Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is about a family of three women who have a weak relationship due to jealousy, burdens, and insensitivity. The characters are the narrator, Mama, Maggie, and her eldest daughter, Dee. The setting is the Deep South in the early 1970s. Dee, the antagonist, comes back home to pick up a few items she wants for her new home and wants the quilts Mama’s family has passed down for years, but Mama refuses. Dee believes her family is not intelligent enough to understand their family heritage and thinks she would be better off with the quilts and use them as an art piece.

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a story told by an African American woman who receives a visit from her daughter Dee. Mama, along with her other daughter Maggie, live a poor life in the South while Dee has created a successful life for herself. Mama and Maggie clinch to their roots and heritage while Dee would rather get as far away as possible. Upon her return home Dee draws her attention to a specific quilt. The particular quilt and the title of the short story are the centers of what it means to encompass one’s culture into their everyday life.

In the short story, “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker uses her contrasting characters of Maggie and Dee to show a cultural split. Dee, the eldest daughter, comes home to visit her family who lives a very traditional way of life. Dee has gone to college and lives a more modernist lifestyle, whereas her sister Maggie has not gone to school and lives a more traditionalist lifestyle. This difference between the sisters shows the division in the 1960s between a traditionalist and modernist lifestyle through the characters Maggie and Dee. During the 1960s some African-Americans began to replace their birth names with names of African or Muslim descent, but what was the reason behind this change?

Janie’s first marriage is one she is forced into for stability, at at this time she has not discovered who she is or what she wanted from a marriage. Janie marries Logan Killicks she is still a teenager. Nanny forces Janie to marry Logan because the amount of land that Logan had, which would provide Janie with stability . Janie is an orphan who lives with her elderly grandmother. During this time in america , women needed marriage to be stable because they were not able to work.

Her mom teaches Esperanza many life lessons throughout the story. The reader learns that the mom dropped out of school because she “didn't have nice clothes” (91). The mom regrets this decision as staying in school could have let her lead a better life in a wealthier place. Esperanza quickly realizes that she wants to stay in school to move out of Mango Street. This mom is also there for emotional support when Esperanza needed it.

In the story Everyday Use, there is conflict between the two main characters Maggie and Dee. The two sisters are arguing over their Grandma 's quilt. Maggie feels that she deserves the quilt because she will cherish it and make great use out of it, unlike her sister who only wants to frame it in order to remember her heritage. Dee is not used to being told "no" and she has always got everything she has ever asked for, which is why she puts up a fight for the quilt. Dee then goes on to explain to her family on page 172, how she is changing her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.

How does a person value heritage and what type of impact does it hold on a family with a substantial history? Taking a glimpse beneath the surface of family relationships and views on traditional heritage, author Alice Walker showcases a true grasp on letting readers see into the compassionate lives of three strong female leads. With her short story “Everyday Use” each character relatable and described in such detail, the reader can truly sympathize and understand the impact heritage brings to a family. Walker’s compelling short story “Everyday Use” explores how complicated family dynamics can impact the attitude towards heritage through the three female leads. Family can occupy strong roots dating back generations with steadfast traditions that appreciate true meaning and personal endearment to family members.

The feminist lens focuses on the portrayal of female characters, gender equality, male patriarchy, and male control of economic, social, political, and psychological forces. A question that might come about when viewing the film adaptation of The Hunger Games from a feminist lens is this: are all female characters in the film portrayed similarly? To answer this question the viewer should look at the way Katniss takes care of her mother and younger sister. She is the caretaker and provider in the Everdeen household as she has stepped into her father’s role since he died and her mother shutdown. Katniss is portrayed as an ultimate feminist being strong and only dependent on herself, while her mother and younger sister are shown as being weaker and needing someone else to care for their needs.

Her mother was an incredible driving force in Ella Baker's childhood. Not only had she taught Baker and her younger siblings to read and write before entering school, she also instilled in them a sense of community involvement that had always been a strong part of her own family background. Along with her mother, Ella Baker's grandmother also played a key role in her life telling young Ella stories of her life as a slave and instilling in her a sense of pride in her heritage and race. A key point that Ransby also writes of is the community among the women working with the NAACP; how they "seemed to look out for each other" and of their largely unacknowledged and uncelebrated

The quilt gives a true connection with the past and the heritage. The mother wanted to pass the tradition to her younger daughter by giving the quilt but Dee, her eldest daughter wanted it for herself, but mother did not give it to her.” I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she married John Thomas” (Walker). The story also shows the struggle over tradition as Dee changes the name to Wangero,” I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”

Have you ever not seen eye to eye with your mother? In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”, we are shown how many of the choices we make and the things we value create our identity. This story focuses on two characters, mama and her daughter Dee (Wangero), who struggle to see the same way about their heritage. Dee wants the things made by her grandmother, to not admire it as an artifact, but rather to remake it. She wants to take them, and change them to match her lifestyle as it is today.

Dee wants to take the quilts away with her, insisting that they should be hung on the wall and preserved rather than being used. Mama, on the other hand, wants to give them to Maggie, who learned to quilt from Grandma Dee and Big Dee. Maggie and Dee have different opinions about their heritage. To Maggie, heritage is everything around her that is involved in her everyday life. Whereas, Dee believes that her mother’s family heirlooms are to frame on the wall, or display, as a reminder of her family history. She desires the carved dasher and family quilts, but she sees them as artifacts of a lost time, suitable for display but not for actual, practical use.

The definition of heritage is property that is or may be inherited. In the short story, Everyday Use, by: Alice Walker, two sisters, Maggie and Dee Johnson, both have two different views of their family heritage. Dee comes home to visit Mama and Maggie after six years of being off on her own. While visiting, Maggie and Mama realize how Dee truly identifies with her heritage. When thought of heritage, Dee involves things, while Maggie involves people.

Most people struggle with figuring out who they really are. The short story "Everyday Use,” written by  Alice Walker, emphasizes this aspect of individuality. It is about an African- American mother and her two daughters. The story concentrates on the lives of two sisters named Maggie and Dee(Wangero). Maggie is portrayed as a homely and ignorant girl, while Dee is portrayed as a beautiful and educated woman.

4.) Vita stated, "I hate Helen. That 's all I can say" (Kaufman 106). "I don 't like to be around when he 's over," these quotes suggest that Vita has a strong feeling