Analysis of Everyday Use Story by Alice Walker - Article Example

inserts his/her full Everyday Use by Alice Walker The story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker depictsthe struggle of African Americans amongst the Whites in terms of their color, education and social standing by using the characters of Maggie, Dee and mama. It shows how mama, as she waits for the arrival of her daughter Dee, is anxious about Maggie’s feeling of inferiority because of her scars and burn marks and how Maggie might covet Dee’s luck of having an easier life. The beginning of the story shows how Maggie struggles to look presentable, since she is shy of carrying herself as an African American. The flashback reveals how Maggie got engulfed in a fire several years ago when her skin was burnt and her physical appearance was distorted. The lack of eye contact between mama, Dee and Maggie show how they have a tough time relating to each other. Mama’s inability to look into the eye of a white person shows how she has not been able to come to terms with the idea of equality. The love-hate relationship between the daughters has been depicted often in the story. At the very least, Maggie seems to have an inferiority complex because of the lack of opportunities she had compared to her sister Dee. At the onset of the story, Dee has been described as guest on some TV show which describes that there is something enchanting or striking about her. By stating “what a fine girl I have”, mama is accepting her feelings of pride when she is applauded for raising such a daughter as Dee (Walker 24). Mama seems to be preoccupied with self-hatred and considers nothing feminine about her as she associates herself with the rural class by using the words “man-working hands” (Walker 24). She is unable to look at a white man in his eye because of her ugly appearance. She also falls short of the expectations of her daughter who wants her to be humorous, slim and have fresh white skin. Mama shows disgust at the way Maggie walks like a “lame animal” by claiming that, even if she tried to look presentable by wearing nice clothes, her way of walking cannot be changed ever since she got burnt in the fire (Walker 25). Maggie’s way of walking with her head down shows how she imagines herself as a silent sufferer. On the other hand, Dee’s ability to stare without blinking shows her self-assuredness and critical thinking. The shocking sequence of events in that fire, including Maggie’s tears, smoking hair and her dress turning to ashes is still fresh in mama’s mind. This is the reason why she cannot stop comparing Dee to Maggie. Also, the way in which Dee stands by the tree during the fire without doing anything and her lack of concern for her sister Maggie who was being burnt points to Dee’s lack of empathy towards her sister. Furthermore, after both mama and Maggie seem not realize the worth of good education considering their rural background; whereas Dee found the knowledge she received from the school in Augusta particularly useful. Therefore, for Dee the everyday use of education was high as opposed to her mama and her sister Maggie for whom working hard had greater importance in everyday use. While Dee has a unique style of her own (Walker 26), mama has no room for style as she dresses up for work. During the narration, mama points to Dee’s habit of finding flaws in people and being the sort who had friends that worshipped Dee. In other words, Dee is described as a self-centric personality. As mama imagines instances of her and Maggie’s encounters with Dee she is time and again reminded of how Maggie would make sighing sounds like “uhnnnh” as she envies Dee’s appearance (Walker 28). Later, mama describes a change in Dee’s conventional hatred towards their house. Also Dee’s changing of name to one which was African-American was an astonishing development in the story as mama was least expecting it from Dee. Amongst some of the things that Dee was taking to decorate her home were mama’s two quilts which were of historical importance to their family. These quilts were part of their African-American identity as one of the pieces used in the quilts were from their great grandfather’s uniform during civil war. Here the conflicting interests of Maggie and Dee come into play as Maggie demonstrates shock at hearing Dee’s decision to take these quilts which had been saved for her wedding. Here the conflicting relationship between Maggie and Dee is revealed as Dee remains stubborn at taking these particular quilts despite two others that mama offered in lieu of these. Perhaps one of the major reasons that drew mama and Maggie apart from Dee was the difference in mindsets. While Dee appreciated the historical significance of the quilts and wanted to hang them up, Maggie and mama were more concerned with the usefulness of those quilts. Mama’s soft corner with her daughter Maggie becomes prominent when she hugs her and takes the quilts forcefully away from Dee. Dee, on the other hand, is sophisticated and values objects not for their usefulness but for their symbolic meaning contrary to mama and Maggie. This is precisely why Dee says “It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it." (Walker 34). Dee rejects her actual heritage when she states her intention to hang the quilts as if they were impersonal and foreign objects. Maggie, on the other hand, has true respect for these quilts because she shall use those quilts in the way they were supposed to be used. Furthermore, the changing of Dee’s name symbolizes how she wants to reconstruct her identity and shy away from the identity given to her by her ancestors. To conclude, this story shows how people like mama and Maggie take pride in their African American identity while Dee tries to get rid of it. The love-hate relationship between the mother and daughter (mama and Dee) is often depicted. It shows how circumstances, such as the fire in this case, change relationships and depicts a mother’s unflinching love for her less privileged daughter Maggie. It also shows how people like Dee fail to take pride in their heritage. Furthermore, the lack of interaction between Dee and Maggie shows how they share nothing similar. All in all, the story depicts how the African American (cultural) identity has the power to tie people together (as in the case of mama and Maggie) as well as isolate people who fail to appreciate its essence (as in the case of Dee). Work Cited Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Web. 27 June 2013. Read More