Indirect Characterization In Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'

Eddie Truong
Prof. Gray
English 28
11 March 2013 Finding The Theme Many stories around the world have a wide variety of theme and issues that are not easily identified. Throughout stories, authors like to describe the characterization of character rather than the plot. The reason authors don’t describe the plot of the story is because through the characterization of the characters, readers are able to distinguish the different issues the author has planted in the story. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story that explores the way some people tend to view their family heritage and culture. Even though the title of the story does not give a sense of genre, it is actually a drama story because it has conflicts between different people. This story begins when Mama and Maggie are waiting at their front yard for the arrival of their daughter/sister. When Dee, the sister arrives, she informs her family that she has thrown away her name for another name. When they all get into the house, Dee asks her mom
for valuables that were left behind by their past relatives. At first Mama agrees to give it to her, but refuses later because Mama felt that Dee would not carry the important heritage of the family tradition. Dee, who is outraged at this point, runs out of the house and left saying that they do not understand the real importance of their culture. In the story, “Everyday Use” uses direct and indirect characterization through Mama, Maggie, and Dee to elucidate the theme of personal belief some people have for their family heritage. One way the theme becomes clearer to the readers is through the indirect characterization of Mama.
Indirect characterization is shown throughout the story to show the traits of the characters by what they say and what they do. The readers are able to have a sense of who the character is by indirect characterization. For example, “A yard like this is more comfortable then most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room” (108). Through this quote the readers are able to realize that Mama is proud of what she has and the yard was not just a property to her, it is her culture. Another example given is when Mama “snatched the quilts out of miss Wangero’s hand and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (115), and then at the end mama and Maggie sits outside enjoying their sister leave. This shows the readers that Mama believe that Maggie is more qualified to carry on the heritage and their belief of heritage is better than their
sister. Another character that is characterized directly and indirectly to help clarify the theme is Maggie. Unlike indirect characterization, direct characterization is when the traits are actually given to us by the narrator rather than their actions and words. The way the author directly and indirectly characterize Maggie helps the reader see the belief she has in her family culture. For instance, When Maggie lets her sister have the quilt because she “can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts” (115) since she was taught how to make the quilt by their grandmother. Maggie does this because she had acquired the skill of quilting from her grandmother. This quote shows that Maggie is open minded and wanted to learn her family’s culture. The readers can have a sense that Maggie feels that the culture of making quilt is better than needing an item to actually remind you of your culture. Another example is when Maggie says that the dasher was whittled by “Aunt Dee’s first husband”(113) and that his name was “Henry, but they called him Stash”(113). Maggie says this quietly and outspoken because her sister Dee didn’t remember who in their family made that significant piece. The reader are shown that Maggie actually know more about their family valuables and their heritage than Dee. Maggie values the importance of the people who created this piece, while Dee just valued the material. The last character that helps elucidate the theme through indirect characterization is Dee. The indirect characterization of Dee helps show the reader the views of heritage she has compared to her mother and sister. A given example is when Dee comes back home and tell her family that she has thrown away her name, which has been in their family for years and chosen the name: “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo” (112). This shows the readers that Dee has thrown her family’s name that has been passed down their culture because she wanted to be even closer to the roots of their African Americans culture. Another example that is given is when Dee yells at her mother that Maggie shouldn’t wear the quilts because she doesn’t “appreciate the quilts” that their ancestors has made. Dee believes that “they’re priceless”(114) and that they should be hung up. Even though the readers will find that Dee is being disrespectful to her mother, the readers are able to recognize that the quilt was made with materials from African American culture. Indirect and direct characterization is a key way to help readers wrestle their way through the different issues expressed by the author. The descriptions of the character’s traits and their words to their actions are important in every story. Many stories would be difficult to figure out the issues or theme without these key points. It could leave readers confused and mislead into many different directions. Through indirect and direct characterization, the readers are able to find the ideas given by the author.