Paper Topic:
Everyday Use by Alice Walker
Alice Walker 's Everyday Use The short story Everyday Use is centered on three colored women , a mother and her two daughters , Maggie and Dee . The story shows how three women in a family have different characteristics . The mother is a typically strong big colored woman who had known hard times . She probably lived in a time when racial discrimination was at its height since she said that she cannot look straight into a white man 's eye and whenever she talked to them , she always gets ready to run . Maggie on the
br other hand , appears to be a loser by the world 's standard . She is weak unable to fight for her rights and cannot face strangers . Dee , on the other hand , knew what she wants and how to get it . She went to school in the city and likes to read a lot . Unlike her sister , Dee seemed groomed for success . It is obvious that she does not like her family that much or more specifically , she did not like where she came from (Walker 743-744 . The conflict of the story is how their difference in character affected their view of their African heritage especially concerning the issue of the quilt . Dee wants to keep the quilt that her grandmother and mother made . For her the quilt is a heritage that needs to be preserved to be locked away . She opposed the idea that Maggie will keep the quilt for then she complained that she would just use it every day so that it will be turned into rags . Maggie had agreed to give the quilt to Dee instead but their mother insisted that the former keep it for she wants the quilt to be used everyday (Walker 747-749
The three 's African heritage is obviously significant in this story Their attitude towards the quilt exposed their relationship to this heritage . Dee 's changing attitude towards the quilt reflects her attitude concerning her African heritage . In truth , Dee wanted to get rid of that heritage or rather to use it only for her advantage (whichever is preferable at the moment . There was a time when she refused to accept the quilt for she considered it old-fashioned but now that she is with a Muslim she wants to impress him with her supposed love for her family by keeping the quilt . Maggie on the other hand may easily deny or hide her African heritage (as she easily gives the quilt to Dee ) perhaps because she possesses a weak character . However the mother is proud of her heritage and wanted to live it , or to put it to everyday use (Walker 748 . She that Maggie keep the quilt and her triumph of giving the quilt to Maggie symbolizes the triumph of African culture over her life and Maggie than that of others (as symbolized by Dee
Work Cited
Walker , Alice . Everyday Use ' Robert DiYanni , ed . Literature : Reading Fiction , Poetry , and Drama . 6th ed . Boston : McGraw-Hill , 2007
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