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Conflict In Maggie And Everyday Use By Alice Walker

206 Words1 Pages
Conflict is also another important thing in this short story. Maggie and Dee represents a simple conflict in this story. Mama gets her two daughters involved in the conflict when she is trying to decide which daughter will get the quilts. Alice Walker states, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! “..”She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker 6). This quote clearly shows, there is a competition between sisters for their mother’s love and who will get the quilts. What Walker really means is that Dee see these quilts as a symbol of materialism and there are not quilts for everyday use but to exhibit in someone’s home as a decoration. Another conflict in the story is when Mama confronts her daughter Dee and tells her
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Maggie on the other hand, is characterized by her unattractiveness and timidity. Her skin is scarred from the fire that had happened ten or twelve years ago. Those scars she has on her body in the same way have scarred her soul leaving her ashamed. She “stumbles” in her reading, but Mrs. Johnson loves her saying she is sweet and is the daughter she can sing songs at church with, but more so that Maggie is like an image of her. She honors her family’s heritage and culture, by learning how to quilt and do things in the household, like her mother views their heritage.

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(Pg.57, lines 210-211) It is considered one of the main conflicts because of how valuable the quilts are to Maggie and

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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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"She 'd probably be backwards enough to put them to everyday use" (320). Dee thinks Maggie would be dumb to keep the quilts for “everyday use”. Also, she figured her family did not know their own heritage. Dee feels as though her sister should “make something of” herself. She states, “It’s really a new day for us” to show that Maggie needs to see a greater amount of the world.

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Maggie is also oppressed by society and Dee, and, though to a further degree than her mother, her view of herself attacks her equality compared to the rest of the world. The subject is immediately introduced. The story begins with Maggie and her mother waiting for Dee. They waste their time in order to be available to Dee as soon as Dee

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In the short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, their are two distinct characters who are very different from each other. These characters have many different motivations, personalities, and points of views with respect to preserving their heritage. The narrator, Mama, looks at them both with different views. Dee and Maggie are two completely different people. Dee has different motivations than Maggie.

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Alice Walker was a social activist, born in 1944. She is very popular for her novel “The Color Purple” that was published in 1982. Before that, she wrote “Everyday Use” in 1973. It is a short story about a family that branches out in their own way throughout the years. She shows us that the daughters were being directed into two different pathways.

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The narrator and her children feel the quilts symbolize generations of war and poverty that their family endured over the years. On the other hand, not all family members share the same appreciation for the quilts. Adopting a different culture after going to college the oldest daughter, Dee, appreciates the quilt for being part of her legacy. She can't believe that the quilt was handmade. "These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear.

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To talk about the United States Army’s customs and courtesies I need to talk about the army culture and everything tied with it. They both go hand in hand in developing and sustaining professionalism and discipline within the organization. To start, What is esprit de corps? Esprit de corps is the winning spirit within the Army Profession, embedded in the culture, sustained by traditions and customs, which fosters cohesive and confident units with the courage to persevere. In short it is the spirit that fosters teamwork, cohesion, cooperation, and loyalty.

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The point of view in the story “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker plays a big part. Throughout the story, one of Mama’s daughters came to visit. The way Mama and Maggie see her is not in a very pleasant way. In fact, they are scared to tell her no when it comes to anything. From Mama’s perspective Dee seems like this rude, stuck up, spoiled child because she had the opportunity to go out and expand her education, while Mama and Maggie continued to live their lives on the farm.

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1338 Words | 6 Pages

“Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She said. “she’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” (walker). This shows that dee really wants the quilts but not for the reason her mother wants.

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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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This point of view contributes to this story is multiple ways. Mama narrating this story helps to give the reader insight into the past of the characters. Mama was there for everything that happened in the lives of her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. She knows their personalities and how they feel about their heritage and lives. As a result of Mama’s knowledge of these important details, Mama is able to add a contrast between the past and the present.

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1561 Words | 7 Pages

These quilts are a ways of honoring her African American heritage and to be given these was very significant in their culture. For once Dee sees the historical background because of the stitching and material used, but doesn’t find any use in using them. Dee is going to try and convince her mom to let her keep the quilts, when Dee says, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” (Walker 721) and “You just will not understand. The point these quilts, these quilts!”

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the story Mama describes both of the girls and how she feels about their differences, even though they are sisters and grew up in the same house. Maggie and Dee are different in their

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