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Everyday Use by Alice Walker
“Everyday Use by Alice Walker, which portrays the condition of the rural South American family, is one of the most widely studied and frequently anthologized short stories. The story is set in a pasture family home, about the African-American woman, “Mama Johnson,” and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. Walker presents this situation in a short story about the crisis of African-American identities and the role of their history and ideals in contemporary society. The author’s narrative reveals that it is difficult to reform one’s cultural values. This is because the history and heritage of the individual were handed down from one generation to the next. It cannot be obtained or even still, it cannot be picked up all of a sudden. Walker’s argument is thus clear: a person who retains true heritage and culture is obliged to apply it every day of his or her life on earth.
The narrative is told from the point of view of “Mama” talking about her daughters. They’re two very different people and they’ve lived two very different lives. Dee, who is very worldly and self-centered, later changed her name to Wangero to fit in with her boyfriend/husband, and what she feels is the “in” crowd, to Maggie, who is the younger of the two who had been burned and had scars on her body from the house of fire living, and is depicted as not smart or wise, only plain. Mrs. Johnson was in accordance with her decision. Dee and her presumed boyfriend or husband left the house later. This reveals another key theme in the story: standing up for the right thing, no matter the consequences. This should not be only for oneself, but for others as well.
This is illustrated by Mama’s decision not to let Wanger go with the maid’s quilts. Mrs. Johnson had known how much Maggie loved the quilts. She also realized that Wanger needed family possessions to keep up with modern African styles. Mama, who grew up in the early twentieth century, has been the main character in the story since she narrated it. She’s described as failing to accept the culture of her daughter, Dee. Dee received advanced education in Augusta Georgia before going to work in an urban environment. Maggie, who is depicted as the less fortunate, remained with her mother while Dee went to school.
The author uses her writing skills to explain the difficulties faced by African-Americans, especially those of women. Today, there are marked similarities and discrepancies between families living now and those living in the past. While the setting may be different, some family problems as well as circumstances are identical. Besides, most families still cherish and keep those things sacred. Culture is an example of this. In today’s world, most households are still interested in understanding their cultural background. By using the technique of comparing characters and their viewpoints in the novel the author succeeds in illustrating the value of considering our present existence in comparison to the culture that our people have practiced in the past.
The author explains the factors that affect the values of an individual’ s heritage and culture through measured descriptions and attitudes. Walker shows that the possession of objects or basic appearances cannot symbolize them. She stresses that the individual’s lifestyle and behaviors will symbolize it. The author personifies the different facets of culture and heritage in a short tale. She does this by portraying the contrast between Dee and her mother. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Maggie can be said to reflect the bond between generations and the community that has passed between them because their acts are based on values and on what they have learned from their past ancestors.
During the reading, it is implied that Dee may have started a house fire because she hated her home life, the fire is what left Maggie scarred for life, and it seems as though Dee doesn’t care and is very self-centered. After the fire money was collected to send Dee to school, Maggie stayed home learning the customs and values of her family. We hear from “Mama” they’re waiting for Dee’s first visit in years, as the car arrives, after being described Hakim A Barber and also Dee’s boyfriend. Dee’s and the bright dress she’s wearing, she then begins to take, portraying her self-centered way, seeming to be better than her family. The author has tried to show that whilst it is obvious that Maggie is simple and she recognizes their heritage better than Dee, and appreciate it somewhat, taking care of what they have, and she’s proud of who she is becoming, and it doesn’t feel like trying to prove to someone that they’re not.
Dee is described as “lighter than Maggie, with more beautiful hair and a fuller figure” (Missy and Merickel, 450). Mama says she’s self-assured and stunning. These qualities distinguish her from Maggie and Mrs. Johnson, who were both terrified and rough. Dee was considered to play another character, “She wanted some nice stuff. At the age of 16, she had a style of her own: and she knew what the style was” (Missy and Merickel, 450-451). She continued her education away from her homeland. This tells her that she needs to enter society to be famous. Mama was aware of her daughter’s commitment, “She was determined to watch any tragedy in her efforts. Her eyelids will never flicker ” (Missy and Merickel, 450-451).
By doing some additional research on the story and the author, Alice seems to be taking part in her personal life and bringing it into the story, coming from a simple upbringing to be educated and part of the civil rights movement, but she never forgot where she came from what she learned and how significant her family heritage is. Alice has done a good job of demonstrating how important it is to respect your family and what you have and that family as different as they may all have to be treated the same and not to reject what family you have.
Moreover, Dee was only trying to be famous. That’s why she changed her name, which wasn’t the case when she was growing up. As both visitors leave, Dee regrets that Mrs. Johnson does not appreciate her ancestry. Dee also recommends to her sister that she aspire to make more out of herself. Eventually, Mama and Maggie, happy smile at the car as it leaves. They spend time together soaking snuff and becoming mindful that they are the ones who value their lives as well as their beloved heritage.
By this assertion, Walker provides its unique claim as to whether or not culture should be safeguarded and exhibited or integrated into daily life. A reader may conclude that the term “everyday life” applies only to the quilting claim. However, deeper reading in the short story shows that it concerns people’s culture and heritage and how they intend to preserve it or not. The author has established a criticism of postmodern values. It also shows the detachable existence of the symbols. In proposing to hang the quilts, Wanger will move them away from their “everyday” use. Therefore, their built-in contextual significance will be lostADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.1215/9780822398417-005″,”abstract”:”fisico”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Walker”,”given”:”Alice”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”The Intimate Critique”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2014″]]},”page”:”67-74″,”title”:”“Everyday Use””,”type”:”chapter”},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=49ece4ab-75b9-3bd9-81b8-45a227fd6878″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Walker)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Walker)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Walker)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Walker).
Work Cited
ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Walker, Alice. “‘Everyday Use.’” The Intimate Critique, 2014, pp. 67–74, doi:10.1215/9780822398417-005.