In Everyday Use, Who Is the Mother Proud of? Who Does the Mother Prefer? How Is This Suggested?
3. Who is the mother proud of? Who does the mother prefer? How is this suggested?
At the beginning of the story, Dee is definitely the one Mama is proud of, although it is not very clear who she prefers. There are subtle hints of it though: she subconsciously pairs herself with Maggie because it is this daughter that has been with her and in her life for the longest. Although Dee is successful and confident, Mama gives readers the impression that she is homely and simple, who enjoys an uncomplicated way of life, which is what draws Maggie to her. As the story progresses we slowly begin to see that what Mama feels for Dee is not exactly pride, but pride mixed with awe and a little fear. Maggie is the one she prefers, despite her shortcomings. Hints are present in the story from the start that Maggie is the one beside Mama at all times but it is not until the end when Mama finally realizes what she truly feels about her two daughters.
p.334
“Maggie and I” ( companionship, closeness
“wait for her in the yard…made so clean and wavy” ( makes careful preparations for her return, desire to please
“held life always in the palm of her hand” ( has Mama in the palm of her hand as well?
““no” is a word the world has never learned to say to her” ( suggests Mama herself is too, reluctant to deny her eldest anything
A hint of longing seeps into Mama’s tone in her imaginations
p.345
“Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort. Out of a dark and soft-seated limousine I am ushered into a bright room filled with many people. There I meet a smiling, gray, sporty man like Johnny Carson who shakes my hand and tells me what a fine girl I have. Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes. She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers.”
This seems to indicate that although Mama is proud of her daughter and her achievements
At the beginning of the story, Dee is definitely the one Mama is proud of, although it is not very clear who she prefers. There are subtle hints of it though: she subconsciously pairs herself with Maggie because it is this daughter that has been with her and in her life for the longest. Although Dee is successful and confident, Mama gives readers the impression that she is homely and simple, who enjoys an uncomplicated way of life, which is what draws Maggie to her. As the story progresses we slowly begin to see that what Mama feels for Dee is not exactly pride, but pride mixed with awe and a little fear. Maggie is the one she prefers, despite her shortcomings. Hints are present in the story from the start that Maggie is the one beside Mama at all times but it is not until the end when Mama finally realizes what she truly feels about her two daughters.
p.334
“Maggie and I” ( companionship, closeness
“wait for her in the yard…made so clean and wavy” ( makes careful preparations for her return, desire to please
“held life always in the palm of her hand” ( has Mama in the palm of her hand as well?
““no” is a word the world has never learned to say to her” ( suggests Mama herself is too, reluctant to deny her eldest anything
A hint of longing seeps into Mama’s tone in her imaginations
p.345
“Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort. Out of a dark and soft-seated limousine I am ushered into a bright room filled with many people. There I meet a smiling, gray, sporty man like Johnny Carson who shakes my hand and tells me what a fine girl I have. Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes. She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers.”
This seems to indicate that although Mama is proud of her daughter and her achievements