The story "Everyday Use" is written by Alice Walker. "Everyday Use" is narrated by a middle aged black women who has two daughters; Maggie and Dee. Dee is depicted as a smart but ruthless college girl, while Maggie is a sweet but ineffectual homebody. The story frequently discusses animal characteristics that parallel the three female characters; the Mother, Maggie and Dee.
             The mother as a character is compared to the cow. In the beginning the mother describes herself; "In real life I am a large, big boned woman, with rough man- working hands...my fat keeps me hot in zero weather, I can work outside all day"(149). Later in the story the mother says she use to love milking cows; "Cows are soothing and slow and don't bother you unless you try to milk them the wrong way"(150). In a sense the mother describes her common characteristics. The description of herself vividly parallels the qualities of a cow. She is large, similar to a cow and big boned. The image of rough hands assimilates with a cow being a rougher less fragile animal. The description of her fat that keeps her hot in cold weather and her being able to work outside all day creates the image of the cow who carries a large amount of fat to enable it to stay outside all year round. The mother also lives in the middle of a cow pasture, this evidently adds to the cow imagery. The fact of the mother being an older black women, could also incorporate that in the days of slave labor black women were perceived as "breeders" like the cow because they were valued in terms of their ability to reproduce. The animal imagery of the cow prominently relates to the mother.
             The character Maggie is described and paralleled to two animals the dog and the elephant. Maggie is the younger sibling who is shy, heavy and lacking self confidence. Maggie's mother describes her as she comes out of the house; "Have you ever seen a lame...