Literary Works Of Alice Walker's Everyday Use

Analysis of the Literary Works of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
Based on the options given to me to choose a topic for my final projects, I went over many stories that we have learned in class on what kind of works to focus on. Then I finally decided to write about Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”. The story is about black cultures, beliefs andheritages which it has characters that have wrong attitudes of preserving and dealing with their culture and handling of other issues. Hence, I will try to analyze this story based on some of the elements of Fictions we have learned in class: theme, narration (points of view, character, and technique.
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