Everyday Use Theme Essay

Maggie is described to have been “eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” throughout her life as she “thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of her hand…” showing how from Maggie’s perspective, Dee is the favorited sister and desires to attract the same attention (921). From the three women, Maggie feels viewed as the lowest and therefore views the world from the lowest perspective, lacking the confidence and beauty to face the world with the same poise as her sister. Mama then expresses how she, herself, would not look at “a strange white man in the eye...” unlike Dee, who would “look anyone in the eye” (922). This attribute further reflects more of Dee’s self-assurance as this action would be rather unheard of at this time when racism and segregation was highly present and acted upon. Moreover, the differing views from mother and daughter present themselves here once again as Maggie faces the surrounding world with no fear while Mama faces it with her “head turned in whichever way is farthest” (922).

“The past cannot be changed,forgotten,edited, or erased. It can only be accepted”(unknown). In “Everyday use” by Alice Walker the narrator ‘Mama’ tells a story about her struggling relationship between her and her two daughters. Although Mama gave Dee an extraordinary life she was still ashamed of their lifestyle. Which leads to the debate between Dee’s superficial and true heritage that is displayed through Mama and Maggie.

And how Nea deals with this events. This story is written with the immature and unreliable 12-year old perspective. These two sisters have grown together all through their life’s, creating a strong bound, and the fact that her family and a “old guy” is taking away her sister is something she can’t stand. In the end Nea believes that she is saving Sourdi from Mr.Chhay and her mother. However what Nea does not understand in all her youth and idealism , is that sourdi does not want to be saved: She willfully accepts her fate and her marriage to Mr.Chhay because she finds financial stability and a secure future.

Maggie is a static character. She is shy and timid and remains that way throughout the entire story. Her motivation in the story is wanting to have the same opportunities or lifestyle as her sister. Maggie is a round character because she is affected by her environment. Maggie is jealous of her sister-She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand , that “no” is a world the world never learned to stay to her.

A Mother’s Promise Telling someone you love “no” might be one of the hardest things in life to do. In Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use,” (re-printed in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed [Stamford: 2015] 147-154), Mama had to do that very same thing. The story is about a daughter named Dee coming back home to visit her mother, Mama, and her sister, Maggie. Dee has left home and pursued an education, which no one else in her family ever obtained. Through background info and how the visit unfolds the reader can realize that Dee has never been told “no” in her life.

She once said, “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant to be your own person, be independent.” Her mother instilled the importance of education and feminism into her brain. Ginsburg also said, “The law was something most unusual for those times because for most girls growing up in the ‘40s, the most important degree was not your B.A. but your M.R.S.” Her mother made sure that despite what society thought, if Ruth was independent and pushed herself, she could truly become anything she wanted. Sadly, her mother passed away a day before Ginsburg graduated from James Madison High School and she was never able to see all of the life changing events that her

Maggie and her mother share a sisterhood that Dee will never understand. Through the characters of Mama, Maggie, and Dee, Walker displays the theme of oppression in the short story “Everyday Use.” Through the character of Mama, Walker communicates oppression due to a lack of femininity, education, and an inability to say “no” to Dee. Mama is a burley woman who, unlike Dee, enjoys the lesser things that life has to offer. She excels in the face of hard labor but lacks the skill to pull off a feminine version of herself. Dee longs for her mother to fit in with the women of the decade: “…one hundred pounds lighter, skin like an uncooked barley pancake, glistening hair, and witty (Walker 1).” Dee doesn’t understand why Mama doesn’t want to embrace a softer side of herself; however, Mama is content with her lifestyle.

Everyday Use Literary Analysis “Maggie will be nervous until her sister goes.”(Pg.50 line7) This is quote from the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. The story revolves around a girl called Dee, her mom and sister Maggie. They have different opinions on different subjects especially relating to heritage. Dee is also really selfish which makes her have tension between her family since she only cares about herself. Throughout the story, there were a lot of conflicts between Dee and her family which shows with the quilt incident, butter churn controversy and lastly different views on heritage.

Mama had promised the quilts to Maggie, and Maggie's reaction to the news that Dee wants them shows that Maggie has an emotional attachment to them as well. "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!" Dee says. "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use." (paragraph 66).

. Mom knows that Dee has irregular ways and is not necessarily like her or Maggie, but she in some ways looks up to Dee and longs for Dee to accept her. (Nancy Tuten) agrees by saying, "Mama's distaste for Dee's egotism is tempered by her desire to be respected by her daughter.” The Mom’s character changes during the quilt scene, as she realizes that Maggie shares the appreciation of culture and heritage, and Dee's appreciation is entirely different from theirs. During the quilt scene, Dee is demanding Mom to give her the quilts, and Mom says, "when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet.” In other words the daughter who she has always thought so highly of knew little of their culture and had little appreciation for their heritage. Walker creates the “mom” character to help defend her point, which is the importance of upholding the values and traditions in the African American