African-American Culture In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

[You’re Name] [Course Name] [Professor Name] [Date] Theme of Culture and Heritage in Everyday Use Novel by Alice Walker The given novel named “Everyday Use” has been written by Alice Walker which gives the individual’s relationship to his or her culture that holds particular importance in one’s life. This is also evident from the character of Dee who has chosen to change her given name and then also connect with her provided roots of Africa while her mother is also seeing herself as been within the network of her immediate family traditions. Dee also depicts the idea that how she lacks the given understanding of her own heritage. She has rejected the idea of her immediate family but however puts the values which the quilts have made. She also

Maggie’s burns and scars are a representation of the African American’s journey through rough, hard times we still face in this time period. The quilt symbolizes each person in the Johnson’s family throughout history being passed down from Mrs. Johnson’s mother to her and now to Maggie, which shows their family’s tradition and culture. Maggie and Mrs. Johnson see it as an ordinary purpose, whereas Dee, being furious and in favor of the black history but not the slave history “you don’t know your heritage” (317) identifies this quilt to have more meaning behind as a representation of her culture that needs to be hanged up in a museum to show people how far the African American culture has come. Ultimately, the African American culture should be embraced as well as the African culture. The quilts were made by their grandmother with clothes worn by family members of everyday life.

In Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue by Quiara Alegria Hudes, Ginny, mother to Elliot, suffers from PTSD, and maintains a garden as a means of possessing a sense of stability. In 4/Prelude, she recalls her purpose for bringing the garden to life, and the memories it brings back when she spends time there. Through elements of style such as diction, figurative language, and imagery, Hudes establishes Ginny’s garden as a symbol of healing. In this scene, Hudes establishes Ginny’s garden as a symbol of healing, as she utilizes diction to reference Ginny’s specific reasons for constructing the garden, and memories of Vietnam. In this soliloquy, Ginny recalls that in her early stages of constructing the garden she said, “when I’m done with this, it’s going

The reader gains an insight into the world of a black working class girl, named Sylvia, who narrates the story in African American vernacular English (AAVE). In contrast to Sylvia and her friends there is her teacher Miss Moore,

In an interview on “The PBS Newshour” with Jeffrey Brown, Pastan stated, “I think I 've always been interested in the dangers that are under the surface, but seems like simple, ordinary domestic life. It may seem like smooth surfaces, but there are tensions and dangers right underneath, and those are what I 'm trying to get at” (Brown 2). “Marks” reveals the same attitude that Pastan has towards domesticity. The title of the poem “Marks” plays a significant role in the meaning of the poem. This title is meant to be the marks that Pastan receives when her family members grade her based on her role of a mother and

In the kitchen window lays a potted plant, second to only family in Mama’s most prized possessions. Mama cares for the plant by feeding, watering and checking all through the day on it to make sure it was still doing well. She also does this for the family. Mama always wants the best for them and would do anything to keep them happy and well. Mama uses the plant as her fuel to always put the family first and to remember her dreams, as well as remind her family of theirs (Shmoop Editorial Team).

In the book Assata: An Autobiography written by Assata Shakur, she writes about her experiences growing up during the civil rights movement era. Going back and forth in each chapter she describes her childhood growing up with her mother and grandparents and her life when she is older going through the judicial system after being indicted. Through her narrative we are able to get her evaluation on race, class, and gender during the Black Freedom Struggle and how she approached these issues. “Who’s better than you?” “Nobody.” “Who?” “Nobody.” “Get that head up.” “Yes, who?” “Yes, Grandmommy.” “I want that head held up high, and I don’t want you taking no mess from anybody, you understand?” “Yes, Grandmommy.” “Don’t you let me hear about anybody walking over my grandbaby.” “No, Grandmommy.” “I don’t want nobody taking advantage of you you hear me?” “Yes, I hear you.” “Yes who?” “Yes, Grandmommy.” (19) These are things that she was told as she was growing up. Told to her to help her be strong and confident and to not have her be discouraged for being black.

In the excerpt of Paper Daughter by Elaine Mar, the author portrays her life story. In this memoir, the author illustrates essential concepts such as minority, culture, family, duty, and the dynamical life of the western world. Elaine Mar tells us that even though she is of Asian ethnicity, she is not familiar with the stereotypes credited to people of her ethnicity. She also depicts the dynamical life of her family brought on by the lifestyle of the western world. She shows the impact her family and culture had on her upbringing and as well as the decisions she made growing.

Everyday Use by Alice Walker, emphasizes how different socioeconomic statuses view items, through a story based on the 70’s culture of an African American family. As an illustration of this, through literary analysis, will explore Everyday Use of how, low class, middle class and upper to wealthy class views items. In order to find out, how classes affect the usage of household items. Specifically, that based on class, how it will affect the perceived appropriate use of an item. The first example in Everyday Use of how class affects the perceived appropriate use is how other characters react compared to Dee, when she asks to take the Butter Churner Top (333), a Dasher (334) and her grandmother’s quilt (334).

FINAL ESSAY FOR COMPARATIVE LITERATURE “Do angels wear brassieres?" is a short story written by Olive Senior. In analyzing this story the main theme emanating from this story was one of self-identity where traditional stereotypes about women’s and their identities will be contested. This story is set in Jamaica where the author denotes issues of hierarchy and class stratification in a family which is female centered. The main character are; a girl named Rebecca aka Beccka, her mother Cherry, and aunt Mary.