Everyday Use by Alice Walker

A detailed Summary of Everyday Use by Alice Walker


People identify themselves by their colour, culture, language or religion. The identity goes back to generations and it doesn't start or change within the individual. It is an evolutionary process where each person brings upon some changes. This is best described in Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use", where three characters, a mother and two daughters, are portrayed differently, each with its different qualities and philosophies on life that are often seen in generations.

Heritage is an important part of a person's life. It tells the person where it came from and helps the person reach its destiny, almost like a road map. In this story, Dee has trouble understanding the meaning of heritage. Instead of using it to complement her life into the right direction, she puts it on display. For example, when she and her mate come home, they start taking pictures of the house and everything around it. "She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me. She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included. When a cow comes nibbling around the edge of the ya


'There I was not,' I said, 'before 'Dicie' cropped up in our family, so why should I try to trace it that far back?'" (2243)

The mother's remark throws back the comments made by Hakim-a-barber, meaning that past generations aren't that important to the couple (Hakim-a-barber and Dee) as they are to her and Maggie.

The above shows how Dee has a different point of view on certain things. She wants to show that she is 'modern' by exposing 'good, valuable' things. She may have an appreciation for art, but this actually shows that she is of limited intelligence because she thinks that quilts could only be hung. Another example would be when she was taking pictures of the house. She behaves like a nervous tourist around unknown culture, capturing it all on film for some kind of display. She also changes her name from Dee to "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjol." (2243) To the great surprise of her mother, she says the following: "I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me." (2243) This shows how she wants to change personality, hiding her family tree behind her name. But her name means a lot to the family as she was named after

Some common words found in the essay are:
Alice Walker's, Dee Wangero, Leewanika Kemanjol, Civil War, Maggie Dee, , taking pictures, pictures house, dee wangero, taking pictures house,

Approximate Word count = 778
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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