Riley Walters October 26, 2014 “Everyday Use” Character Analysis The Character of Mama in “Everyday Use” Mama, the narrator of Alice Walker’s story, “Everyday Use,” is a strong, loving mother who is sometimes threatened and burdened by her daughters, Dee and Maggie. Gentle and stern, her inner monologue offers us a glimpse of the limits of a mother’s unconditional love. Mama is brutally honest and often critical in her assessment of both Dee and Maggie. She harshly describes shy, withering Maggie’s limitations, and Dee provokes an even more pointed evaluation. Mama resents the education, sophistication, and air of superiority that Dee has acquired over the years.
Melissa da Ponte ENG 102 A02 Fiction Essay Final Draft “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie is a pretty, fifteen year old girl with long dark blonde hair, and like many girls her age, she cares only about how she looks and how people look at her and see her. She’s very self-absorbed, judgmental, and seems very insecure. The relationship between herself and her family isn’t great, especially between her mother and her. Her mother is always comparing Connie and her sister June, and because of this everything about Connie had two sides to it. One side for when she’s home, and one side for when she’s out with her friends.
Ms. Johnson looks at Maggie and takes the quilts from Dee’s hands. The main character of the story is Ms. Johnson because she is the one who is tested by the story’s events. She is tested when her daughter Dee asks if she can keep the quilts that were handmade by her grandmother. Just then Ms. Johnson realizes how different her two daughters are. Dee is selfish, snobby, and mean.
Every Day Use On Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday use”, it clearly shows two different points of views. Mama values her heritage and embraces her life as it is, while Dee has always wanted something different. Dee has never been told no and sees her family and their belongings as a piece of history. Mama loves Dee and has never denied her from anything she ever wanted, even at the expense of Maggie; however, when Dee comes back for a visit everything changed. Mama finally stands up to Dee and realizes the beauty in Maggie.
All or Nothing How would it make you feel to be walked over, every day, by someone you love? In the short story “everyday use”, By: Alice Walker. There are two sisters that are so very different, they just don’t see eye-to-eye. First you have Maggie; she is quiet and is not happy about the way she looks. Then there is Dee, the older sister, which is out spoken and thinks she is the best looking girl in the world.
The quotes ‘If he ain’t, I better look someplace else, she said playfully’ and ‘Hi, Good-lookin’.’ These show all the workers think Curley’s wife is attractive and she knows this, so she’s being confident with them. It was unusual of women in the time of the great depression to be bubbly and playful as times were hard and money was tight. Another way in which Steinbeck presents women is as objects that are wanted but should not be obtained. The word "jail bait" is used to describe Curley's wife many times through the book, this word describes his wife in a way that presents her as a very attractive young girl, but the term jail bait can also be used to show that she is a danger to toy with. Despite the fact that she is constantly flaunting herself, if she is approached in any way it will cause conflict with Curley which could result in an altercation that could cause a prison sentence.
B. Rembert Professor Owens English 1101 1 September 2012 In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the story symbolizes the different perspectives of what heritage truly represents and the value of significant items. Sisters, Dee and Maggie, both strive for their Mama’s acceptance and love. Maggie, who is timid yet caring, envies her older sister. However, Dee feels quite different towards her sister. She shows resentment towards Maggie and insults her intelligence.
According to Erik Erikson's theory Trust vs Mistrust a person thinks that you can trust someone but they really cant. For example Carmen comes home feeling hurt, betrayal, anger and shame by her father as he now has a new family and she turns immediately to Tibby for comfort and advice. Tibby's friendship with Bailey, a young girl with leukemia, reinforces the feelings she has for the Sisterhood, because her death shows Tibby how important the small pleasures she gave to others while alive can be emulated when she is within the Sisterhood. Bridget learned when Lena organized the girls to come to her aid even when she was in Greece that no matter how big the problem may seem, there is always someone you love to catch you when you fall. Lena learned that she could give her heart within the fear of rejection, and then be the one who comforts when others like Bridget, feel rejection as well.
Others, including her mother and her Aunt, significantly shaped Sybylla’s identity. The impact of Sybylla’s mother’s words “you are lazy and bad” as well as “you’re really a very useless girl for your age” create a negative self-perception of her identity. The use of direct speech enables the reader to visualise and recreate the scene, therefore understanding the effects of other’s on the formation of Sybylla’s identity. Contrary to this, Sybylla’s Aunt Helen promotes positive growth in Sybylla by nurturing her. Her kind and gracious Aunt build’s Sybylla’s confidence and self esteem and is gentle and understanding, recognising her inner beauty, while reinforcing her physical beauty.
All these themes or can we call them questions or problems, are what the author tries to show us and maybe answer us trough the short story “The Sin Bin or Lucy’s Heart”. I’ve got the feeling, when I read the text that Lucy truly is a well behaviour girl; she’s a Grade A student and most of the times listen to her mother. But she’s weak and naive, she wants to be liked and to be cool, or maybe she’s just an easy target for group pressure. Her mother tells her not to smoke because it’s bad for her organs etc. Although she know it’s true she does it, because Bethan her popular but bad mannered best friend does it, and had told her that it keeps you skinny.