Comparison Of Poverty In Everyday Use And Two Kinds By Alice Walker

Navigational Strategies for Marginalized Society in Fiction Many marginalized communities manage poverty in various ways. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and Amy Tan's "Two Kinds", certainly illustrate some of the underrecognized approaches to navigating poverty. Walker’s story is told from the perspective of an impoverished mother who experiences her now college-educated daughter returning home for the first time and Tan’s is the story of a child’s earnest attempt to resist being made into a prodigy by her immigrant mother. Characters such as the mother in the story “Everyday Use” or Mrs. Mei who evaluates their daughter's skills and shortcomings, making do with the resources they are given are archetypes of impoverished and often parents of

This is done in order to sharpen skills and thereby maximize chances of succeeding in society. An example of this can be seen in a section of the story where the mother in “Everyday Use” assesses her two adult children’s natural-born characteristics. She speaks about one of her children, Maggie, expressing that she “knows that she is not bright” and that “Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by” (Walker 3). The mother addresses Maggie’s shortcomings matter-of-factly, in a manner that expresses a mode of acceptance. The mother goes on to mention her other daughter, Dee. The mother explains that Dee is very smart/gifted and then presumably because of this she and “the church” raised money in order to send her to school. In a house where there is no money to spare, impoverished families will often invest in the children with the most promising characteristics, especially when those characteristics relate to intellect, which can be used in school and used to find a well-paying

She is entranced in the American Dream and the concept that anyone could be anything, especially a star. This ideal of the very obtainable American dream is sold to immigrant families and is sought after, often hopelessly. Jing-Mei’s mother watches a taping of Shirley Temple and decides that could be her daughter. The mother calls Jing-Mei’s attention as Shirley’s eyes flooded with tears on the screen and said “You already know how. Don’t need talent for crying!” (Tan 2). Jing-Mei’s mother makes the assessment that Jing-Mei can do what Shirley Temple is doing because of her presumed natural ability. Though it may not be true that Jing-Mei can cry on cue like a trained actor, marginalized families frequently assess which of the skills possessed by others can be emulated in order to achieve the same level of