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“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker A family’s heritage can be an important aspect of the family dynamic. What the family eats, the language they speak, how they dress, etc., can all be influenced by what culture the family is; every culture brings about different ways of life and in different extents. Members of the family might acknowledge their heritage in different fashions too. Whatever the case, the heritage that encompasses a family, will influence their everyday lives. A short story by Alice Walker tells about a family and about their heritage for each family member. “Everyday Use” is a short story about an African-American family. The family members are a mother, “Mama,” who is the narrator, and two daughters: “Maggie,” and …show more content…
She wants to preserve the memories of her childhood home by making sure when she takes pictures, she captures the house in the background; she does not want to be called by her birth name because of the history behind it; and she wants to keep items found in her childhood house that have significance to her heritage and …show more content…
Interestingly enough, Dee does not take pictures of herself with her sister, mother, or with the house—this adds to the disapproval of her culture. Dee does not want herself to be seen with her background like she is ashamed of it. Furthermore, it is stated that Dee would not bring her friends to the house when she did live there (DeAnza College, 14). Dee/Wangero wants the items that were found in her childhood home as more of items to be displayed in her own home, not truly because they have deeper significance behind them. She tries to dispute this by stating the significance of the pieces but Mama does come to the realization that she does not truly support the meaning behind them; therefore, Wangero does not end up keeping the
It was a little girl’s second Christmas and, although she does not remember now, she was so excited to open the big red package from grandma. She ripped open the package and the soft, handmade brown bear went poof in her hands. She has kept the ratty, old bear not for its beauty but because it has sentimental value of a simpler time. Like this example, many people have memories of items they grew up with that have more than monetary value, most people forget the real value of these items, however, and commercialize them as art or sell them away as junk in garage sales. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” we are shown a vivid example of what can happen when people take these once treasured items for granted. Walker’s character Dee/Wangero is an estranged daughter and sister who has not seen her family for six years reappears at her mother’s home to take away her family’s most sentimentally valuable possessions. Because Wangero’s view of her own heritage has been skewed and distorted by her peers, Wangero forgets the value of her mother’s possessions in an attempt to impress her contemporaries. Through Wangero, Walker reveals how misunderstanding one’s heritage can lead him to search for his place in a fake legacy invented to help him reconcile his misunderstanding of his own origins, and can even cause him to cheapen his family heritage because of a desire to stand out among his peers.
In the story "Everyday Use" the narrator is telling a story about her life and two daughters, who are named Dee and Maggie. The narrator is very strong willed, honest, compassionate and very concerned with the lives of her two daughters. Her daughter Dee is not content with her lifestyle and makes it hard on Maggie and the narrator. The narrator is trying to provide for her family the best way she can. The narrator is alone in raising the two daughters and later sends her daughter Dee to college. The longer the story goes on the more the narrator shows how intelligent and how much she loves her two daughters.
By contrasting the family characters in “Everyday Use,” Walker illustrates lost heritage by placing the significance of heritage solely on material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passing from one generation to another through a learning experience connection. However, by a broken connection, Dee the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as material. Dee, the “heritage queen” portrays a rags to riches daughter who does not understand what heritage is all about. Her definition of heritage hangs on a wall to show off, not to be used. Dee’s avoidance of heritage becomes clear when she is talking to Mama about changing her name, she says, “I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me” (Walker 75). Thus resembling that Dee just takes another name without even understanding what her original name means. She tries to explain to Mama that her name now has meaning, quality, and heritage; never realizing that the new name means nothing. Changing her name bothers Mama and Maggie because Dee’s name is a fourth generation name, truly giving it heritage. Dee likes to gloat to her friends about how she was raised, so she tries to show off by decorating her house with useful items from her past. Her argument with Mama about taking quilts that were hand stitched as opposed to sewn by machine gives readers a chance to see Dee’s outlook of heritage is short lived. Dee says to Mama, “But they’re priceless. . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (Walker 77). Mama will not allow her daughter to take the quilts because she has been saving them for Dee’s sister, Maggie, and she wants the quilts to be put into everyday use. By helping
Dee is unappreciative and disrespectful to her own mother and eventually, as with nearly everything; enough is enough and Mama stood up for herself, completely transforming herself as a character. It is necessary in life to treat others the way that you would like to be treated. This seems to be a saying that Mama lived by, but her daughter didn’t reciprocate back to her. “Everyday Use” teaches the reader many lessons of the importance of a family and how easily individuals could be shaped by the world around
The search for identity in "Everyday Use" written by Alice Walker uses the family's contrasting views to illustrate the importance of understanding present life in relation to the traditions of ancestral culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker uses the voice of the protagonist (the mother) to demonstrate which factors contribute to the values of one’s heritage and identity; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects or mere appearances, but by one’s lifestyle and attitude. Also, in the illustration “Girl”, Jamaica Kincaid uses a mother’s voice, like Walker, to illustrate the mother’s meaning of identity. Both mothers in each story have their own outlook of what defines a person’s identity. Although each mother has different...
Walker uses Dee to symbolize the progress made by African Americans in the 1950’s and 60’s which was characterized by bright and beautiful blacks who were vocal and aggressive in their demands. During this era, many blacks refused to continue hiding their African culture, became increasingly proud of their differences, and adopted certain aspects of their ancestry in the way they dressed. Mama’s characterizations vof Dee illustrate her as a perfect example of this “Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature,…She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts. Her eyelids would not flicker for minutes at a time…At sixteen she had a style of her own: and she knew what style was” (Walker, “Everyday Use” 409). These personality traits, along with her style of dress and speech, establish her identity as a symbol of the Black Power movement. It is crucial to recognize that Walker is not castigating the Black Power movement as a whole, however she uses the character of Dee to exhibit this mistaken and confusion of black pride. Symbolism can be found in abundance throughout this story, and another prime example would be the infamous quilts.The quilts are not just a representation of the
Heritage is something that comes to or belongs to one by reason of birth. This may be the way it is defined in the dictionary, but everyone has their own beliefs and ideas of what shapes their heritage. In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, these different views are very evident by the way Dee (Wangero) and Mrs. Johnson (Mama) see the world and the discrepancy of who will inherit the family’s quilts. Symbolism such as certain objects, their front yard, and the different characters, are all used to represent the main theme that heritage is something to always be proud of.
First in “Everyday Use” you recognize the differences in all three women throughout the story. The mama
The characters in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker serve as a comparison between how family heritage and traditions are viewed. Walker illustrates that heritage is represented not by the possession of items or how they look, but buy how they are used, how one’s attitude is, and how they go about a daily lifestyle. Every memory or tradition in “Everyday Use” strengthens the separation in the relationship between Dee and her mother, the narrator, which involves different views on their family heritage.
Most families have some piece of jewelry, furniture, or other symbolic collectible that is passed through many generations. These things often remind a person of a beloved grandparent or great-grandparent and are seen as priceless. In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the family heirloom, a couple of hand sewn quilts, represents the family members' emotions concerning their heritage.
Author Alice Walker, displays the importance of personal identity and the significance of one’s heritage. These subjects are being addressed through the characterization of each character. In the story “Everyday Use”, the mother shows how their daughters are in completely two different worlds. One of her daughter, Maggie, is shy and jealous of her sister Dee and thought her sister had it easy with her life. She is the type that would stay around with her mother and be excluded from the outside world. Dee on the other hand, grew to be more outgoing and exposed to the real, modern world. The story shows how the two girls from different views of life co-exist and have a relationship with each other in the family. Maggie had always felt that Mama, her mother, showed more love and care to Dee over her. It is until the end of the story where we find out Mama cares more about Maggie through the quilt her mother gave to her. Showing that even though Dee is successful and have a more modern life, Maggie herself is just as successful in her own way through her love for her traditions and old w...
Heritage is one of the most important factors that represents where a person came from. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, this short story characterizes not only the symbolism of heritage, but also separates the difference between what heritage really means and what it may be portrayed as. Throughout the story, it reveals an African-American family living in small home and struggling financially. Dee is a well-educated woman who struggles to understand her family's heritage because she is embarrassed of her mother and sister, Mama and Maggie. Unlike Dee, Mama and Maggie do not have an education, but they understand and appreciate their family's background. In “Everyday Use,” the quilts, handicrafts, and Dee’s transformation helps the reader interpret that Walker exposed symbolism of heritage in two distinctive point of views.
One situation in particular that Mama brings up is the time when she offers to Dee to bring some of the ancestral quilts with her to college. She claims, “I had offered Dee a quilt whe...
In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the message about the preservation of heritage, specifically African-American heritage, is very clear. It is obvious that Walker believes that a person's heritage should be a living, dynamic part of the culture from which it arose and not a frozen timepiece only to be observed from a distance. There are two main approaches to heritage preservation depicted by the characters in this story. The narrator, a middle-aged African-American woman, and her youngest daughter Maggie, are in agreement with Walker. To them, their family heritage is everything around them that is involved in their everyday lives and everything that was involved in the lives of their ancestors. To Dee, the narrator's oldest daughter, heritage is the past - something to frame or hang on the wall, a mere artistic, aesthetic reminder of her family history. Walker depicts Dee's view of family heritage as being one of confusion and lack of understanding.
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," is a story about a poor, African-American family and a conflict about the word "heritage." In this short story, the word "heritage" has two meanings. One meaning for the word "heritage" represents family items, thoughts, and traditions passed down through the years. The other meaning for the word "heritage" represents the African-American culture.