What Makes Us Unique
On the topic of cultural identity, one source once stated, “We all have unique identities that we develop within our cultures” (Trumbull and Pacheco 9). This quote elicits the idea that cultural identity makes every single person unique. People within massive communities describe their cultural identity from the activities that they do in their everyday lives. Whether it be a hobby someone likes, or simply just something he or she says or does on a daily basis. After carefully analysing several texts, the reader can recognize that four important elements of a person’s cultural identity include habits, societal norms, clothes, and language.
Throughout multiple texts, the reader can recognize that cultural identity can be
…show more content…
The way that individuals dress can express one’s cultural identity. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the narrator explains, “Dee next. A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes. There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun… Earrings gold, too, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and making noises when she moves her arm up to shake the folds of the dress out of her armpits” (Walker 78). The narrator within the short story explains how a character in the story is dressed showing the culture in which that character comes from and expresses. The way that someone will dress may also reflect his or her cultural identity with the cloths being the epitome of the traditions the individual’s ancestors followed. According to a biography on Frida Kahlo, the text proclaims, “She dressed in flamboyant clothes, greatly preferring floor-length native Mexican costumes to haute couture” (Herrera 34). The author illustrates how Frida Kahlo dresses in the traditional clothing of her ancestors, reflecting the culture she follows. Clothing is an exemplary element of culture that can illustrate the cultural identity of
An Author’s Words of Wisdom An analysis of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” Authors often name their written and perfected texts by using the main gist of the story, a specific line, or, often, the message, which is cleverly enveloped in the title. An example of an author who used a certain line to name their book was Steinbeck, in his story about the Great Depression, “The Grapes of Wrath.” An example of a story in which the author uses the message of the story to portray and derive a title was with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” Further, authors come up with titles, and often, readers do not understand or care to understand the idea of the title.
Heritage is something that people see in various ways. When many people think of heritage they think of past generation and where their family comes from. Other people place their heritage on the value of things, such as old quits that are made from something sentimental. In Everyday Use this is exactly how Maggie thinks of heritage. She wants the quits that were handmade out of her grandma’s dresses because to her that is a sign of her heritage. Alice Walker’s story is based on heritage. The narrator of the story has two daughters who could not be more different. One daughter, Dee, is beautiful and cares a lot about finding her place in the world, and about fashion. Maggie on the other hand is very practical. She does not see any reason for fashion and is okay with her placement in this world. This is because she is like her mother. Her mother is someone who has had to work very hard to provide for her daughters. She prefers the hard work and takes pride in what she is able to do. When Maggie comes back to visit she brings her abnormal husband with her. She has changed her name and all of a sudden cares a lot about her heritage. She keeps asking to take things that she knows have been in the family for a while. Her mom is okay with this until she tries to take the quilts that she has already offered to Maggie as a wedding present. This is the last straw for her mom and she tells Dee no, which causes Dee to get angry because she knows that Maggie will actually use the blankets and they will fall apart in a few years. Dee leaves angry and then Maggie and her mom move on with their lives. This is a very effective story because they story shows two very different views, creates entertaining characters, and contains a powerful message...
Frida Kahlo is known for the most influential Latin American female artist. She is also known as a rebellious feminist. Kahlo was inspired to paint after her near-death bus incident when she was 17. After this horrendous incident that scarred her for life, she went under 35 different operations. These operations caused her extreme pain and she was no longer able to have kids. Kahlo’s art includes self portraits of her emotions, pain, and representations of her life. Frida Kahlo was an original individual, not only in her artwork but also in her
“Our own culture is often hidden from us, and we frequently describe it as “the way things are.”” People do not even realize their own cultural identity, so then how do people know what shapes it? A person’s identity is shaped by cultural experiences that make them into the person they are today. Some of these experiences include someone’s parents, the media, and where they grew up.
Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was.
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story about an African American family that struggles to make it. Mama tries her best to give Maggie and Dee a better life than what she had. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” Dee is the older sister and Maggie is younger. Dee is described as selfish and self-centered. Maggie is generous, kind, and cares the family’s history together. She would go out of her way to make sure that her older sister, Dee has everything she needs and wants. Maggie is also willing to share what she has with her sister. Maggie is also shy and vulnerable. Mama is the mother of Maggie and Dee. Mama is fair and always keeps her promises to her children. Hakim-a-barber is the boyfriend
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.
In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the author portrays opposing ideas about one’s heritage. Through the eyes of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who have chosen to live their lives in very different manners, the reader can choose which character to identify most with by judging what is really important in one’s life. In Dee’s case, she goes out to make all that can of herself while leaving her past behind, in comparison to Maggie, who stays back with her roots and makes the most out of the surroundings that she has been placed in. Through the use of symbolism, the tangible object of a family heirloom quilt brings out these issues relating to heritage to Mama, and she is able to reasonably decide which of her daughters has a real appreciation for the quilt, and can pass it on to her. Dee and Maggie shed a new light on the actual meaning of heritage through their personality traits, lifestyle decisions, and relationships with specific family members.
In every family there seems to be a child that is bestowed with all of the positive aspects of her parents. Unfortunately, for every perfect child there is, it seems that there is one child that is less talented and less beautiful. In the short story, "Everyday Use", these two character descriptions fit perfectly in relation to the characters of Dee and Maggie. Dee is the gifted and beautiful child, whereas Maggie seems to have been left behind by the gene pool and luck. In her short story, "Everyday Use", Alice Walker utilizes language, the tragedy of the fire burning down Maggie's family's house, and her portrayal of Dee to pain an extremely sympathetic portrait of Maggie.
There will always be different views, opinions and perspectives towards anything, including things deemed insignificant. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a short story that tells the relationship between family members from the mother’s point of view. Within the family of three, Dee, Mama, and Maggie show different views and importance towards the family heirlooms that reveal their identities and values. Mama’s daughter, Dee, sees a cultural value in the heirlooms and believes it will connect her to her African heritage. When reuniting with her family she is described with “a dress so loud…bracelets dangling…hair up like the wool on a sheep” (Walker 80.)
Essay of “Everyday Use” In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker there are many significant themes that are used. Each theme used in the story is supported by great imagery as well. This story features conflict between the main characters Dee and Mama. The story shortly references each situation from the past and present.
In the short story “Everyday Use,” by author Alice Walker tells a story told from the perspective of Mama, a "big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands". In the story, Dee (the eldest daughter) is shown to be ashamed of her culture and heritage, once she goes off to college. Maggie is the youngest more nervous and socially divided daughter, stays with Mama as Dee attends college. One of the themes in this short story is the conflicts and struggles within African American community and culture. In the story Dee and her boyfriend go to visit Dee’s mother and younger sister Maggie.
Everyday Use is a story that is analyzed by most English professors because the story has so many subliminal messages and metaphors. The story is narrated by a woman who is described as large and manly hands. She used to live on a farm but now lives in a small house. She cannot wait until her daughter Maggie gets married so she can finally be at peace and alone. Maggie was intimidated by her eldest sister Dee who was considered glamorous.
The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the household items that she wants just to show others, instead of putting them to use like Maggie.
The short story “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is about a young Indian woman, Sumita, and her cultural transition to America that is symbolized by her clothes and the color of her clothes. The traditional Indian attire for a woman is a sari and each one has its own purpose. Her clothes also indicate her progression from daughter, to wife, to woman.