Socioeconomic Status In Alice Walker's Everyday Use
Everyday Use by Alice Walker, emphasizes how different socioeconomic statuses view items, through a story based on the 70’s culture of an African American family. As an illustration of this, through literary analysis, will explore Everyday Use of how, low class, middle class and upper to wealthy class views items. In order to find out, how classes affect the usage of household items. Specifically, that based on class, how it will affect the perceived appropriate use of an item.
The first example in Everyday Use of how class affects the perceived appropriate use is how other characters react compared to Dee, when she asks to take the Butter Churner Top (333), a Dasher (334) and her grandmother’s quilt (334). After Dee asks for the Butter Churner
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In addition, each socioeconomic status such as, low,middle and upper to wealthy class, has predispositioned viewpoints within Everyday Use and 70’s culture. The lower the socioeconomic status the more the item became either designed for everyday use, sentimental or a necessity. Further, an individual from a midpoint between lower and upper socioeconomic status, can afford to do either. Due to, the individual is not limited by necessity, nor is a majority of everyday items disposable to them. Finally, there’s the upper to wealthy socioeconomic status in which, is not limited by necessity, nor price. In particular, this status is capable of turning “everyday use” items into artwork, centerpieces, trophies, in contrast to lower statuses. Ultimately, this statuses view on “everyday use” items change due to, the availability and convenience in which these items are obtained. Even though each status varies in views, there are exceptions where statuses merge or adopt traits. As well as, Everyday Use was published in 1973, in a culture full of ethnic disparity. Given these points, Everyday use, displays an emerging trend of ideological differences on tangible items based off socioeconomic status, that’d serve as a precursor to our current disparity in status in
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