliefs. However, my analysis of the play is conducted on the basis of various components which are: Hamlet as a tragic hero, the ironic message conveyed in the play, the roles of its characters, the role and personification of madness, the role of paranormality, the role of friends and family, the role of inaction, the role of sex and violence, and the role of death as portrayed in the play. Based on literary definitions and portrayal of his character, there is popular belief that Hamlet as the protagonist acted to satisfy his own conscience but could his actions be attributed purely to his desire or was he being influenced by other factors?