Everyday Use

p 1 Everyday Use

Everyday Use by Alice Walker takes into account a central conflict between two women . This conflict is symbolized by two main characters Mrs . Johnson and Dee . Both have certain characteristics are similar but mostly Alice juxtaposes these characters with each other to bring out the main theme of the play . Dee is an epitome of shallow materialism and an adherent of prevailing concept of heritage where heritage is revered only for trendiness and aesthetic attraction whereas Mrs . Johnson admires heritage for its practical utility and personal importance

p Both Mrs . Johnson and Dee are from the same socio-cultural backgrounds but both are brought up in different cultural milieu . Both admire heritage but their motives are different . Mrs Johnson is `In real life I am a large , big- boned woman with rough , man-working hands (273 whereas Dee is soft-skinned and of delicate nature . Piedmont-Mortob is of the view that central conflict is between Maggie and Dee and is about whether heritage exists in things or in spirit , or process Dee 's longing for heritage is for ostentatious reasons . For example she says , I can use the chute top as a centerpiece for the alcove table .and I 'll think of something artistic to do with the dasher (277 ) Contemporary periodical necessities make her cherish and celebrate her Afro-American heritage . Dee views her heritage as an artifact which she can possess and appreciate from a distance instead of as a process in which she is always intimately involved (Piedmont-Marton But Mrs . Johnson and Maggie have learnt to live with their heritage . Dee is captivated by the beauty of churn top ' and wanted to have it to be used as centerpiece for her alcove table whereas Mrs . Johnson has used it practically for churn butter hitherto . Walker utilizes the butter churn to demonstrate Mrs . Johnson 's intrinsic understanding of heritage

When [Dee] finished wrapping the dasher the handle stuck out . I took it for a moment in my hands . You didn 't even have to look close to see where hands pushing the dasher up and down to make butter had left a kind of sink in the wood . In fact , there were a lot of small sinks you could see where thumbs and fingers had sunk into the wood . It was a beautiful light yellow wood , from a tree that grew in the yard where Big Dee and Stash had lived (277

About quilts Dee says : Maggie can 't appreciate these quilts . She 'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use (278 ) that shows her shallow reason to love her heritage

Mrs . Johnson says , I am the way my daughter would want me to be (273 ) This is manifestation of her adoption to the changing circumstances . Same is the case with Dee as her pretensions about her culture are directly related to the changing social environment where heritage is celebrated and is not understood . The development of Dee into Wangero shows various facets and phases through which...