Interpertation of Everyday Use by Alice Walker
Alice Walker uses her story "Everyday Use" to show her readers the liberation that can be found when you find happiness within yourself. This happiness can be found when you do not let other interpretations of your lifestyle effect the way you perceive yourself. Alice Walker uses three main characters, Dee, Maggie and Mama to play an integral part in which ultimately designed the theme. The liberation occurs when the conflict comes to a head between the three main characters over the quilts. Dee is a character who has always seemed to get what she wanted out of life. "... her sister always held life in the palm of her hand, that "no" is a word that the world never learned to say to her ("Everyday Use 180). She is an educated individual, who enjoys the finer things in life. The text indicates this when mama describes Dee's attire on the day she came to visit. "A dress so loud it hurts my eyes...Earrings gold, too and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and making noises..." (182). With Dee's lavish lifestyle she looked down on the way that mama and Maggie lived. She indicated this when she wrote "No matter where we "choose" to live, she will manage to come she us. But she will never bring her friends"
Dee had asked mama for the quilts so that she could hang them. Through the characterizations as well as the conflict Alice Walker brought us to the prevailing theme. Maggie and mama lived life different than Dee. Although she had been conquered she had a last remark "You ought to make something of yourself. Alice Walker does an excellent job in demonstrating these points to her audience. This illustrates how Maggie and mama were separate from Dee. " I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a3 minute later the kitchen door slammed" (184). This gives the readers the impression that Mama and Maggie had an alliance that set themselves apart from Dee. she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with envy and awe" (179). This was how Maggie reacted to hearing Dee want something that had been reserved for her. the two of us sat there just enjoying until it was time to go in the house and go to bed" (185).
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