Everyday Use By Alice Walker Essay

Words: 763

Pages: 4

Open Document

The quest for a perfect family will never happen. Every family has different views in life. Every family accepts their culture in different ways. In every family there is always going to be the one black sheep. The one kid who will rebel and not follow in the same footsteps as the rest of the family. In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker there is just that. The daughter Dee has a different view then her mom and sister. In the short story “Everyday Use” Alice Walker uses characterization, conflict, and symbolism to convey people that every family has strife. To begin with, Alice walker uses characterization to give each individual a different view of the family. In the short story characterization is mostly uses on Dee and Dees mother. Dees mother is more into the ways she was raised in. In the story it says, “I can kill and clean a hog as …show more content…
Walker uses the TV show to symbolize that Dee and Dees mom do not have a good relationship. Dees mother sometimes has a day dream. In her dream she mentions, “sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a Tv program of this sorts” (walker 1). Dees mother dreams this because she wishes she could a good bond with her daughter; the same way she does with Maggie. The mother wishes she could be the mother her daughter wishes she could be. Toward the end of the story Dee starts to argue with her mom about some quilts. Maggie and her mother have emotional connection to the quilts. In the story Dee responds, “‘hang them,” she said as if that was the only thing you could do with the quilts’” (walker 7). In Dees mind the quilts are just a piece of art. To Maggie and her mom, the quilts represent the strong women in their history. Maggie and the quilts have a bigger bong because Maggie actually loves her heritage. Walker uses symbolism to show that even the small things have a priceless

Essay Everyday Use by Alice Walker

culture, language or religion. The identity goes back to generations and it doesn’t start or change within the individual. It is an evolutionary process where each person brings upon some changes. This is best described in Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use”, where three characters, a mother and two daughters, are portrayed differently, each with its different qualities and philosophies on life that are often seen in generations. Heritage is an important part of a person’s…

Words 896 - Pages 4

Essay On Everyday Use By Alice Walker

When someone uses the resources that they are granted to achieve education and face every obstacle in life, there is usually a celebration. However, when that accomplishment becomes a barrier between you and your origin, it becomes a problem. In the short story Everyday Use, Alice Walker expressed the achievement of education in a different way. Walker uses her a word in a such a way that when reading you can see the clear grassless yard and even feel the beaming hot sun. She also uses a few different…

Words 630 - Pages 3

Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis Essay

Walker’s short story “Everyday Use" demonstrates the use of characterization by connecting the qualities of Mama, Maggie, and Dee to the overall theme of heritage. Each character is given unique qualities that allow the reader to compare and contrast their views on the definition of heritage. These characteristics determine the character’s view on their ancestry, whether thought of by an academic standpoint, or a more simple, cultural stance. The main character and narrator of the story, Mama, isn’t…

Words 657 - Pages 3

Everyday Use Story by Alice Walker Essay

Everyday Use By Alice Walker (1973) T one- This story , in my opinion, does not possess the warm-hearted, jolly, and happy side of a short story, we’d expect from a title, such as Everyday Use. Instead, this story is a more refreshing realistic tone of life and the harshness it may possess. There is a perfectly adequate amount of crudeness in the story, especially within the lifestyle of these individuals. The tone changes as the story continues on. In the beginning the story has a more worrisome…

Words 1447 - Pages 6

Everyday Use Characterization

Characterization Essay: Dee’s False Reality. Almost every person who claim Mexican heritage on Cinco de Mayo literally want to be more Mexican than a blue agave tequila bottle. Most of which, truly fail in understanding the cultural importance of the valuable date, rather than celebrating for its music and liquor. Such as Dee wanting to redo her heritage and focus on the cultural heirlooms and fashionable, rather than on what really matters about it. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” Dee deeply fails…

Words 705 - Pages 3

Amy Tan's Two Kinds: Literary Analysis

change perspective in the way you view or do things, or even how you are viewed? Culture can inform perspective in the way a person thinks of such things differently, this is shown in the stories “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Lake, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. A different view is viewed in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. These authors explain within their stories that a character, most likely the main character, is taught differently the same views, and they view things different than others. The positions…

Words 929 - Pages 4

Everyday Use, By James Baldwin

The threads of individuality and culture intertwine in the stories of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. From the rural South to the bustling streets of Harlem, each of the stories portrays how the search for personal identity and cultural identity affects different characters. Both explore the tenuous relationship between family members against the backdrop of African American struggles and the journey of self discovery, yet one embraces both the cultural and personal…

Words 968 - Pages 4

Alice Walker Heritage

Culture plays an important part in a person’s life, culture can impact the way a person views others and the world. The story Everyday Use provides, in great detail of what we are trying to identify in this essay. Alice Walker the author of the story Everyday Use talks about how a person is raised and accepting a different lifestyle or culture will affect the way a person views others and the world.- It is important to note however, that the narrator’s pride in her heritage influences her decisions…

Words 298 - Pages 2

Symbolism In Everyday Use

place. For example for many families their antiques from past ancestor mean a lot to them. Many simple things you might see as nothing can mean a lot to them. Even your own family might have objects that are symbolic. In Alice Walker 1973 short story “Everyday Use” portrays how Dee(Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo) has no clue what simple objects to her mean a lot to mama Johnson and Maggie.Mama Johnson and Maggie wait for Dee to return to her home but they never expected that Dee had changed in…

Words 1678 - Pages 7

Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Dream” was only a motivator for an ideal life. About how much time did you spend on this piece? How do you rate the final quality of your writing on a scale of 1-20 (1=low, 20=high) Provide an explanation of your grade below. I worked on this essay everyday…

Words 1517 - Pages 7