Everyday Use Analysis
Through its eye opening events, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” suggest everyone can reach a breaking point and stand up. Honesty and integrity pitted against posturing and artificiality can result in positive change. Mama showed how things can happen in life, and can change your whole perspective on many things.
In “Everyday Use” Dee was mamas daughter that was never satisfied. She had always been favored by everyone based on her looks and her whit’s compared to her sister Maggie. Dee felt like no one should tell her no. she knew her mother wouldn’t stop her from getting her way.
Maggie was the sweet innocent daughter. Everyone stepped on her like a door mat. She was genuine and caring, very quite and shy. She had all the quality’s of a honest human being. Even though her sister Dee had always belittled her to the point she was afraid of her. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes” (161).
Mama had finally realized she had to stand up to Dee. From all of the built up attitude that Dee had given her mother and sister it finally hit Mama. When Maggie was so willing to let her sister have the quilts it showed Mama it was time for a change. “when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet” (166). “I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (166).
When mama had her last straw she stood up to Dee about the quilts. Dee was ungrateful and a spoiled child that didn’t care about anyone but herself. Maggie was use to Dee getting her way. Mama realized that Maggie deserved the quilts and she stood up to Dee and gave them to Maggie. At that point mama had made a positive change by putting Dee in her place and taking up for Maggie who was so sweet and innocent her being a honest person and staying true to herself showed mama she deserved better.
In “Everyday Use” Dee was mamas daughter that was never satisfied. She had always been favored by everyone based on her looks and her whit’s compared to her sister Maggie. Dee felt like no one should tell her no. she knew her mother wouldn’t stop her from getting her way.
Maggie was the sweet innocent daughter. Everyone stepped on her like a door mat. She was genuine and caring, very quite and shy. She had all the quality’s of a honest human being. Even though her sister Dee had always belittled her to the point she was afraid of her. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes” (161).
Mama had finally realized she had to stand up to Dee. From all of the built up attitude that Dee had given her mother and sister it finally hit Mama. When Maggie was so willing to let her sister have the quilts it showed Mama it was time for a change. “when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet” (166). “I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (166).
When mama had her last straw she stood up to Dee about the quilts. Dee was ungrateful and a spoiled child that didn’t care about anyone but herself. Maggie was use to Dee getting her way. Mama realized that Maggie deserved the quilts and she stood up to Dee and gave them to Maggie. At that point mama had made a positive change by putting Dee in her place and taking up for Maggie who was so sweet and innocent her being a honest person and staying true to herself showed mama she deserved better.
Cited: Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use”. Literature and the writing process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. 9th ed. Upper Saddle river: Pearson,2010. 3-7. Print.