There are billions of different people in this world and every single one of them is born with different characteristics and traits. While some people hold certain qualities that are very similar, others hold certain qualities that are very far apart. Even though there is such a huge variety of a people, it is expected of everyone to live up to the “norm” that is portrayed in society. It is very easy to fall into the trap of trying to live up to the standards of what the “norm” and unfortunately most people do. However, going along with what everyone else is doing and being part of what is considered normal in society, is actually not necessarily all that normal. In the two stories, “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker and “How I Met My Husband,” by Alice …show more content…
I can kill and clean a hog as merciless as a man.” (Walker 167) Mama consistently says various things that describe her as being a lot less feminine than the stereotypical girl. She is a single parent living in the countryside alone with her daughter Maggie. The story’s set starts as they are waiting for Dee to come visit them at the house in the countryside that she used to live in. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burns cars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks that her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that ‘no’ is a word that the world never learned to say to her.” (Walker 166) Maggie has more than likely been burned in a fire during one of their houses that burnt down. Maggie and Mama have a variety of different characteristics that are far away from what is considered to be acceptable amongst society. “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure. ...How long was it that the other house burned down?” (Walker 167) , Maggie. To make them even more far away from the norm, they Black. Mama states how Dee is lighter skinned though, which is