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Thesis For Everyday Use By Alice Walker

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Have you ever tried to convince someone to give you something? In the excerpt “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Wangero is trying to convince her mother that she, and not her sister Maggie, should own the quilts made by their late grandma. Wangero fails to convince her mother to let her have the quilts because she has a bad temper. She hates the idea of her sister using the quilts and believes they should be preserved because they are priceless. The message Walker conveys in this short excerpt, is that you shouldn’t let other people walk all over you and to not sell yourself short. Wangero starts her argument for getting the quilts by speaking “sweet as a bird.” She is alluding that she wants the quilts by changing her demeanor and talking
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Furthermore, Sarnowski acknowledges mother’s disappointment as Maggie gives up the quilts, pointing out that they represent memories of family members. The author believes that displaying these quilts will disintegrate the sense of family history they carry. Consequently,

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670 Words | 3 Pages

In Paragraphs 7 and 9, Walker says “Imagine!” This is done to express that Wangero is imagining the process it took to create such delicate embroidery, and in turn, is expressing appreciation for the quilts. This tactic can persuade her mother that she is the right one to have the quilts, as she is truly taking them in and appreciating the process of quilt making. She also says “These quilts, these quilts” (Walker 16). This repetition emphasizes the point that Wangero is trying to make; these quilts should be her’s, not Maggie’s.

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In the essay “An Overview of Everyday Use” the author Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton explains in detail the significance of quilting in the short essay “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. She discusses how walker uses quilt making in many other stories and essays that she creates. Marton goes on to talk about the characters in the story Maggie and Dee comparing them to one another when it comes to the quilt. Marton Explains that Dee returned home trying to take the quilt for fashion that she before thought of as “out of style” and doesn’t appreciate nor see the heritage behind the quilt. Being that she is ashamed of her past she tells Maggie that she won’t ever be anything if she continues to stay around in what kept them oppression,

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422 Words | 2 Pages

When her first technique failed, she tells Mama, “But they’re priceless!” The use of the word “priceless” is used to help Mama see more of a significance to these quilts. To Wangero, these quilts have an equivalent importance as something that could be found in a museum. She tells mama that “Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags”. Wangero thinks that the quilt should be hung, while mama thinks that using it would be more

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213 Words | 1 Pages

(Dontrell Whitfield) In “Everyday Use” the two sisters are arguing over the quilts and what the use of them is for. The character Dee feels that the quilts are not for everyday use. “You will just not understand

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436 Words | 2 Pages

After Wangero asks for the quilts for the first time, Mama shares that she promised to give them to Maggie at her wedding. Upset by this response, Wangero quickly attempts to convince her mother that Maggie isn't worthy of having the quilts. In paragraph 12, Wangero claims “maggie can't appreciate the quilts” and “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” She was trying to appeal to her mother's love and attachment to the quilts. She wanted to explain to her mother that if she gave maggie the quilts, they would get ruined so instead she should let Wangero have them so they could be preserved.

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494 Words | 2 Pages

The setting of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” reveals important aspects about the family in many ways. Without the enriched setting provided to the reader by Walker, this story would have had no foundation on which to be built. The first way Walker uses setting to let the reader get to know the family is through the detailed description provided to the reader about the family home in paragraph one. Walker describes the family’s front yard as being an “extended living room” (Walker 417)

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524 Words | 3 Pages

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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1032 Words | 5 Pages

This shows that Maggie views the quilts as a way of remembering her deceased grandmother. It’s not as much about the physical looks of the quilt, but more about them being a passed down memento from her grandmother. In addition, Sarnowski states, “Losing the quilts would not extinguish or reduce Maggie’s sense of heritage, but it would rob her sense of heritage of an affirming token” (Sarnowski 280). Maggie knows what her heritage is and does not necessarily need the quilts to define it. She is happy with the life she lives and although she would be losing this “affirming token” she would still know where she comes

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1258 Words | 6 Pages

How does a person value heritage and what type of impact does it hold on a family with a substantial history? Taking a glimpse beneath the surface of family relationships and views on traditional heritage, author Alice Walker showcases a true grasp on letting readers see into the compassionate lives of three strong female leads. With her short story “Everyday Use” each character relatable and described in such detail, the reader can truly sympathize and understand the impact heritage brings to a family. Walker’s compelling short story “Everyday Use” explores how complicated family dynamics can impact the attitude towards heritage through the three female leads. Family can occupy strong roots dating back generations with steadfast traditions that appreciate true meaning and personal endearment to family members.

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1338 Words | 6 Pages

“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.

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992 Words | 4 Pages

At first, These imagery clearly divides the characters in the story into two types of people. One type is the people who keep following their traditionally African-American culture such as Mama and Maggie, and the other is the people who follow the mainstream which is a kind of fashion trend like Dee. Then, the writer implicitly discusses about the question of whether the quilts should be used or not. The imagery helps readers to understand this question and get the answer from the story. At the same time, the key item in the story “quilt” echoes the story title-Everyday Use.

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690 Words | 3 Pages

Mrs. Wright’s quilt is evidence that she is angry or nervous. The quilt has a “‘log-cabin pattern’” and is quilted nicely, but the last few stitches are not. It “‘Looks as if she didn’t know what she was about.’” This difference in sewing shows a sudden change in mood or thought process. When nervous or angry people tend not to care as much about what they are doing and can even be aggressive.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

Defining Heritage In the short story, “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker defines and explores the concept of heritage in the African- American culture. The story was first published in nineteen seventy three as part of the short story collection, In Love and Trouble. “Everyday Use” tells the story of a mother and her two daughters who have conflicting ideas with their heritage and culture.

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1283 Words | 6 Pages

“ ‘Mama, Wangero said sweet as a bird. Can I have these quilts?’... ‘These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. Imagine!’...

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