Mrs. Jones' Class 2015-2016 - Home



“Everyday Use” by Alice WalkerDiscussion QuestionsKeyCharacterization and ConflictList the characteristics of the three main characters in “Everyday Use” as they are revealed by the narrator. Momma – loving, strong, hardworking, honest, practical, narrow-mindedMaggie – shy, nervous, backward, uneducated, generous, kindDee – condescending, arrogant, judgmental, pretentious, confidentHow do the differences between these three characters add to the conflict in the story? Dee comes across like she better than Momma and Maggie – she even changed her name. Momma and Dee are somewhat in awe of her and perhaps even a little jealous of the life Dee lives. Dee asks for things in the house, (churn, quilts) describing how she’ll use them for decorative purposes rather than the purpose they were designed for. Dee claims she wants the items so that she can perserve her heritage and that if Maggie had them, she would just use them everyday, ruining them.What is the conflict?Dee wants two of Mamma’s quilts, but Mamma gives them to Maggie instead.Point of ViewWhat is the point of view in “Everyday Use”? 1st person (Momma)How does the style of writing reflect the character of the person who tells the story? That is, look at the language of the speaker. What are characteristics of that language and how do those characteristics reflect the personality of the speaker?Colorful language, specialized diction, and Mama’s unique phrases and observations give “Everyday Use” a sense of realism. Giving voice to a member of a group that had typically been silenced, Walker gives Mama the power to narrate and control and use language to convey her story and thoughts in her own way. Walker has Mama use the specialized language of butter churning and cheese making (Dee wants to take her mother’s “dasher” and the “churn top”), which adds realism to the story. These objects evoke the self-supporting life of a rural farm family and endless cycles of labor its members face.SymbolismWhat do the quilts symbolize? “Everyday Use” focuses on the bonds between women of different generations and their enduring legacy, as symbolized in the quilts they fashion together. This connection between generations is strong, yet Dee’s arrival and lack of understanding of her history shows that those bonds are vulnerable as well. The relationship between Aunt Dicie and Mama, the experienced seamstresses who made the quilts, is very different from the relationship between Maggie and Dee, sisters who share barely a word and have almost nothing in common. Just as Dee cannot understand the legacy of her name, passed along through four generations, she does not understand the significance of the quilts, which contain swatches of clothes once worn or owned by at least a century’s worth of ancestors.The quilts are pieces of living history, documents in fabric that chronicle the lives of the various generations and the trials, such as war and poverty, that they faced. The quilts serve as a testament to a family’s history of pride and struggle. With the limitations that poverty and lack of education placed on her life, Mama considers her personal history one of her few treasures. Her house contains the handicrafts of her extended family. Instead of receiving a financial inheritance from her ancestors, Mama has been given the quilts. For her, these objects have a value that Dee, despite professing her desire to care for and preserve the quilts, is unable to fathom.What other evidence in the story lead us to see the quilts as symbols of a bigger issue? The fact that both Dee and Maggie want the quilts, and that Mamma ends up giving them to Dee.How does the climactic ending turn the tables on Dee’s use of terms like “backward” and “heritage”? Although claiming that the preservation of the quilts is of paramount concern, Dee has no real understanding of or respect for her mother’s ancestors, viewing them much as she views her mother: a country clod she is glad to have left behind. While Dee claims to have reverence for the past, at the end of the story, she criticizes Mama and Maggie for remaining mired in the old ways of living and thinking. Creating a life altogether different from the past is Dee’s primary objective. This attitude is yet another way in which she expresses her disconnection to and lack of appreciation for her heritage. To Dee, life in the country is something to escape, deny, and condemn. Her sudden turn to embrace the objects of the past is thus all the more empty and unbelievable. While she believes she is earnest, it is Mama, despite her poor education and lack of worldliness, who sees the shallowness of Dee’s motives. For Mama, the best way to protect the spirit of the quilts is to risk destroying them while in Maggie’s permanent “care.” The irony of this is not bitter but touching: preserving the objects and taking them out of everyday use is disrespectful because it disregards the objects’ intended, original uses. Keeping them in circulation in daily life keeps the family history alive. What is ironic about Dee’s use of these words?Dee does not really understand or truly appreciate her heritage. She still looks down on her mother and sister for never seeming to change, calling them old-fashioned. Dee’s name is even part of her heritage, yet she changed thereby ignoring her family history. ThemeHow does the title hint at the central theme of the story? The significance of the title “Everyday Use” and the effect of the story’s portrayal of a daughter’s brief visit hinge on the irony that comes from the sisters’ differing intended use for the quilts. The quilts are most valuable to Mama and Maggie, not as objects to be hung on the wall and respected as folk art, but as the practical household items they are. Mama risks Maggie’s harming or destroying the quilts, valuable and irreplaceable documents of family history, in exchange for the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they have been passed on to the right daughter. Mama contends that Maggie, supposedly mentally inferior to her sister, has an ability that Dee does not: she can quilt. While Maggie may subject the quilts to the wear and tear of everyday use, she can replace them and contribute a scrap of family history to the next generation. Dee wants to preserve the quilts and protect them from the harm her sister might inflict, but she shows no true understanding of their inherent worth as a family totem. She relegates the objects to mere display items.What is the central theme? What other evidence in the story hints at this central theme? What in the story helps especially to bring the theme to life for you and keep it from becoming an abstract idea?Theme – family heritage. Angered by what she views as a history of oppression in her family, Dee has constructed a new heritage for herself and rejected her real heritage. She fails to see the family legacy of her given name and takes on a new name, Wangero, which she believes more accurately represents her African heritage. However, the new name, like the “African” clothes and jewelry she wears to make a statement, is meaningless. She has little true understanding of Africa, so what she considers her true heritage is actually empty and false. Furthermore, Dee views her real heritage as dead, something of the past, rather than as a living, ongoing creation. She desires the carved dasher and family quilts, but she sees them as artifacts of a lost time, suitable for display but not for actual, practical use. She has set herself outside her own history, rejecting her real heritage in favor of a constructed one.ExtensionWhat are the differences between Maggie and Dee? List those differences specifically, with references to the story. Maggie is uneducated, backward, timid, and plain. Dee is educated, outgoing, confident and vibrant.What do these differences suggest about conflict in this African-American family? Most people would see getting an education as being a positive thing. In the case of this family, it’s as if education has further widened the gap between Dee and Maggie. They don’t understand one another and most likely will not be able to overcome their differences.Do you think these differences point to wider issues within the African-American community, particularly when this story was written? What might those issues be? Education, racism, family heritage, social status“Everyday Use” by Alice WalkerDiscussion QuestionsDirections – ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER, answer each of the following questions and be prepared to share your responses.Characterization and ConflictList the characteristics of the three main characters in “Everyday Use” as they are revealed by the narrator. How do the differences between these two characters add to the conflict in the story? What is the conflict?Point of ViewWhat is the point of view in “Everyday Use”? How does the style of writing reflect the character of the person who tells the story? That is, look at the language of the speaker. What are characteristics of that language and how do those characteristics reflect the personality of the speaker?SymbolismWhat do the quilts symbolize? What other evidence in the story lead us to see the quilts as symbols of a bigger issue? How does the climactic ending turn the tables on Dee’s use of terms like “backward” and “heritage”? What is ironic about Dee’s use of these words?ThemeHow does the title hint at the central theme of the story? What is the central theme? What other evidence in the story hints at this central theme? What in the story helps especially to bring the theme to life for you and keep it from becoming an abstract idea?ExtensionWhat are the differences between Maggie and Dee? List those differences specifically, with references to the story. What do these differences suggest about conflict in this African-American family? Do you think these differences point to wider issues within the African-American community, particularly when this story was written? What might those issues be? ................
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