Everyday Use Maggie Character Analysis Essay
Samantha McCoy
English 1102
Ms. Bell
6/17/2015
Maggie Character Analysis
Today I will be writing a character analysis on Maggie from the short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Maggie is a quiet and shy individual that is always being looked down upon by other people. Throughout the story she is shown to have “no confidence or self-esteem. One occurrence that motivates her is the burn scars she got from the house fire several years ago. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs.” (69) Because of the burns she has become very self-conscious and ashamed. “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” (71) Since the fire Maggie became introverted and shy. “Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good-naturedly but can’t see well. She knows she is not bright.” (71) Because of her inability to see well she is not very bright. “I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into my room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap. Maggie just sat there on my bed with her mouth open.” (76) Maggie is shocked …show more content…
due to the fact that she usually never gets anything she wants because of her sister. Maggie can be labeled as a flat character.
“Flat character tend to stay the same throughout a story.” (55) Throughout the story Maggie doesn’t change at the beginning she is quiet and shy and in the end she still is. “Some writers try to distinguish the flat ones by giving each a single odd physical feature or mannerism.” (55) One of Maggie’s odd feature is the fact that she is unable to see well and another is the burn scars she got from the house fire years ago. “In most fiction minor characters tend to be flat instead of round.” (55) Maggie has a minor role in the story compared to her sister Dee’s and mother’s and therefore makes her a minor
character. Alice Walker uses both direct and indirect characteristics in Everyday Use. “Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house, in her shuffling way, but I stay her with me hand. And she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toe.” (72) “He moves to hug Maggie but she falls back, right up against the back of the chair. I feel her trembling there and when I look up I see the perspiration falling off her chin.” (72) In these two quotes it indirectly shows that Maggie is afraid of Dee and her friend Asalamalakim. “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” (71) This in an example of direct characterization because Maggie’s mother is telling us how she walks.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice “Everyday Use” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 69, 71, 72, 76
“Characters” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 55
English 1102
Ms. Bell
6/17/2015
Maggie Character Analysis
Today I will be writing a character analysis on Maggie from the short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Maggie is a quiet and shy individual that is always being looked down upon by other people. Throughout the story she is shown to have “no confidence or self-esteem. One occurrence that motivates her is the burn scars she got from the house fire several years ago. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs.” (69) Because of the burns she has become very self-conscious and ashamed. “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” (71) Since the fire Maggie became introverted and shy. “Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good-naturedly but can’t see well. She knows she is not bright.” (71) Because of her inability to see well she is not very bright. “I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into my room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap. Maggie just sat there on my bed with her mouth open.” (76) Maggie is shocked …show more content…
due to the fact that she usually never gets anything she wants because of her sister. Maggie can be labeled as a flat character.
“Flat character tend to stay the same throughout a story.” (55) Throughout the story Maggie doesn’t change at the beginning she is quiet and shy and in the end she still is. “Some writers try to distinguish the flat ones by giving each a single odd physical feature or mannerism.” (55) One of Maggie’s odd feature is the fact that she is unable to see well and another is the burn scars she got from the house fire years ago. “In most fiction minor characters tend to be flat instead of round.” (55) Maggie has a minor role in the story compared to her sister Dee’s and mother’s and therefore makes her a minor
character. Alice Walker uses both direct and indirect characteristics in Everyday Use. “Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house, in her shuffling way, but I stay her with me hand. And she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toe.” (72) “He moves to hug Maggie but she falls back, right up against the back of the chair. I feel her trembling there and when I look up I see the perspiration falling off her chin.” (72) In these two quotes it indirectly shows that Maggie is afraid of Dee and her friend Asalamalakim. “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” (71) This in an example of direct characterization because Maggie’s mother is telling us how she walks.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice “Everyday Use” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 69, 71, 72, 76
“Characters” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 55