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Character Differences In Alice Walker's Everyday Use

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have the luxury of affording things just to collect dust as decorations. Everything that she owned growing up was put to every day use. This also contradicts Dee’s desire to own things that will make her new home look fancy. All of these small personality differences cause the disagreement about respecting their heritage because it causes them to have different out looks on their heritage. Dee thinks that just because something has been used before, it should be known as priceless. On the other hand, the mother believes that since she grew up using everything that she owned, the heirlooms should be put to use as well.
Another thing that will cause disagreements between family members is setting unrealistic expectations for each other. In the story, the narrator describes a hypothetical situation where they are both on a TV show embracing each other. The narrator dreams of having this special bond with her daughter where they reach each others expectations. “Sometimes I dream a dream in whish Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort… Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes.” (843) This contrast between fantasy vs. …show more content…

unemotional interactions between the two characters when they meet. When Dee arrives at the house she doesn’t run to her mother and say she misses her. Instead she walks slowly and gives her mother a

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In the short story Everyday Use the character Dee shows the character traits of greed, over confidence, and uptight. One example, of Dee being greedy is how she wanted to take the quilts that her grandmother made. This example shows how Dee is greedy because Maggie deserved the quilts more because she acts like part of the family. An example, of Dee being uptight is when she takes pictures of her family and their house, but does not include herself in the picture. Furthermore this shows how Dee is uptight because she is too embarrassed to include herself in the picture.

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Maggie in Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” plays the role of being the nervous and ugly sister of the story, however she is the child with the good heart. Maggie was nervous ashamed of her scars “Maggie was nervous… she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs”. Living in a house with a pretty sister and being the ugly sister with scars could be the reason why she picked up on a timid personality, being ‘ashamed’ of her own skin shaping her in a way that she degraded herself from everybody else. Maggie was not this way before the fire, her mother stated, as it is quoted that she had adopted to a certain walk ever since the fire.

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Have you ever not seen eye to eye with your mother? In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use”, we are shown how many of the choices we make and the things we value create our identity. This story focuses on two characters, mama and her daughter Dee (Wangero), who struggle to see the same way about their heritage. Dee wants the things made by her grandmother, to not admire it as an artifact, but rather to remake it. She wants to take them, and change them to match her lifestyle as it is today.

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Growing up together under the same conditions clearly created two very distinct individuals with contrasting views regarding their past, present, and future. When Dee arrives home from college, she portrayed herself as higher class; she put herself above her family and her past. During her visit, she was looking for valuable things to have in her home. While looking around, Dee notices two handmade quilts containing pieces of clothe that date back to the Civil War.

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Written during the year 1973, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a first-person short story about three characters, Mama, Dee, and Maggie. The character, Mama, narrates the story from her own point of view. Written during a time when African Americans struggled for control of self-recognition and acceptance in society, this short story represents unappreciated people who struggle for their unique place in the society they reside. Overall, the story’s scene takes place in a rather peaceful environment where the character, Mama, provides a point of view that describes her children, Dee and Maggie. Each character provides a unique tone to the story.

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Looking at the story with Dee telling it would allow access to her thoughts so that the reader can understand why she is the way she is. It would allow the reader to access the deeper meaning to certain actions she takes and why she says the things she says. The point of view in a story determines so much for the reader including their feelings towards a certain character, in this case,

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Mama tells Dee, “You know you only wrote me two letters the whole time you were gone for those 5 years, what have you been doing that I couldn’t get more letter. ”(Walker) Dee (Wangero) says, “I’ve been busy Mama.” This shows how Wangero can go that extend of time and only two letter to her mother. It was almost as if, the placed that she used to call home is now a fading facade of what it used to mean to her.

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How does a person value heritage and what type of impact does it hold on a family with a substantial history? Taking a glimpse beneath the surface of family relationships and views on traditional heritage, author Alice Walker showcases a true grasp on letting readers see into the compassionate lives of three strong female leads. With her short story “Everyday Use” each character relatable and described in such detail, the reader can truly sympathize and understand the impact heritage brings to a family. Walker’s compelling short story “Everyday Use” explores how complicated family dynamics can impact the attitude towards heritage through the three female leads. Family can occupy strong roots dating back generations with steadfast traditions that appreciate true meaning and personal endearment to family members.

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In Cowert says, Walker inspects in the short story “Everyday Use” that how African American was disconnecting their culture and tradition. Dee/Wangero's character proves the statements. She is the one main character in the story who changed over time. She went out for schooling and changed her lifestyle. She doesn't live her life as her mother and sister Maggie live.

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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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In the short-story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Dee is portrayed as a conformist. The author uses “a dress so loud it hurt my eyes” to show how the dress is so bright that Maggie could feel the warmth it radiates, “bracelets dangling and making noise” to show the amount of jewelry she was wearing (Walker 2). The details convey the idea that she is obsessed with fashion and new trends. This obsession affects her relationship with Maggie and her Mother because she believes that she is above them. When Dee was arguing with her mother about how she should get the quilts she states that her mother doesn’t know anything about heritage.

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It was Education that separated Dee from her family, but it has also detached Dee from a true sense of inner self. With arrogant ideals and educational opportunities, one can loss the sense of heritage, family, and self. These feelings can only be provided by family. What was problematic is the story was that Dee has no admiration for anything around her but herself. This resulted in the alimentation from her family and ancestral roots.

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“Everyday Use” is one of the most popular stories by Alice Walker. The issue that this story raises is very pertinent from ‘womanist’ perspective. The term, in its broader sense, designates a culture specific form of woman-referred policy and theory. ‘womanism’ may be defined as a strand within ‘black feminism’. As against womansim, feminist movement of the day was predominately white-centric.

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