Everyday Use Symbolism

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz”, both authors use their version of a parent-child relationship to convey feelings of disappointment, and romanization of their relationships, commonly through imagery and a large shift from a romanticized version of the parent-child relationship to the reality of a not so perfect parent-child relationship in both literary works that are contrary to the original thought of the stories. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, the protagonist, Mama, shows definite favor for her eldest daughter, Dee, over her youngest daughter, Maggie. Mama romanticizes Dee, through a vivid use of imagery, describing her body as something that is be preferred over Maggie’s body: “Dee is lighter than Maggie with nicer hair and a fuller figure…” (Walker 319).

Everyday use is a short story by Alice Walker published in her 1973 collection in Love and Trouble. This story revolves around the relationship between a mother and her daughters. The story concerns a young woman who has visited her mother in the village after a very long time. She thinks herself very educated and smart and attempts unsuccessfully to get the quilt which her mother had promised to gift to her younger daughter on her wedding. Another story, The Lottery is one of the most famous American short story written by Shirley Jackson.

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.

In Alice Walker 's "Everyday Use" the message abut the preservation of heritage, specifically African American, is very clear. Walker believes that a person 's heritage should be a dynamic part of the culture from which it arose. Walker was born in Eatonton,Georgia to sharecroppers (her parents). Walker, as well as other analyst, demonstrated why readers ' heritage should be accepted. Walker based this short story on a poor family in Georgia.

The point of view in the story “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker plays a big part. Throughout the story, one of Mama’s daughters came to visit. The way Mama and Maggie see her is not in a very pleasant way. In fact, they are scared to tell her no when it comes to anything. From Mama’s perspective Dee seems like this rude, stuck up, spoiled child because she had the opportunity to go out and expand her education, while Mama and Maggie continued to live their lives on the farm.

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.

Professor Joe Sarnowski’s academic journal criticizes the characters of the story, “Every Day Use”. He examines the conflict between the mother and her oldest daughter, Dee. Sarnowski asserts that Dee is trying to justify her personal gain, since she cherishes the economic value of the quilts more than that of the heritage they represent. The author continues to compare Dee’s ego with that of her sister Maggie. Who in contrast, has true appreciation for her heritage.

Defining Heritage In the short story, “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker defines and explores the concept of heritage in the African- American culture. The story was first published in nineteen seventy three as part of the short story collection, In Love and Trouble. “Everyday Use” tells the story of a mother and her two daughters who have conflicting ideas with their heritage and culture.

Authors have the ability to make many creative decisions. One of those decisions is deciding on what to name the story. It can either be straightforward and obvious, or it can have alternate meanings. Often, when the title has different meanings, the authors has a lesson to teach. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker talks about the relationships between a mother to daughter and sister to sister.

In "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, two sisters wanting the handmade quilts that symbolize the family heritage that’s passed down from generation to generation. The quilt plays a major role in representing symbolism, in "Everyday Use" quilts are symbolic to the family's culture, heritage and it's values to their offspring. A symbol is when the author uses an object in the story to represent a significant explanation. The quilt is a symbol of family inheritance that can be only respected by certain people.