Free Essays on Everyday Use

Through contrasting the family members and views in â€Å"Everyday Use†, Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding African American traditions of their own culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one’s heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects, but by one’s lifestyle and attitude. In this paper I will explain the theme of the story â€Å"Everyday Use In â€Å"Every Day Use† Walker shows the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother. The character Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life, where culture are to be valued for their trendy-ness and appeal. Mother on the other hand, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. The story clearly states Mama’s simple view of her heritage and Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated when we learn the mother character has inheritated many customs and traditions from her ancestors. The mother (the narrator) describes herself as â€Å"a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† (459). She also describes her various abilities including, â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man...I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water fo r washing. I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill by nightfall† (459-460). Walker is showing what the Mother has learned from her ancestors, and that being tough is a part of her heritage. Mother is proud of her accomplishments and her abilities. The Mother (the narrator) described Dee as thinner than her sist... Free Essays on Everyday Use Free Essays on Everyday Use Everyday Life Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† tells the story of how a mother can become emotionally unattached from her oldest daughter after years of separation. Walker shows how these changes can occur by establishing cultural and social conflicts of this time. Walker establishes these conflicts in three ways: through actual racial conflicts, through showing Dee’s (the oldest daughter) rise up the social ladder, and through an overall understanding of one’s heritage. Walker develops the aspect of racial conflict through Mama’s thoughts. Mama, a poor southern black female, describes herself as a strong and hardworking single mother that can not even imagine â€Å"looking a strange white man in the eye† (pg. 87). She also establishes underlying conflicts between lighter and darker skinned people within her own race, when she states how her daughter would rather her skin be â€Å"like an uncooked barley pancake† (pg. 87). This second example is the first real indication of the strained relationship between Mama and Dee. Social aspects of the story begin to unfold when Dee returns home. Dee arrives at Mama’s rural shack-like home, with a man that may or may not be her husband, dressed extravagantly and decorated with an abundant amount of jewelry. She (Dee) begins taking pictures, sure to include the shack, before she even greets her own family. She also begins gathering things around the house that are everyday tools for Mama and Maggie (the younger daughter) which she will use as decoration in her own home. These items seem to be a symbol for her, something she can look at that will represent just how far up the social ladder she has risen. Dee even goes as far as telling her sister Maggie,† You ought to try to make something of yourself, too†(pg 91). This statement is an insult to mama and Maggie both. Both of the examples above can be used to help illustrate the theme of heritage, which can pose a social or a cultur... Free Essays on Everyday Use Through contrasting the family members and views in â€Å"Everyday Use†, Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding African American traditions of their own culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one’s heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects, but by one’s lifestyle and attitude. In this paper I will explain the theme of the story â€Å"Everyday Use In â€Å"Every Day Use† Walker shows the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother. The character Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life, where culture are to be valued for their trendy-ness and appeal. Mother on the other hand, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. The story clearly states Mama’s simple view of her heritage and Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated when we learn the mother character has inheritated many customs and traditions from her ancestors. The mother (the narrator) describes herself as â€Å"a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† (459). She also describes her various abilities including, â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man...I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water fo r washing. I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill by nightfall† (459-460). Walker is showing what the Mother has learned from her ancestors, and that being tough is a part of her heritage. Mother is proud of her accomplishments and her abilities. The Mother (the narrator) described Dee as thinner than her sist... Free Essays on Everyday Use Everyday Use by Alice Walker â€Å"Everyday Use† is a story of a black woman and her two very different daughters. It takes place in the late 1960’s, during the civil rights’ movement, in a small, rural, Georgia farming town. The story is told through the perceptive eyes of Mama, who clearly loves both girls and accepts each as she is. As the story begins, Mama and her younger daughter, Maggie, are awaiting the arrival of Dee, the older daughter, who is coming to visit after being away at college. Mama points out how much Dee hated their lifestyle and always wanted more from the very beginning. But today Dee is snapping pictures of the house and farm and even a cow, as though it is suddenly important to her. The story revolves around some handmade quilts that were promised to Maggie, but Dee now wants them to hang on the wall and appreciate them for their handmade and aesthetic value. Mama is in a dilemma as to which daughter to give them to. Although it could be argued that Dee mi ght have taken better care of the quilts, I feel Mama is making an important statement to both girls by giving them to Maggie. Because she is teaching them integrity by keeping her word, as she had promised the quilts to Maggie as a wedding present for her marriage to John Thomas, and she wants to improve her relationship with both girls. From the time she was young, Dee wanted and demanded more and better things for herself. She was forceful and assertive to the point of suffering great personal loss. Mama points out that Dee had few friends and even her only boyfriend dumped her after, â€Å"Dee turned her faultfinding on him.† Dee seems to learn everything the hard way, and in the past, Mama let her do what she needed to do, but this time she decided to put her foot down and take a stand on Maggie’s behalf. Both Mama... Free Essays on Everyday Use Everyday Use In Alice Walker’s, Everyday Use, the point of view is that of the mother’s. She is the narrator. She is also what we’d call a protagonist. A hero in a way. She is telling the story from her perspective, so we see her children the way she sees them. As with most stories, there is a protagonist and an antagonist. In this story, the antagonist is Dee, the narrator’s oldest daughter. Dee does her own thing and is a bit of a rebel. Perhaps just an average African American teenager of the 1970’s, trying to find her place in the world, but her mother thinks differently. She sees Dee as a rebellious teen, and sometimes dreams of having one of those T.V. mother-daughter relationships with her daughter. As with any protagonist/antagonist relationships, the antagonist creates a problem for the protagonist. Dee creates a problem for her mother by the way she begins to act around her new boyfriend and in other ways. Dee decides to change her name, a nd her mother is okay with it. She knows that she has a problem saying â€Å"no† to Dee, or at least that’s the way she said Maggie sees it. Then, when it comes to the quilts, Dee who once said she didn’t want to quilts because they were â€Å"old fashioned† has now decided she wants them, to hang up, to represent her heritage and that Maggie wouldn’t or couldn’t appreciate them. When characters change, it causes conflict, and that is exactly what happens when the Mother decides to finally stand up for herself and she says â€Å"No† to Dee. She gives the quilts to Maggie and tells Dee to take one or two of the other ones. Dee has a problem with this, obviously because the world has never said â€Å"no† to her, and along with her new name, new style, and new outlook on life, she experienced a new word, and it didn’t make her very happy. For once, the mother could sit back and be proud of the way she handled somethin g.... Free Essays on Everyday Use In the short story â€Å"Everyday Use† the character Dee can be described as secure, confident, beautiful, smart, yet scornful, remorseful, and high demanding young woman. This can look as having a supercilious attitude, but it is just Dee wanting what is best for herself and her family. Her attitude observed by her family and others kept them at arms length, but she tried to make up for it once she reached a certain age; then she began to try to appreciate her family, but she did it for the wrong reasons. In the end, only her mother truly understands her. Dee is described as having light skin, nice hair, and a fuller figure than her sister. In the mid-sixties, those with light skin and nice hair were treated better because they were closer to white. Being so beautiful, Dee wanted nice things, such as clothes, although her family could not afford them. She therefore makes her own clothes out of other people’s old clothing. She is a very confident and secure young lady. She knows what she wants out of life and no one is going to stop her from getting it. She knows she has an advantage with her light skin to get ahead in life, and she is going to try to get there and let nothing get in her way. Dee has forgotten where and what she has come from. Now that Dee has been off to college, she has earned an education but also has learned the fancy ways of the city. Dee now dresses herself according to the dictates of a faddish Africanism. According to David Cowart, â€Å"an American who attempts to become an African succeeds only in becoming a phony† (172). Dee’s attitude towards her family has also changed. She despises her sister, her mother, and the church that helped to educate her. Dee and her sister Maggie are at conflict morally in this story. Mamma has maid a beautiful quilt with a little of the families history on it. Dee wants the quilt for all of the wrong reasons. She wants the quilt for materialistic reasons and not f... Free Essays on Everyday Use Through contrasting family members and views in â€Å"Everyday Use†, Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding our present life in relation to the traditions of our own people and culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one’s heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects or mere appearances, but by one’s lifestyle and attitude. Throughout the story, Walker personifies the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother (the narrator). Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life where culture and heritage are to be valued only for their â€Å"trendy-ness† and aesthetic appeal. Mother, on the other hand, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness, as well as its personal significance. The story clearly supports the mother’s simple, unsophisticated view of heritage, and shows disdain for Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated from the beginning of the story. We learn very quickly that the mother has inherited many customs and traditions from her ancestors. She describes herself as â€Å"a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands† (485). She also describes here various abilities including, â€Å" I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man†¦I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing. I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill by nightfall.† (485). While these feats are not extraordinary, Walker exemplifies what Mother has learned from her ancestors, and that being resilient and tough is a part of her heritage. Mother is ... Free Essays on Everyday Use True Heritage In the story â€Å"Everyday Use,† Alice Walker tells a tale of how a daughter’s idea of heritage is distorted by society, and how her true heritage lies within her family. Walker conveys this theme by narrating the story from what is apparent to be the mother’s point of view of how Dee, the oldest of the two daughters, does not have a grasp of her true heritage. Dee’s idea of her heritage is clouded by her experiences away at school and her new friend Hakim-a-barber. The real Johnson family heritage is evident in Ms. Johnson’s detailed description of daily activities around the house. It is easy to picture Ms. Johnson in her day-to-day activities with descriptions of events being this graphic, â€Å"One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall† (131). The reader almost needs to reread her descriptions to make sure she is talking about herself and not some large male farm hand. Her description of herself further adds credibility to her being a real women of rural Georgia in the late 60’s, â€Å"In real life I am a large, big-boned women with rough, man-working hands† (131). Ms. Johnson is obviously a woman of her time, and her youngest daughter Maggie is sure to follow in her footsteps. While Maggie may be a shadow of her mother, Dee on the other hand is not. Dee would, however, like to appear to others as having this hard life background. Early on Ms. Johnson knows Dee is going to be different. She explains some of Dee’s traits in an almost envious manner, â€Å"She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature† (132). At times, Ms. Johnson seems proud of Dee’s differences, but also troubled at some of the things she does. From the time Dee steps out of the car and begins snapping photos of the house and animals, to the end of the story where she asks to take items ... Free Essays on Everyday Use The story clearly supports the mother’s simple, unsophisticated view of heritage, and shows disdain for Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated from the beginning of the story. We learn very quickly that the mother has inherited many customs and traditions from her ancestors. She describes herself as â€Å"a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands† (485). She also describes here various abilities including, â€Å" I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man†¦I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing. I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill by nightfall.† (485). While these feats are not extraordinary, Walker exemplifies what Mother has learned from her ancestors, and that being resilient and tough is a part of her heritage. Mother is very proud of her abilities and accomplishments. The mother, describes Dee as light skinned with nice hair and a full figure (486). She recounts Dee’s childhood and her appreciation of nice things. She was not the least upset when the family home burned to the ground while she was just a girl, â€Å"Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. She had hated the house that much.† (486) Dee’s character in the story is a direct relation to any number of people in society that do not know or are confused about their heritage. She is struggling to create an identity for herself, and is confused as to what it encompasses. She grasps at African tradition and culture, yet fails to acknowledge her own African American culture. This happened all over America, particularly in the North, in the 1960’s, following the civil rights movement. Dee is misconstruing her heritage as material goods, as opposed to her ancestor’s habits and... Free Essays on Everyday Use Through contrasting the family members and views in â€Å"Everyday Use†, Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding African American traditions of their own culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one’s heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects, but by one’s lifestyle and attitude. In this paper I will explain the theme of the story â€Å"Everyday Use In â€Å"Every Day Use† Walker shows the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother. The character Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life, where culture are to be valued for their trendy-ness and appeal. Mother on the other hand, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. The story clearly states Mama’s simple view of her heritage and Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated when we learn the mother character has inheritated many customs and traditions from her ancestors. The mother (the narrator) describes herself as â€Å"a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† (459). She also describes her various abilities including, â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man...I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water fo r washing. I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill by nightfall† (459-460). Walker is showing what the Mother has learned from her ancestors, and that being tough is a part of her heritage. Mother is proud of her accomplishments and her abilities. The Mother (the narrator) described Dee as thinner than her sist... Free Essays on Everyday Use â€Å"Everyday Use,† a short story written in the first person perspective by Alice Walker, was first published in 1973. This story takes place in rural Georgia, during the early 1970s. Walker uses narration to show, I think, the black woman’s dilemma about how to face the future – whether to continue as her ancestors or become involved in the contemporary world. She does use symbolism, i.e. the contested quilt, yet I am going to focus on the characters themselves – the mother, Maggie, and Dee. In short, the story centers on an educated farm girl, Dee, who went to the big city for college and assimilated into modern society. She then returns for a visit to her old-fashioned mother and sister. Dee expects to take some of the old hand-made items particularly some quilts, with to her to display for her â€Å"enlightened† friends. However, Dee’s mother finally asserts herself with her daughter and firmly says no, that Maggie would be bette r suited to have them. The most developed character of the story is the Mother, who describes herself as a â€Å"big-boned woman† who can â€Å"kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man† (174). Yet, she is also a humble and furtive woman who never had the courage to say â€Å"no† to her daughter. It appears that her low self-esteem comes from a severe lack of education, only finishing the second grade. Mother seems to dwell on the past, especially her shortcomings. Even though she knows them, she doesn’t take steps to improve or change her situation. She is a woman given to fancy, dreaming about being the person her eldest daughter wants her to be: slim, unblemished complexion, with well-educated manners and speech. At the end of the story, she realizes that she can say, â€Å"No† to Dee, at least concerning the quilts. Maggie is a character who is not discussed much in the story. The author describes the girl as a person who walks around shuffling, with her head down, and eyes... Free Essays on Everyday Use Alice Walker’s short story â€Å"Everyday use† tells the story of a mother and her daughter’s conflicting ideas about their identities and heritage. Mrs. Johnson an uneducated woman narrates the story of the day one daughter, Dee, visits from college. Mrs. Johnson auto-describes herself as a â€Å"big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.†(180,Walker). Contrasting her auto-description, she describes Dee as a young lady with light complexion, nice hair and full figure that â€Å"wanted nice things.†(181,Walker). The arrival of Dee to Mrs. Johnson’s house causes mixed emotions on Mrs. Johnson. Dee Johnson and Mrs. Johnson have differing viewpoints on heritage and each value possessions for different reasons. Dee’s superficiality and materialist ways clash with Mrs. Johnson’s appreciation and understanding of her heritage. The conflict between the two characters depict the meaning of the work which is that heritage is to be v alued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. Dees’ misconstruction of her heritage was a source of conflict. Dee Johnson changes her name believing that it would affirm her heritage. Dee informs her mother she has changed her name, she states, â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people that oppress me.†(184,Walker). Dee discards the name in favor of an African name, Wangero, that, although, is African, is not directly related to her heritage. Mrs. Johnson does not understand why would Dee want to change a name that has been passed down through generations. Mrs. Johnson points out to her daughter that she was not named after the oppressor, but named after her aunt, who was named after her grandmother. Dee does not pay much attention to her mother’s clarification of why the name Dee is significant to the generations of the Johnson’s women. Unlike Dee, Mrs. Johnson grasps and understands the significance of the name. Dee has taken on an African name; h...