The Lesson And Everyday Use Short Story

The two stories, “The Lesson” and “Everyday Use” involve main characters that hold differences and similarities. In both stories the main characters were well educated, African American woman. During Toni Cade Bambara’s story “The Lesson”, the main character Miss Moore used her education to help the children in her hometown. Whereas in Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use”, Wangero decided to use her education in a way that took things away from her family and past. Wangero could care less how her family was doing and entered their home like a fire taking everything in her wake. Where Miss Moore wanted to construct a life for the unfortunate youth from her hometown. When comparing “The Lesson” and “Everyday Use”, there are numerous similarities and differences noticed regarding their

When she first exits her car, she is wearing colors that resemble a fire. “There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out” (Walker 396). These thoughts are from Wangero’s younger sister, who described her sisters entrance. Her sister’s descriptions give the idea that Wangero is just there to destroy things. Wangero’s mother even described the idea that she burned down their first home because she did not like it. “Why don’t you dance around the ashes? I’d want to ask her. She had hated the house that much” (Walker 395). This describes Wangero’s respect for her past and family. When Wangero is described by her family, it is constantly in the terms of fire or flames. When she entered their home, she took what she wanted and then left, and most likely never to return. “I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff” (Walker 401). Thus, describing the need to ‘snuff’ out the flames that Wangero left behind. Wangero’s goals when coming home were not to help her family, unlike Miss Moore, she wanted to destroy what was