Thesis: Alice Walker, in her short story "Everyday Use", uses Mama's appearance, dreams, and personality to emphasize the importance of heritage as a practical concept.
             a. "a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands."
             b. "...wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day"
             c. "My fat keeps me hot in zero weather"
             a. The narrator imagines being reunited with her daughter on a television show.
             b. "...one hundred pounds lighter, my skin an uncooked barely pancake"
             c. Dreams of feeling comfortable in the presence of whites.
             a. "I never had education myself."
             b. " I can work outside all day"
             c. "Who can even imagine me looking a strange white mean in the eye?"
             In Alice Walker 's Everyday Use, the theme of the story concerns the way in which an individual understands her present life in relation to the traditions of her people and her culture. Walker presents a clear conflict between the traditional world of the narrator and the cotemporary view that her daughter holds on tradition. Using thorough descriptions, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the understanding of one's heritage and culture. Walker contrasts the ideas of heritage held by Mama and Dee. Mama views heritage as a practical concept. She understands her present lifestyle to be an accumulation of the items, and experiences with the people of her past. Alice Walker, in her short story "Everyday Use", uses Mama's appearance, dreams, and personality to emphasize the importance of heritage as a practical concept.
             Mama, the narrator, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. Mama describes herself as "a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands"(p.
             ...