Depictions and Contrasts of Empowerment and Heritage in Alice Walker's Every Day Use
analytical Essay
1912 words
Through the beginning of the 20th century, there was a large cultural uprising and revolution in the way of racial identity and cultural reclamation, of heritage and rejection of oppression. The shift in gears was prominent, and soon all manner of people began to turn themselves over to the resolution; inspired poets, artists, songwriters and even those in the rabble between began to change their names to re-identify with their culture, their heritage (in their own eyes and minds.) It was refereed to as a second renaissance of Black Culture, and in this renaissance there was a reinvention of literature. In the journal written by B. Lakshemi, they describe the events of this revolution; “Two literary genres emerged during this second Black 'Renaissance.' 'Womanist' literature [is one], a term used by the novelist Alice Walker to distinguish this trend from the white dominated feminist movement[...] 'Womanist' literature refers to literature that focuses on womanhood.” (Lakshmi 210) Alice Walker, referenced in this quote, is one of the more prominent black artistic figure of her time. The youngest child of two sharecroppers, she was, herself, a pronounced activist, having in her time as an author published several pieces which display the different ways in which empowerment and pride manifest in women. Crippled in her youth by a wayward BB gun shot to her eye, she experienced life as both a quiet and humble girl- describing herself as “The girl who did not raise her head” (“Beauty” 3)- and as a proud and accomplished individual, having graduated as valedictorian and gone on to receive several honors in writing. Themes of empowerment run strong in Alice Walker's stories. Her life and her fiction comes together to display a strong co...
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...instances in her works, allowing the reader an intimate look at the lives of those affected by the cultural movements of the decade.
Works Cited
Lakshmi, B. "The origin and growth of African American literature."Language In India Mar. 2014: 210+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Moskowitz, Jack W."The New Mood of Black America."(n.p): n. pag. Print.
Selzer, Linda. "Race and domesticity in 'The Color Purple.'." African American Review 29.1 (1995): 67+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Walker, Alice. “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self.” n.p : Kingsberry, 2006. Print.
Walker, Alice. “In Search of our Mothers Gardens.” San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983. Print.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Baym, Nina. Shorter Seventh Edition. New York: Norton & Company, 2008. 2568-2583. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that there was a cultural uprising and revolution in the way of racial identity, cultural reclamation, and rejection of oppression. the themes of empowerment run strong in alice walker's stories.
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" has the most potent, dramatic parallels between the different notions of heritage and empowerment. mama is a simple, strong, hardworking woman who has pride in her work and does not understand the obsessions with heritage.
- Analyzes how maggie, the younger of the two daughters, is an opposite to her sister. she inherits the quiet, passive life of those who did not join the revolution or the movement
- Explains lakshmi, b., "the origin and growth of african american literature."
- Describes how dee and i are suddenly brought together on a tv program.
- Analyzes how mama clearly loves her daughter, dee, and maggie, while asalamakin is an accessory to "wangero"
- Analyzes how dee embraces the movement and ideals as a means of reconnecting with her perceived-foreign roots and establishing independence.
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" and its characters offer a stark contrast between two interpretations of black power in the time of cultural revolution.
- Analyzes selzer, linda, and walker, alice. "race and domesticity in 'the color purple.'"
Related
- analytical
- opinion
- An Analysis of Alice Walker's "everyday Use"analytical essayAn Analysis of Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" Alice Walker's novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. This novel, in addition to her short story collections and other novels, continue to touch the emotions of a vast audience. This ability, according to critics, has "solidified her reputation as one of the major figures in contemporary literature" (Gwynn 462). Born to sharecroppers in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944, Alice Walker's life was not always easy. Her parents strived to provide a home at a time when political and social unrest were at their highest.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the mother, who is also the narrator, is a strong independent woman. she is proud of what dee has accomplished, although she doesn't understand her.
- Analyzes kimmich, allison's "alice walker, overview." feminist writers.
- Describes walker, alice, and r. s. gwynn's "everyday use." literature: a pocket anthology.
- Analyzes how alice walker's novel, the color purple, has touched the emotions of a vast audience.
- Analyzes how walker's theme in the story is about relationships and how they can change over time.
924 wordsRead More - 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" is about a family of african americans faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it.
- Analyzes how "everyday use" is a story of conflict of right and wrong and also family values. maggie had lost touch with where she came from and had little respect for the family heritage.
- Analyzes how alice walker uses the symbolic two quilts to represent sentimental value and preservation of family heritage.
- Explains the character types in alice walker's "everyday use": dynamic character, flat character and static character.
- Analyzes how alice walker uses symbolism and metaphors for many different purposes in this short story.
- Analyzes how walker's use of symbolism and character development shapes this story into one about personal belief of rightful inheritance and justice.
- Explains that walker's "everyday use" was published by mcgraw hill in 1998. helga hoel, david cowart, and claudia c.
893 wordsRead More - Wade-Gayler, Gloria. Black, Southern, Womanist: The Genius of Alice Walker // Southern Women Writers. The New Generation. Ed. By Tonette Bond Inge. The University of Alabama Press, Touscaloosa & London, 1990
In this essay, the author
- Compares zora neale hurston's novel their eyes were watching god and alice walker’s the color purple. both novels embody similar concerns and methods.
- Analyzes how hurston's their eyes were watching god depicts the process of a woman coming to consciousness, finding her voice, and developing the power to tell her story.
- Analyzes how hurston's heroine janie learns to recognize and trust her inner voice, while rejecting the formulations others try to impose upon her. she must find the ground of her being, a source of value and authority.
- Analyzes how janie's grandmother nanny sees society as a hierarchy, with black women at the bottom.
- Explains that de white man is de ruler of everything as far as ah can see. he throws down de load and tells de nigger man to pick it up.
- Narrates how nanny dreamed of teaching a sermon about colored women sittin' on high, but slavery and years of dependence on white families have warped her dream. she can think of no better way to protect janie than marrying her
- Analyzes how hurston explores the role that sexism plays in black women's oppression. when 16-year-old janie refuses to be submissive to the crude killicks, he tries to break her spirit.
- Analyzes how joe starks wants to be a "big voice" in his all-black town. he gives janie possessions and status, but assumes that her identity will come only from her role as his wife.
- Analyzes how janie grows steadily in self-knowledge and discernment despite her oppressive environment. the horizon represents her need to explore all the dimensions of life and of her own self.
- Analyzes how janie finds happiness in her third marriage by rejecting the hierarchical, materialistic codes others have imposed on her. she works in the fields with tea cake, who is younger and much poorer.
- Explains janie's experience teaches her that learning about living means going to the horizon of her consciousness and establishing joyful relationships with others.
- Analyzes how hurston's character, walker, places greater emphasis on the importance of sisterhood in the color purple.
- Analyzes how celie and shug are reborn as full, creative human beings. when small groups of women succeed in establishing healing circles, these circles become more and more inclusive.
- Analyzes how the color purple takes up the project of women's self-definition where their eyes were watching god ends. shug, like janie, has grown strong by being true to her own experience.
- Analyzes how celie's church treats her bears out alphonso’s cynicism. she can't resolve the conflict between her justified rage at the "father" who abuses her and the church that has taught her, "bible say honor father and mother no matter what."
- Analyzes how meridian hill finds the black church transformed into a community keeping alive the spirit of martyrs such as martin luther king, jr.
- Analyzes how walker implies that the male-dominated church, an institution where women compete for men's attention and approval, cannot be a supportive community.
- Explains that shug's spiritual insight saves celie from remaining stuck in a bitter rejection of religion.
- Analyzes how shug develops the holistic consciousness of the christian mystics, of buddhist and.hindu thought, and of african animism.
- Analyzes how shug transforms celie's religious beliefs, but that transformation isn't easy. the anthropomorphized white god has obstructed her view of the world.
- Explains that walker calls the color purple a historical novel dealing with the historical and psychological threads of the lives her ancestors lived.
- Explains that language reveals and validates one's existence, and if the language we speak is denied, it is inevitable that the form we are permitted to assume historically will be one of caricature.
- Analyzes how the theme of women's exploitation by men is set in the larger context of the exploitative relationships between races and nations.
- Compares the color purple to hurston's, which takes its form from the storytelling traditions of black culture. walker links her novel to the larger literary tradition.
- Describes the works cited and consulted by alice walker // african american writers. kip austin hinton, ed. 11/16/98.
- Analyzes kubitschek, missy dehn's "tuh de horizon and back": the female quest in their eyes were watching
- Explains miller e. african american literature in the nineties // poets and writers magazine.
- Cites wade-gayler, gloria, the genius of alice walker // southern women writers. the new generation.
- Describes the critical essays on alice walker, ed. by ikenna dieke, greenwood press, westpoint, connecticut, london, 1999, and "finding celie's voice."
2372 wordsRead More - A & P and Everyday Use Analysis and Comparisonanalytical essayWalker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner., and Stephen R. Mandell
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the short stories "a & p" and "everyday use" show how substantial it is to stand firm for one's convictions and beliefs, especially in familial matters.
- Analyzes how sammy, a teenage clerk, is not acknowledged for doing good deeds, but the inevitable lesson of maturity can be taught through such experiences.
- Analyzes how sammy is refreshed by the uniqueness of the girls and wants to be part of that.
- Analyzes how "everyday use" is about mama and her decision to choose sentimental values over materialism. dee returns to her home in search of materialistic goods to preserve her family's heritage.
- Analyzes how maggie and mama appreciate the cultural and sentimental values of the objects in their home, whereas dee lives in the materialistic world, not the traditional.
- Analyzes how sammy in "a&p" indicates that people should not conform to the rules of society. he matured and gained a valuable lesson despite his losses.
- Describes updike, john, and stephen r. mandell's "a&p" literature: reading, reacting, writing, compact.
- Describes walker, alice's "everyday use." literature: reading, reacting, writing, compact.
1679 wordsRead More - Essay About Alice Walkeranalytical essayThesis Statement: Alice Walker, a twentieth and twenty- first century novelist is known for her politically and emotionally charged works, which exposes the black culture through various narrative techniques.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's work exposes the violence inflicted upon black women’s bodies and spirits. she is noted for her ability to present politically and emotionally charged issues in relatable ways.
- Analyzes how alice walker combined all of these themes into readable, understandable, and relatable texts that convey deep messages.
- Analyzes how walker's novel, the color purple, exemplifies her belief that history is a necessary element of depth, and that nothing is product of the present.
- Explains that alice walker, a twentieth and twenty-first century novelist, is known for her politically and emotionally charged works, which exposes the black culture through various narrative techniques.
- Analyzes how alice walker's the color purple has been criticized for having a superficial, fairytale-styled ending. some critics have noted that contemporary slang appears in the characters' thirties speech.
1908 wordsRead More - Culture And Tradition In Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'analytical essayIt is important to follow culture and traditions. A culture and traditions gives a unique identity to an individual. Culture is something that everyone follows on that group or society. Such as beliefs. Tradition is something that pasted over generation to generation where people follow culture and its custom. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is about an African American family and how the two daughters of that family follow and values their culture and traditions in different ways. The story discusses the mother-daughter bond related to their heritage. The mother is the narrator of the story and she is very hard-working woman who spends her entire day working on a farm. Dee is the elder sister and she goes to the school and becomes more knowledgeable;
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" is about an african american family and how the two daughters of that family follow and value their culture and traditions in different ways.
- Analyzes how dee, the eldest sister, is a show-off person who likes to take credit for everything, even though she doesn't deserve it. she changed her name to wangero leewanika kemanjo to show how important her culture is.
- Analyzes how dee wants to show her college friends how much she struggles to get where she is today. she doesn't respect her culture or traditions.
- Analyzes how maggie is shy and not confident as dee. she values and respects her culture, traditions, and heritage.
- Analyzes how maggie is more connected to her heritage than dee. she doesn't see the quilts as an art, but it's a gift from her ancestors.
- Explains that maggie and dee are different when it comes to culture and traditions. both sisters have different opinions and point of views on culture.
1275 wordsRead More - Comparison Of Alice Walker And Zora Neale Hurstonanalytical essayAlice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston are similar to having the same concept about black women to have a voice. Both are political, controversial, and talented experiencing negative and positive reviews in their own communities. These two influential African-American female authors describe the southern hospitality roots. Hurston was an influential writer in the Harlem Renaissance, who died from mysterious death in the sixties. Walker who is an activist and author in the early seventies confronts sexually progression in the south through the Great Depression period (Howard 200). Their theories point out feminism of encountering survival through fiction stories. As a result, Walker embraced the values of Hurston’s work that allowed a larger
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker and zora neale hurston are political, controversial, and talented. they describe the southern hospitality roots.
- Analyzes how walker's theme of writing is straight forward since, she expresses through emotions and sexual conduct. celie is a fourteen-year-old girl who is poor and uneducated.
- Analyzes how hurston's theme of writing in "their eyes are watching god" shows janie the protagonist is sentimental and sexually experience.
- Analyzes how walker exposes racial issues in "the color purple".
1034 wordsRead More - Family Heritage In Everyday Useanalytical essayWalker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Robert DiYanni, ed. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the message of alice walker's "everyday use" about the preservation of heritage, specifically african-american heritage. the narrator and maggie agree with walker.
- Analyzes how dee and maggie portray their differences in attitude about their heritage early in the story. maggie was deeply affected by the tragedy of losing her home where she grew up.
- Analyzes how dee's confusion about her own african-american heritage is expressed when she announces that she has changed her name to "wangero leewanika kemanjo."
- Analyzes how dee is interested in all the little household items that her family still uses. she wants to use the butter churn as a centerpiece for her alcove table.
- Analyzes how maggie, unlike her older sister, understands her family heritage and the importance of it in her life.
- Analyzes how dee's confusion and walker’s belief that a family’ s heritage should be alive and not frozen in time is at the end of the story. the quilts, which have become an heirloom, represent the family
- Analyzes how dee covets the quilts only for their aesthetic value. she exclaims that her mother has already promised them to maggie. maggie values them for what they mean to her as an individual.
- Analyzes how dee is showing her lack of understanding of her family's heritage. by hanging the quilts, she would be symbolically distancing her past and her heritage from her present life.
- Analyzes how maggie shyly says that dee can have the quilts because she can'member' grandma dee without them, and her mother gets a strong feeling within her.
- Analyzes how walker's view is clear at the end of the story. by hanging the family heirloom on the wall to look at from a distance, she is alienating herself from her family heritage.
1197 wordsRead More - Hawaiian Sovereigntyopinion essayWalker, Alice. (1974). “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Ways of Reading. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 694-701.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the u.s. annexed hawaii in 1898 because it violated a treaty stating that they would not interfere with hawaii's right to self-government.
- Explains that there are two main models of self-determination requests: recognition of native hawaiians as indigenous people and reparations in the form of money.
- Opines that the u.s. has an agreement with the united nations to uphold all of the articles listed in the universal declaration of human rights, but when hawaii was annexed, they did not have any such agreement.
- Opines that the u.s. was wrong in taking the land from an indigenous group of people. they should compromise and think of more efficient ways to resolve the issues at hand.
- Describes castanha's "a history of the hawaiian sovereignty movement."
- Argues that native hawaiian groups are seeking the sovereignty of hawaii. they feel that they suffered a severe injustice when they were annexed into the united states against their own free will.
- Opines that reparations for native hawaiians should be decided upon because the past cannot be erased with time, it can only be forgotten.
- Cites inouye, dan, jaffrey, zia, sonia p., and james o. jovik.
1726 wordsRead More - The Importance Of Heritage In Alice Walker's Everyday Useanalytical essayMama's view of the importance of an education is much different from the importance Dee Wangero holds on the necessity of being educated. In "Everyday Use" Momma describes at one point how Dee "burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know"(Walker 112). In the era Mama was raised, women were expected to cook and clean and find meaning in life through these daily household chores. Momma inherited her name and the typical role black African American women were socially fit to do, and this satisfied her. She saw no need for an education when everything was fine in the stagnant place she held in society.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mama and maggie place dee on a pedestal because they feel inferior and unaccepted by her.
- Analyzes how dee wangero views mama and maggie with a view of shame, and her goal is to continue to separate herself from the life she no longer wants to associate with.
- Analyzes how the quilts coveted by dee wangero in the story connect to the different ways she and mama look at their heritage.
- Analyzes how walker uses symbols that relate to each character in different ways and how they view heritage, one of which is the burned house.
- Analyzes how dee wangero holds on the necessity of being educated. in "everyday use," momma inherited her name and the typical role black african american women were socially fit to do.
- Analyzes how the cultural differences between mama and dee represent the passing of an old era and the coming of a new one.
1960 wordsRead More