Sonny's Blues And Everyday Use Comparative Essay

Throughout the modernization of the world, African Americans have experienced a great number of cultural shifts and self-established independence from the white majority. “Values are developed in childhood and adolescence and are transmitted between generations,” (Maercker and Heim 178). Alice Walker's "Everyday Life" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues'' are two works of literature that examine the everyday struggles faced by African Americans. Both short stories explore complex family relationships and the importance of cultural heritage. To contribute to the themes, the settings are located in the rural South and feature characters who struggle to reconcile their past with their present. The two authors' works demonstrate themes that are

Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" follows the story of a mother and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie, who represent three different generations of African American women. Dee, a modern, educated woman who seeks to embrace her African heritage but does so in ways that put a strain on her relationship with her mother and sister. Maggie, on the contrary, is shy, unassuming and lacks self-confidence, but she has a deep appreciation for her family's history and traditions. Less ambiguous than Dee, Maggie is content to remain in the background and conform to society's expectations. Dee perceives her family's sedentary way of life as backward and unenlightened, and she is determined to take possession of the handmade quilts that Mama has kept for many years to display in her own home. Mama ultimately decides that she wants to keep the quilts for their sentimental value and to pass them down to future generations. Mama makes an effort to counteroffer and convince Dee to take some other quilts that have less sentimental value. Dee declines, “No, I don't want those. They are stitched around the borders by machine,” and instead asks for “pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear,” (Walker 320). Her decision to keep them symbolizes her desire to maintain the family’s traditions and protect their history. Dee dreams of nothing more than to have her family break away from their

Walker's "Everyday Use" highlights the oppressive effects of racism on African Americans. Mama discloses to her daughters that “[She] never had an education [herself]. After second grade [her] school was closed down…In 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now.” (Walker 316). Additionally, Mama described how she was just as capable of success and hard work as any other man. She recounted how she “was always better at a man's job. [She] used to love to milk till [she] was hoofed in the side in '49. Cows [were] soothing and slow and [didn’t] bother you, unless you [tried] to milk them the wrong way,” (Walker 316). Both Maggie and Dee knew that their mother’s way of life was different from their current life, but Dee's desire to embrace her African identity is a response to the oppression felt by her ancestors. Through Dee, Walker critiques the modern trend of superficial appropriation of cultural symbols without deeper knowledge or understanding. Dee only values the quilts for their aesthetic beauty and the cultural stereotype they represent, disregarding their historic value and sentimental connection to her family. In contrast, Mama and Maggie understand the quilts' worth lies not in their surface appearance but their emotional meaning and historic significance. The quilts are passed down from one generation to the next as a way of maintaining their family history and culture. Walker uses