Alice Walker And Everyday Use Essay

Alice Walker and James Baldwin both use their literature characters to bring social problems to light. A few of the social concerns that can be seen in their work consists of race, class, gender and society; the outside forces. Although both of these authors use characters to describe social issues, their attempts vary in their work. The following will compare and contrast how Baldwin’s and Walker’s characters use this connection as a means to sort through their “despair”.
Every Day Use by Alice Walker is a story narrated by a mother that has a very appropriate title. This title refers to the character, Maggie, whose sister says will use the heirloom quilts made by their grandmother every day when they should be hung like she would do with such priceless items. Maggie sorrowfully says it’s okay; her sister can have the quilts. The mother sees such a selfless daughter, who in fact feels worthless in comparison with her sister and most likely several people, considering her poor self-image. She abruptly rips the quilts from her more dominant daughters’ hands, Dee, and hands them over to Maggie.
The way Alice Walker uses these characters to portray race, class, gender and society is shrewdly done. The mother who is possibly a farmer when reading the description: “I am a big boned woman with man working hands” can represent class (1334 Charter). She is a low class citizen who lives in a small home that Dee, her daughter,
This story is narrated by a brother who is asked to take care of his younger brother Sonny by his passing mother. Sadly, Sonny is a heroin addict, hence the title, and always in trouble. His brother doesn’t want to deal with it, for obvious reasons: one being that is too hurtful to go through but in the end he was able to find the strength after the loss of his little girl to make amends with Sonny and take him under his