Tradition In Alice Walker's Short Story 'Everyday Use'
analytical Essay
1157 words
Not too long ago, grandparents will tell family stories to their grandchildren. Parents will also tell their children family stories. Those family stories will contain family history, struggle and heroism of family members. Also, those stories will pass down the family values and traditions to the next generations. Now a days, most parents read stories from books to their children. Family story telling is an almost lost tradition because it is not practiced anymore. In her short story “Everyday Use”, Alice walker illustrates the importance of keeping a tradition alive other than preserving it.
In her short story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker portrays an African American family. In that family, there were the mother, her elder daughter who does
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In this essay, the author
- Argues that family story telling is an almost lost tradition because it is not practiced anymore. alice walker illustrates the importance of keeping a tradition alive other than preserving it.
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" portrays an african american family. the mother, dee, and the younger daughter, maggie, are the main characters in the story.
- Analyzes how alice walker depicted the different adaptations of heritage that was prominent in the late 1960's in her short story.
- Analyzes how alice walker shows the importance of continuation of tradition by the momma's point of view.
- Compares dee to mamma, who valued african american heritage but refused to accept it as her root. she changed her name to "wengaro leewanika kemanjo" to reject the connection to her aunt and grandma.
- Analyzes how the conflict arises when dee wants to take two handmade quilts because they were stitched by hand and had cloths that her grandma wore.
- Analyzes how mamma and maggie keep their african american heritage alive by rejecting possible changes. dee accepts the changes and was able to make something for her out of everything.
Momma is the narrator of the story. Her views about tradition and heritage are respecting their American heritage that they built with pain, injustice, and humiliation. She introduces herself in the story as “big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.” Also, she describes what she can do like, killing and cleaning a hog; working outside all day; breaking ice to get water; cocking pork on open fire; killing and processing bull calves. Traditionally all these work are done by men. In this story, there is no information about what happened to her husband and there is no indication of any other man that can help her to do those works traditionally done by men. That lack of presence of man in her family life did not stop her from continuing those traditional works. Only thing she stopped doing is milking a cow because she got physically injured doing so. Traditionally African Americans were not used to ask question why something happening. Also, they were not used to see themselves as equal to a white American. Momma was not different from that. The story was setup in the backdrop of a changing era. African Americans were fighting for their equal rights. Even all those Black Power Movement and Civil Right Movement was not able to make Momma to look into the eyes of any white man while talking to
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- Culture in Alice Walker’s Short Story "Everyday Use"analytical essayAlice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a thought provoking short story that teaches the importance of preserving heritage. The story surrounds an argument between a southern traditional mother (Mrs. Johnson) and her eldest daughter (Dee/Wangero), over Dee’s lack of respect, knowledge and selfish behavior regarding her family’s heritage. Mrs. Johnson has two daughters (Maggie and Dee) who have two completely different views of the world and different lifestyles. In the story two quilts are used to symbolize the importance of the family’s culture. A family feud begins when the three women argue over who should receive the quilts.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" is a thought-provoking short story that teaches the importance of preserving heritage.
- Analyzes how walker's choice of words to describe the 3 characters early on in the story gives an idea of how the three women will interact when they meet up.
- Analyzes how walker used two objects/places in "everyday use" to add a hidden meaning to her point about heritage.
- Analyzes how walker's choice of words gives readers a better understanding of how the two main characters view each others lifestyles.
- Analyzes how walker's story explores the subject of tradition and what it truly means. maggie and mrs. johnson aren't as educated as dee, but they show a true understanding of their heritage.
619 wordsRead More - Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"analytical essayAlice Walker’s “Everyday Use” An interesting thing about Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is the fact that it seems to be told from the Mama’s eyes, rather than from one of the, arguably, main characters. This only allows the reader to see Mama’s bias in the entire situation. Because of this bias between her children, the reader can see the stark contrast of the two sisters. Alice tries to portray the importance of embracing heritage and the vulgarity of disregarding the purpose of things for one’s own pleasure.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" portrays the importance of embracing heritage and the vulgarity of disregarding things for one’s own pleasure.
- Compares maggie's self-consciousness with the confidence of dee, who is ruthless in her pursuits. both are boisterous and outspoken.
- Analyzes how mama understands that dee, though she thinks she is, will not honor her heritage as it was meant to be honored.
- Explains that dee was the smart child, and her mother knew that she was meant to get an education. education showed an important difference between the two sisters, but it also showed how much ones’ family can feel like outcasts and worthless.
530 wordsRead More - Everyday Useanalytical essayThe short story of Everyday Use introduces three very different women. This narrative allows an extremely small glimpse of an African American family in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The women in the story are Mama, along with her two daughters Dee and Maggie. Each of the women are very much different from one another despite living in the same home for most of their lives. The time in which the story is written is in the height of the Civil Rights Movement and plays an important part in the writing. This essay dissects the personalities of the main female characters and their vast differences despite being family.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the short story of everyday use introduces three very different women in an african american family in the late 1960s to early 1970s. the time in which the story is written is during the height of the civil rights movement.
- Analyzes how mama, the narrator in the story, is a strong woman and the main caregiver playing both the mother and father role to her daughters.
- Analyzes how mama's oldest dee, unlike her mother and sister, is an extrovert who likes to make her name known.
- Analyzes how maggie's younger sister, dee, isn't as attractive as her older sister and is insecure. she has lived a sheltered life and has not experienced much of her mother.
- Analyzes how the three main characters in the short story are very different. the mother, mama, is the strong one of the family and will always be just. dee will have to delve deeper into her roots to fully understand her heritage and what it means to her family.
532 wordsRead More - In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” and Amy Tan’s short story “Two Kinds”, two mothers use different approaches to raising children try to help the daughters succeed. One uses a more strict style to keep their child on track. Where the other mother uses a much more laid back way of raising her children.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" and amy tan’s short story "two kinds" use different approaches to raising children to help their daughters succeed.
- Analyzes how the mother in "two kinds" focuses on her child succeeding. after the traumatic deaths of her twin daughters and husband, she created a fresh start and this experience shaped her into the overbearing mother she is now.
- Compares how the mother in "everyday use" never went through major life sacrifices so she never felt like she had to push her children too hard.
- Compares the parenting styles of "everyday use" and "two kinds." one mother prefers her children to motivate themselves, while the other mother provides more outer motivation.
305 wordsRead More - hdsajkanalytical essayHuman rights activist Alice Walker is one of the most highly noted authors of the twentieth century. Her stories and poems are inspiring to many people. “Everyday Use” is, by far, one of the most motivational and controversial of her works. Many, since its publication in the early seventies, have criticized and praised this work for its accuracy on the difficulties of being an African-American woman. However, this work takes both sides of the spectrum into account. On one hand a mother is facing the obstacle of accepting her daughter’s solution to her own identity crisis, and on the other a daughter is rising above the oppression that held and still holds her race and gender down at the expense of losing the respect of her family. Through symbolism and characterization, Walker brings to light the importance of overcoming tyranny and identity crises.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" is one of the most motivational and controversial of her works.
- Analyzes how each character in "everyday use" is enduring an internal struggle, but dee seems to be having the most trouble. her ideals are typical for the 1960s and 70s.
- Analyzes how dee is not right in the ways that she treats her family, and it is easy to understand her mother's judgment of her.
- Analyzes how maggie is partially incorrectly portrayed as a passive personality. she is ashamed of her scars and runs away from her sister when she visits.
- Analyzes how mama is a product of her generation, which leads to why she treats her children the way she does. dee's behavior is shocking to her mother, just as with every parent/child relationship in every culture.
- Analyzes how the symbolism throughout the story is extremely significant. the yard is representative of mama and maggie's simple life, while the orchid is a figurative example of how much mama wants dee to accept and respect her
- Explains that the quilts are a work of art to mama and maggie, who have the same ideals. they prefer to remember their family in comfort and practicality.
- Analyzes how "everyday use" has an abundance of great examples of characterization and symbolism. each character was developed with their own ideals and struggles and each holding onto their past.
1392 wordsRead More - Heritage And Heritageanalytical essayIn “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker delivers a powerful fictional story of a mother’s squabbling relationship with her two daughters. Walker connotes the importance of appreciating ones own heritage. The concept of heritage, as it applies within the story, adheres to African Americans who were striving for personal freedom and equality in a cultural sense. If one were to glance at the leaves of a tree and not dig deep into its roots then there is no trace of knowledge of their past, origin, and heritage. On its surface, the mother gains a better insight on both her daughters after she realizes that her daughter Dee does not acknowledge her mother’s contribution. Dee is the eldest daughter and is trying to get in touch with her roots. Nevertheless, Dee is rueful of her past and family that quite frankly she overlooks her family’s importance in her conquest for modifying her ‘language of heritage.’ On account of Dee’s ignorance and mollycoddlings, the mother gradually values more in far of Maggie who is influent in the language of heritage.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes alice walker's powerful fictional story of a mother’s squabbling relationship with her two daughters. the concept of heritage adheres to african americans who were striving for freedom and equality.
- Analyzes how dee's character unravels her vanity and feels that her newly adopted african name is a way for her to show off her so-called willingness to be part of her heritage.
- Analyzes how dee's befuddled perspective about her inheritance causes her to emerge toward the quilts and as she takes them she says, "that’s not the point, these are all pieces of dresses grandma used to wear."
- Analyzes how walker expresses the notion that heritage is effected by cultural customs that has been passed on from one generation to another.
534 wordsRead More - Alice Walker's Everyday Useanalytical essayAlice Walker's "Everyday Use" 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" tells a story about her life and two daughters, dee and maggie. the narrator is strong willed, honest, compassionate, and concerned with the lives of her daughters.
- Analyzes how mama, the narrator, is a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. when her daughter dee visits, she tells mama that she changed her name and abandoned her heritage.
- Analyzes how mama is so manly in the story. she is aware that she is not the brightest woman and is a dreamer.
- Analyzes how mama proves that she is a loving woman by the way she takes care of her two daughters.
557 wordsRead More - Alice Walker Heritageanalytical essay“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
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker's "everyday use" tells about a family and about their heritage for each family member.
- Analyzes how "everyday use" is a short story about an african-american family. the story begins with mama and maggie waiting for dee to come home from college.
- Analyzes how dee wants to capture the house she grew up in, but she doesn't want to be reminded of her family by being called wangero.
- Analyzes how wangero asks for the churn top to make butter, and a dasher to hang on her walls that her grandmother dee made.
- Analyzes how dee/wangero contradicts herself throughout the story. 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 doesn't want to be called by her birth name because of the history behind it.
- Analyzes how dee captures the broken-down legitimacy of her childhood house and does include maggie in the photos to add more meaning to the house.
- Analyzes how dee and her family lived in desolate conditions, which posed limitations to her upbringing.
- Explains that one's heritage is an aspect of their life that makes up how they look, talk, and their upbringing. people who aren't proud might neglect it at some point in their lives.
1326 wordsRead More - African American Culture In Everyday Use By Alice Walkeranalytical essayIn the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker discusses the conflict in the African American culture. This short story emphasizes on the Johnson family when Dee comes to visit her mother and sister, Maggie and brings along her new “friend.” The two sisters are very different though. Dee is the only family member with a formal education and believes she is better than and deserving of more than Maggie; while Maggie is traditional but has scars on her skin caused burns from a fire, which led her to always be ashamed of herself and “she knows she is not bright.” Alice Walker describes and tells how the two sisters differentiate their views of their African American culture between sustaining their heritage and proving that heritage and culture
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how alice walker discusses the conflict in the african american culture in "everyday use." dee is the only family member with a formal education and believes she is better than and deserving of more than maggie.
142 wordsRead More - Alice Walker Heritageanalytical essayMaintaining knowledge of heritage is intrinsic in every culture, regardless of lineage or familial ties. Acknowledging where one comes from remains an important part of the human experience. However, disregarding these aspects of heritage, or attempting to remove oneself from them can produce negative effects. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the aspects of heritage and history propel the action, allowing the reader a lens with which to view the story. The conflict between the two sisters highlights the importance of staying connected to those in the past and valuing things based on their relevance to cultural and domestic ties, rather than mere aesthetics, reflecting Walker’s challenge to the black community to recognize and support their
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the conflict between alice walker's sisters highlights the importance of staying connected to those in the past and valuing things based on their relevance to cultural and domestic ties.
- Analyzes how dee's decision to rename herself wangero, under the pretense of ridding herself of association with "the people who oppress" her, irritates her mother.
- Analyzes how dee discovers two quilts while digging through a chest at the foot of mama's bed. they represent the cultural heritage of this family, symbolizing the feeling of significance in the african american experience.
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