Interpertation of Everyday Use by Alice Walker

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” (181).

. . .
I see her standing off under a sweet gum tree” (181).

Dee seemed unchanged by the conflict. You can’t tell by the way you and mama are living” (185). Happiness does not come from meeting others expectation, rather designing your own definition of happiness. She was not happy, but it did not seem to change her way of thinking. The two had come together to fight off the negative thoughts that Dee had placed upon them. I learned that people need to find happiness within themselves. Mama was a big woman, that lacked self-esteem.

Mama was a very different person than Dee. This is different than Dee, in that Dee was the educated

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member of the family, eventually leaving and going away to college. They had become at ease

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with who they were.

The main conflict came to a head when Dee asked if she could have the old quilts from mama’s house. When Maggie heard this she became upset. She tends to lack

confidence and self-esteem.

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Approximate Word count = 1039
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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