Everyday Use By Alice Walker Summary

We do not know much about Maggie and Dee (Wangero) other than their sisters and totally different from each other. In “Everyday Use” written by Alice Walker, she mentions the families traditions and how their importance to the family. There were multiple of the valuables that were passed down in the family line. In the story, we learn that Dee’s name, the butter churn, and the quilt were sentimental to the family.

In Alice Walker 's’ short story “Everyday Use” she presents two different views on culture. The story is about Mrs. Johnson and her two daughters in Georgia during the early 1970’s. The story is narrated by Mrs. Johnson and describes a time when she must decide which daughter to give two family quilts to. Her oldest daughter, Dee, is visiting home from college and believes the quilts should be hung on the wall and preserved as a way to show off their culture to future generations. Maggie, the younger daughter, was promised the quilts when Dee originally turned down the quilts before she went to College. Maggie has been living at home and understands exactly what the quilts mean to her family but plans to use the quilts with her future family.

To begin with, let’s see the themes of the story, which is the most important element of a story which authors try to convey the message of their writings to readers: In “Everyday use”, the theme is about appreciating the past and one 's family heritage. In the story, Dee wanted a modern identity, but one tied to her African heritage, which she believes to be more important. Mockingly, she tells her mother not to call her Dee anymore rather to be called by her African new name, Wangero. Maggie, on the other hand, embraces her past, loving the handmade quilts her grandma made. According to the narrator opinion, the way to value the past is to keep it alive by using it in everyday use not to keep it in museum or separating yourself from

There is a sentimental value that is attached to every families’ collection of heirlooms and keepsakes. No matter how long these items remain in storage or are hidden away; their representation always stays the same, they keep people connected to their family roots. Author John Updike’s short story, “The Brown Chest” uses symbolism and imagery and sensory writing to focus on the idea that family memories never fade away and material things can maintain a deeper meaning no matter what they endure.

Speaker: Alice Walker writes in a first person point of view. The speaker is a single mother who “never had an education” (Walker 49). She is a minority, and accepts the lower status: “Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in in the eye?” (48). The mother refuses to challenge the people society deem as better than her.

In the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker shows the conflicts and struggles with people of the African-American culture in America. The author focuses on the members of the Johnson family, who are the main characters. In the family there are 2 daughters and a mother. The first daughter is named Maggie, who had been injured in a house fire has been living with her mom. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with natural beauty wanted to have a better life than her mother and sister.The author used symbolism throughout the whole story to show the difference between these characters. The symbolism is there to give us a further explanation on the family and also to tell us how much heritage is important to some, but not others.

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” illustrates Dee’s struggle for identity by placing her quest for a new identity against her family’s desire for maintaining culture and heritage. In the beginning, the narrator, who is the mother of Dee, mentions some details about Dee; how she “...wanted nice things… She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts… At sixteen, she had a style of her own: and (she) knew what style was.” Providing evidence to the thesis, she was obviously trying exceptionally hard to find for herself a sense of identity. She wanted items her family couldn’t afford, so she worked hard to gain these, and she found a sense of identity from them, but it also pushed her farther away from her family. As the story progresses,

“Everyday Use” is a short story written by Alice Walker that is about a mother that has two daughters and she is waiting one of the daughter’s to come visit. The mother just goes by the name Mama but the daughters are named Maggie and Dee. The narrator is the Mama in which she gives a vivid explanation about their life in her point of view. Alice Walker uses imagery, allegories, and figure of speech throughout the story to paint a picture into the reader mind of what is taking place and visualize the characters in the story.

In the story “Everyday Use” written by Alice Walker, we are able to fully perceive the mother 's perspective between Maggie and Dee. We are able to see both physical and psychological differences. The mother is able to fully describe the robust and distinctive personalities between both daughters. The mother has a unique way to show us how each of her daughters are completely the opposite of one another. Maggie is more of a shy girl who seems to be simple. On the other hand, Dee is more outspoken and has a higher sense of fashion.

In the short story, “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker creates a conflict between Maggie and Dee for the belongings made by their relatives whether they should be kept to use in their house or kept to admire as antiques with Dee to last longer. Walker made items to have symbolism to be used as an everyday thing, but with Dee returning from college she believes she should keep items from being demolished and placed as an item in a museum for observation of her heritage.

The short story, Everyday Use, is written by Alice Walker. This short story tells about the narrator, mama, and her daughter Maggie wait for a visit from Dee, mama’s older daughter. Throughout this short story, the reader can see the distraught relationship between mama and Dee. The reader can see how Dee is different than mama and Maggie; she thinks that she knows way more about her heritage than mama and Maggie, when she really does not. In the short story, Everyday Use, Walker uses imagery, symbolism, and point of view to show that heritage can only be understood when one is true to their roots.

The two writers use symbolism to convey the message in that it is an indication of fullness to stand as a sign of condemnation or rather the act of judging, the quilter patch is a fragment. A patch may have the capability of a showing off some level poverty. Daily quilts, pieced wholes without a defined pattern had a direct address to women who were considered as Alien due to their endless fashionable desires.

In “The Jungle” the stereotypical characters are the hardworking man (Jurgis) and the weak vulnerable women (Ona, his wife). The conventional character of the man being the provider for the family and the wife being “too weak” shows the concept of survival of the fittest and encouraging people to advocate towards socialism.

Ko-Seung-Duck, a renowned Korean lawyer and a candidate for education minister in the previous election, was defeated utterly by some unknown candidate. The primary reason for his defeat was that his daughter confessed that Ko lacked empathy, and did not communicate with his children. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday use”, we can also note such conflicts between family members. The narrator, a mother of two, is a tough women who can “kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man” (5). Dee, her second daughter (24), is egocentric character who didn’t have “hesitation as her nature” (12). The two have completely different ways of viewing Grandmother Dee’s quilt which represents the heritage from the past, and we can notice how such discrepancies beget conflicts and affects how the narrator forms her decision throughout the story.

No filter, no beating around the bush, sensing shade. All of the things that describe my mama. Which is a similarity to the story. In the story “Everyday Use” written by Alice Walker, Mama comes off as very blunt. If you knew my family you could see exactly how they relate. My family is crazy but fun. I somewhat relate to Dee and so does my sisters. They are very spoiled, I used to be by my dad.