Family Heritage In the short story “Everyday Use” Alice Walker portrays the difference in African American heritage between two sisters. She shows a special emphasis on a handed down tradition from generation to generation. She has two daughters which she loves very much, one who believes value is money and the other who cherishes her family heirlooms. Although the mother is not as wordly as her daughter Dee has become, her instinct in the end to side with her less fortunate daughter is her way of preserving their heritage over superficial cultural misguidance. Momma always doing her best for her girls understands there are differences between the two. Dee, who is the older of the two, is the more educated daughter. Dee is superficial and looks at everything how it compares to the value of money. Maggie is younger daughter who cherishes the love of her family, the items her family passes down to her, but is very ashamed of her looks. Momma is much like her younger daughter Maggie. She isn’t superficial and takes to heart having family and the things that are passed down from generation to generation. Dee has very different values from her mother …show more content…
Momma asks Dee what happened to her name and she says, “She’s dead. I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”. (27) Dee has no idea her name comes from her own heritage. Momma explains to Dee, “You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie. Dicie is my sister. She named Dee. We called her ‘Big Dee’ after Dee was born” (28). Wangero is very well educated and is only trying to understand the African portion of her heritage, but she in blind to the heritage from her family she grew up with. She looks down on her momma and younger sister, not realizing they are the most important parts of her
Dee was named after her aunt Dicie and before that it was her grandma and her grandmother’s mother. The name was a name that stuck to their families heritage. Dee did not understand the value of having that name. when her mother approached her and said “Dee (313).” Dee quickly corrected her mother and said “No mama, not Dee, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (313)!” Dee told her mother “I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me(313).” D...
In the world of literature nothing is more compelling than reading a story and feeling as though you yourself are witnessing firsthand the events and character’s struggles unfold, due to the interactive language and intricate details the author incorporates into their writing. It is through Alice Walker’s conversational style of writing, and vivid use of symbolism that she is able to give an elaborate description of the family culture gap in the story allowing the readers to explore the concept of African- American heritage. These writing techniques also play a major role in keeping the readers engaged from start to finish. This is especially evident in Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”. Walker has skillfully honed her craft and by integrating
The two sisters in the contrast of Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" have different personalities and looks that are as opposite as right and wrong. It's seems like Walker is trying to say one of the sister is right and the other is wrong from the beginning. Maggie has poor, miserable image as Walker describes the way Maggie walks "…a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless people rich enough to own a car…". Maggie has burn scars down her arms and legs, which she got from the fire that burned the house they had earlier. Perhaps, because of her bad appearance, she is very shy and it is described where Walker says, "She (Maggie) has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle…". Dee, on the other hand, is a very self-confident girl with beautiful look. Her body is described as "…lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and fuller figure. She's a woman now…" (Walker 1172). She is highly motivated and does everything it takes to get what she wants, as it is described in the story of her graduation...
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.
In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker is exploring the concept of heritage as it applies to African-Americans. It appears to be set in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. This was the time when African-Americans were struggling to define their personal identities. Many blacks who had stories of pain and injustice wanted to rediscover their African roots, and they were denying their American heritage to do so. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker argues that an African-American is both African and American.
Walker shows that in mother and daughter relationships adaptation to change can be hard in a variety of ways. First, Dee, Mother's oldest daughter, comes home to visit her mother and little sister Maggie. When she shows up, she introduces herself as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (416). Her mother is confused about why she wants to change her name, since it was the one that was passed down. Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had. Instead, Dee "read to us without pity; forcing words, lies other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (413) and tried t...
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.
The narrator has two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Dee was this cute girl who was super intelligent and sophisticated. She often saw herself as being above her mother and sister and would often make them feel stupid and bad about themselves. "She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice". She shows that Dee enjoyed making her mother and younger sister feel dumb about themselves because it made her feel superior. Her whole life Dee detested her family and where she came from and couldn’t wait to get away. But, still her mother worked her booty off to provide her with high education and a good life. Dee goes away to college and when she returns she is a completely different person, suddenly interested in her family; photographing them upon arrival. With her guest, new "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo", invades her mothers house taking everything in like it’s a cute display for her. Finally, when Wangero (Dee) demands that her mother give her some quilts, her mum can not take anymore. She tells Dee that Maggie, not her, will be receiving the quilts and she snaps. "I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat
“Everyday Use” is a story based in the era of racial separation between communities of diverse ethnicity. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker merely scratches the surface of racial heritage and the elimination of previous ways of living. This discontinuation of poverty driven physical labor shines through Dee as she grows to know more of her heritage throughout her years in school. An example of this is when Dee changes her name; this is an indication of Dee/Wangero wanting to change her lifestyle after the harsh truth she is hit with while going to school. Dee learns about the struggles of African Americans during this time, which changes her view on the unforgiving reality of her family’s lifestyle. In “Everyday Use”, the author opens the mind
In “Everyday Use,” Mama illustrates the relationship between her two daughters. Both Maggie and Dee are like opposite poles, making it seem like their relationship is non-existent. Dee is a well-educated, good-looking young woman; who is so concerned with style, and fashion that she lacks the meaning of family and heritage. Maggie, however, is a simple, scarred young girl who truly understands the meaning behind family, and heritage. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker demonstrates through Mama’s eyes, the strain in Maggie and Dee’s relationship through Maggie’s actions towards her estranged sister’s visit, and Dee’s remarks and dominance over her younger sister.
So much so, that she had gone home from college to try to get some old family belongings to put on “display” to try to keep the history alive. Unlike Maggie, Dee didn’t care much of the future, she just cared about the past and taking all sentimental family heirlooms. Dee being so caught up in the past, even changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. When Dee first mentions the name change Mama is caught off guard. Mama was confused by this statement and asked, "What happened to ‘Dee’ "(Walker 5). Dee was trying to be polite but she came off extremely blunt by saying "She's dead, I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me" (Walker 5). Dee’s Name had been passed down from generation to generation, if that doesn’t scream family heritage I don’t know what would. Maggie wasn’t the smartest but she sure knew what she had to do to keep the family tradition going. Maggie was in love and had her whole life ahead of her. Therefore, thinking about the future, she knew having kids one day, would keep the tradition alive. After Mama figured out which child really did value the family heritage, everything started to change for the
Culture is strongly demonstrated in “Everyday Use,” a short story by Alice Walker. The representation of African –American culture, heritage, and struggles powerfully takes over the story. “Everyday Use” was published in 1973. The story is focusing about a mother and her two daughters. The author shows their different identities and their ideas about heritage. In the story, Mama who is also the narrator shows how tradition and education in her family causes conflicts between both her daughters, Dee and Maggie. The Johnson family, experiences some stress when Dee, the daughter who does not live with the family comes back home for a visit. Dee is the only member of the family who has received a proper college education. Maggie, the younger daughter
In her short story Everyday Use, Alice Walker talks about a Mother Mama, and her two daughters Dee and Maggie, their personalities and reactions to preservation of their family heirlooms. She shows that while Dee has been sent to school for further education, Maggie is left at home and brought up in the old ways. Mama often dreams and longs for the day she can be reunited with Dee, like in the TV shows. She knows this may not be possible because Dee would read and shower them with a lot of knowledge that was unnecessary, only to push them away at the right moment, “like dimwits” (313); Mama and Dee have different conceptions of their family heritage. Family heirlooms to Mama means the people created, used
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.