The Themes and Narration Techniques of Everyday Use by...

The Themes and Narration Techniques of Everyday Use by Alice Walker Everyday Use, by Alice Walker, was first published in 1973. The story opens as Maggie and her mother, a black farm woman, await a visit from Maggies older sister, Dee, and a man who may be her husband--her mother is not sure whether they are actually married. Dee, who was always scornful of her familys way of life, has gone to college and now seems almost as distant as a film star. Maggie, who is not bright and who bears severe burn scars from a house fire many years before, is even more intimidated by her glamorous sibling. The central theme of the story concerns the way in which an individual--Dee--understands her present life in relation to the†¦show more content†¦While she now rejects the names of her immediate ancestors, she eagerly values their old handmade goods, such as the hand-carved benches made for the table when the family could not afford to buy chairs. To Dee, artifacts such as the benches or the quilts are strictly aesthetic objects. It never occurs to her t hat they, too, are symbols of oppression--her family made these things because they could not afford to buy them. Her admiration for them now seems to reflect a cultural trend toward valuing handmade objects, rather than any sincere interest in her heritage. After all, when she was offered a quilt before she went away to college, she rejected it as old-fashioned, out of style. Dee is not the only one confused about the heritage of the black woman in the rural South. Although the mother and Maggie are skeptical of Dee, they recognize the limitations of their own lives. The mother has only a second-grade education and admits that she cannot imagine looking a strange white man in the eye. Maggie knows she is not bright and walks with a sidelong shuffle. Although their dispositions lead them to make the best of their lives, they admire Dees fierce pride even as they feel the force of her scorn. It is the mothers point of view which permits the readers understanding of both Dee and Maggi e. Both young women might seem stereotypical--one a smart but ruthless college girl, the other a sweet but ineffectual homebody. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Meaning of Everyday Use with Characterization1495 Words   |  6 Pagesof Everyday Use with Characterization Analyzing characterization is the key to find fictions controlling idea and central insight--theme. Direct presentation--one character description technique--usually directly shows what characters are like by exposition, analysis, or another characters description. The other way to shape characters is to use the indirect presentation by describing their actions and leaving room for readers to develop their own ideas about the characters. Everyday UseRead MoreAlice Malsenior6001 Words   |  25 PagesAlice Walker: Peeling an Essence As an African- American novelist, short–story writer, essayist, poet, critic, and editor, Alice Walker’s plethora of literary works examines many aspects of African American life as well as historical issues that are further developed by Walker’s unique point of view. Writers like Alice Walker make it possible to bring words and emotions to voices and events that are often silenced. Far from the traditional image of the artist, she has sought what amounts to a