Alice Walker wrote a short story called "Everyday Use," based on her life as an African in early America. The story was made into a short film that followed the theme (African-American culture) of the story by keeping the plot, settings, conflict/climax, and characters the same. However, the story and short film differ in dialogue and point of view.…
In the twenty-second paragraph, Dillard uses imagery to describe scenes that she was only able to see because she was in the airplane with Rahm. Up in the air, the “mountain looked infernal, a drear and sheer plane of lifeless rock.” She chose to include this imagery in order to explain how the art created by the plane’s movements brought life to the landscape. The audience understands how flying with Rahm allowed Dillard the opportunity to do things she has never done before. They are also able to see through her eyes as if they were also in the plane.…
The original Virgin Mary’s facial expression is dramatically different than Lopez’s version. Controversial Mary doesn’t look soft and conforming, she appears to be very strong willed and fierce. This is an important trait because it shows that women are no longer the compliant people they used to be, they’ve developed and are ready for much more. The boxing gloves signify she’s ready to fight…
Marie Laure exhibited bravery often in the book. At the beginning of the book, when she first became blind, her father tried to teach her to get around in the city. He built a model of the city to help her understand the city and find her way. Then he took her to the middle of the city and told her to find her way home. At first she was scared and said she couldn’t do it, but she asked her father to take…
overcome her fear and gain courage. The text states “You’re a God’s warrior on the battlefield…
Alice Walker, the author of “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, describes to us a point in time in which an “accident” distorted her perception of her beauty. Growing up Walker would receive comments such as “isn’t she the cutest thing”, she believed she was beautiful. After she was involved in a BB gun incident her eye was injured, everything changed, she let this small flaw affect the way she viewed herself. She was blinded, she believed this incident had changed her, but in reality everyone saw her the same “You did not change…” they would tell her. Walker eventually had a daughter, Rebecca, she allowed her other to open her eyes, to accept that she was still beautiful. There is a popular phrase that states “beauty is in the eyes…
In “Everyday Use” Alice Walker takes a deeper look at the concept of heritage through the conflicted relationship of Mamma and her two daughters. Heritage by dictionary definition is property that descends to an heir; legacy; birthright. The conflict in “Everyday Use” climaxes when Mamma must decide which daughter will receive the quilts. It is through the characters Mamma, Dee (Wangero), and Maggie that the meaning of heritage is explored.…
Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” written in 1973 and it was widely studied and frequently anthologized short story, “Everyday Use” came out as one of the story collection In Love and Trouble. In “Everyday Use” she bring up many issue such as comparing relationship between heritage and tradition past. The story also question whether or heritage is something one use or something one possess.…
Courage isn’t just about standing up for others, it can also be protecting yourself from others. In the book, Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, Cassie had to stand for herself against her arch nemesis, Lillian Jean. When Cassie was walking on the sidewalk, she accidentally bumped into Lillian Jean. Lillian Jean got mad and told her how she was supposed to get out of the way, and stand in the road when a white person was coming since she was black. Lillian Jean said for her to apologize, andPeople show courage all the time, whether it’s doing something good in a big crowd, or doing the little things when no one’s watching. In roll of thunder hear my cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, cassie must show courage because she has to deal with the racism. The book is Cassie had to show courage when she stood up for Cassie just replied with “You…
Initially, you get the impression of Celie as a shadow in the background- the kind of person that you wouldn’t notice even if she was right in front of you. She was utterly silent in her life, never getting in anyone’s way or saying what was on her mind; until she discovered the healing power of writing a series of letters, addressed to God first, and then her sister. Through her writing, she discovers her true nature and the woman that she was supposed to be in her own life.…
In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” Mama, the narrator of the story, is rather distant with her daughter Dee and dreams about reconciling with her on a television show. Specifically, she imagines Dee expressing gratitude for all that she has done for her, while embracing her (Mama) “with tears in her eyes (Walker 315).” It is obvious that Mama doesn’t understand her daughter’s life choice to adopt an African lifestyle and feels that Dee is rejecting her origins and family. Furthermore, the reader can see that Mama has a troublesome relationship with Dee by the amount of tension between them. This strained relationship becomes clear when Dee “went to the trunk at the foot of (Mama’s) bed and started rifling through it (Walker 320).” The narrator…
Mary bravely; was the first to get the door open and the first to get out the door of the home, while being shot at carrying her youngest child, Sarah. Following close behind were men, who were being butchered as they ran out, either by gun shots, or slathered by hatchets. She was surrounded by the bodies of neighbors and relatives. I was taken back, at the picture in my mind while reading, how she could have watched her three children get taken prisoner from her and sent off in all directions and everyone she loved die around her. Yet she still continued to fight to stay alive. How many people would do that?…
In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker the author explains Maggie and Dee’s views on the world and culture. The way people view Maggie and Dee’s lifestyle is how they can interpret their outlook on culture. Maggie says “I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day.”(Walker 59) She is referring to the clothes she wears as a part of her daily lifestyle. I can relate to that by the school clothes I wear five days a week, six hours a day as a part of my daily recurrence. Dee on the other hand dresses differently than Maggie. “A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation from high school.” (Walker 60) This text shows that Dee is more dressy than Maggie. One way we can view Maggie and Dee’s culture is that Dee is more…
In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, tradition and culture play a big part in the story’s theme; tradition and culture also play a big part in Sherman Alexie’s “This Is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.” The effects that culture and tradition had in “Everyday Use” were similar to Sherman Alexie’s story but the ways that they were displayed were not the same. In many ways, “Everyday Use” showed the effect that culture had on its’ characters mainly Dee. Through the stories Thomas-Builds-the-Fire tells, tradition and culture have a similar effect on Victor. Both Dee and Victor were affected negatively by their surroundings. Whether it’s Dee becoming her own person or Victor struggling to find his identity, culture and tradition have huge roles…
Anne vs. Mary of The Other Boleyn Girl Even though the movie The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) looks like it describes some historical events, it demonstrates an eternal rivalry that exists between two opposite kinds of women who try to gain a man’s attention and love. In this era of England’s history, women were not very favorable in the society. They were inferior to men and had to obey their parents without question. This belief carried over into marriage, where women would do the same with their husbands. Without a doubt, both Mary and Anne were described as beautiful young women, but the approach that they decided to take was completely different.…