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A Comparison Of Updike's Separating And Alice Walker

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Recommended: Critical summary on separating by john Updike

John Hoyer Updike and Alice Walker are world renowned writers that have inspired and educated readers. Both authors received awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award for Fiction, and the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts. They each have wonderful stories including “Separating” and “Every Day Use”. “Separating” was written by Updike, and “Every Day Use” was written by Alice Walker. These authors have both reached exceptional literary standards and have been spectacularly awarded, and these stories have been part of their achievements. In Updike’s “Separating” the main character, Richard, is forced to face the consequences of a life changing decision. As the man of the house Richard is constantly doing …show more content…

Johnson is waiting in her front yard for her daughter Dee who is coming to visit her. She is a very large woman that is strong as a man, and has always done hard labor. Her daughter Dee on the other hand is very pretty, dainty, and lady like. Then Maggie, her other daughter, gets her attention and asks her how she looks, and on command comes hobbling into the yard to her mother. Maggie was severely burned during the fire that burned their house years ago and is still scared, hobbles, and is extremely skittish. When Dee finally arrives she steps out of the car with a stocky man and takes photos of her and Maggie in front of their house. Dee informs her mother that her name is no longer Dee but Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.. They eventually sit to eat but the man was unwilling to eat the food, however Wangero devours it, and then she began taking things like the churn top and the dasher. Eventually she started digging through the trunk and asked to take some old quilts, however it was obvious they were already hers. However, they were already promised to Maggie and Ms. Johnson realized that she could not give them to Wangero and that they had to go to Maggie so she took them and Maggie in her arms. Then, furious, Wangero left saying that they just don’t understand and that they should learn more about their

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The Narrator in the story A&P by John Updike tells an experience where he chose to make a decision that would change his life and take him to new places. This decision was one that was derived from the need for freedom and change. Usually a decision like this takes a realization that growing up and taking a new path is necessary. In this story, this realization began from the narrator seeing how his manager treated the girls in the store with such hostility because they were just wearing bathing suits. The boy, watching this, realized he wanted to live like the girls had been living.

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In John Updike's short story "A&P," the narrator, Sammy, is negatively impacted by his human connections with the other characters in the story. Sammy's interactions with the customers and his boss at the grocery store represent a world of conformity, predictability, and boredom. However, when three young women in bathing suits enter the store, Sammy becomes infatuated with them, and his perspective shifts. The sexuality of the females in the novel causes them to become a distraction for Sammy the narrator, and when people have a physical connection instead of a personal connection, it eventually has consequences. This has a negative effect on the character.

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Ms. Johnson then introduces a new character who will be arriving at the home shortly, Dee. She is Ms. Johnson’s other daughter who is described as having a less than ideal relationship with her family. Dee is described by her mother as independent and fearless, differing from her sister, Maggie, who is portrayed as awkward and less attractive than her sister. When Dee arrives, she is wearing a flamboyant dress and looks put together. Ms. Johnson displays shock when she sees her daughter, and is even more shocked to hear that Dee has changed

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She doesn 't know how hard life is with her sister and mother. Dee only cares about what she wants and she talks down on her family. She believes her sister could not use the quilts in a way she thought they should be used. " Maggie can 't appreciate these quilts!" she said.

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The violence within the Johnson home isn 't only perpetrated by the mother, Mary Johnson. The children are forced to witness their parents fighting prior to the death of their father. Still,there is even another form of violence that Maggie is subjected to. This violence comes in the form of sibling abuse at the hands of Jimmie. The first instance of this abuse is seen within the readers first meeting of Maggie.

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In the beginning of the story the narrator who is the mom is waiting for her daughter named dee. She waits in the garden with Maggie. She knows that Maggie and dee do not get along. She imagines a big nice family reunion in her head.

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In attempts to reconnect with her African roots, Dee has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Dee has also taken an interest in embracing her African heritage and has dressed in traditional African clothes to visit her mother. Her mother knows that Dee’s intentions are not genuine. Worrying more about taking pictures of her mother and collecting items that represent the African culture to take back home, Dee neglects to spend time with her family. Her mother notices that Dee, “Lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me.

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“Feminism is not just about women; it's about letting all people lead fuller lives,” Jane Fonda. Fonda refers to feminism not only as an idea, but a way of life and amenable views. “A&P” by John Updike is a short story about three girls in a grocery store who are judged head to toe by multiple characters and speaker, Sammy, reflecting the idea that feminism is still not accepted. Updike uses literary devices, characters, and feminist views to show the objectification of women in the 1960’s. Generally speaking, Updike uses literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and symbolism to help the reader visualize what is going on.

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Characterization in “Everyday use” In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker creates the characters of Mom, Maggie, and Dee in order to explore the appreciation and values of African American culture and what it stands for. The story grows around one daughter Dee coming back home to visit her family. As one is introduced to the characters in “Everyday Use”, it becomes noticeable that the two sisters, Maggie and Dee, are very different. Maggie is portrayed as a homely and ignorant girl, while Dee is portrayed as a beautiful and educated woman.

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She didn’t like her sister Maggie she also doesn’t like her mom allot and she didn’t like their house. From the main changes Dee made was changing her name. “No mama, she says not Dee, wangero Leewanik kemanjo “(Walker, 318, 25). She also brought her friend with her his name is Hakim-a-barber.

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Maggie did not go to school, does not dress in colorful attention-getting African garb, and does not have a fancy boyfriend, but she does slam a door which indicates her feelings about the quilts and butter churn her sister has come to claim out from under her feet. The temper has flared, and Maggie gets her quilts. In conclusion, the story seems to tell how different Maggie and Dee were from each other; with few comparisons between the two girls to suggest that they had anything in

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