Everyday Use by Alice Walker

Every Day Use by Alice Walker

Alice Walker, top known possibly as the author of The Color Purple, was the eighth kid of Georgia sharecroppers. After a babyhood accident blind her in one eye, she went on and become valedictorian of her confined school, and went to Spellman College and Sarah Lawrence College on scholarships, graduate in 1965. Alice Walker volunteered in the voter listing drives of the 1960s in Georgia, and went to vocation after college in the Welfare Department in New York City. Alice Walker wedded in 1967 (and detached in 1976). Her initial book of poetry come out in 1968 and her first innovative just after her daughter's birth in 1970. Alice Walker's early poems, novel and short story deal with themes familiar to readers of her later works: rape, violence, remoteness, troubled relationships, multi-generational perspectives, chauvinism and bigotry. From the story, I can argue that most African Americans are still in the struggle to define their personal identities in terms of their traditions and culture. I can support walker's ideas that, African-Americans are both Africans and Americans, thus denying any side of ones heritage depicts disrespect of the individual's ancestors.

In everyday use by Alice walker, several characters have been manifested, in a similar understanding, major themes have been highlighted, firstly is the theme of family heritage, this theme explains characters connections to their ancestral roots. This is apparent because of the fact one of the characters Dee Johnson is changing her name, mannerism and appearance despite of the fact that her family has lived in United States for long, every day use creates antagonism between characters with one character being Dee or wangero who comes home to her parents mama and Johnson, at the time of arrival difference is noted because she has changed her name to an African name. The theme is also manifested in the use of conflicts, irony, and symbols (Edmund 97).

Another theme highlighted is the theme of materialism, this theme is expounded through use of the foil characters who are Dee and Maggie, the theme is expounded on how objectivity takes different identity in regard to ones context. Maggie and Mama are actually with their cultural beliefs and heritage, this is on the basis of frugal traditional ways and materialistic chunks which Dee asks are seen as cultural apropos if they were used on every day use.

The theme of tradition is manifested in the book everyday use because Walker can see the main character Mama who is Mrs. Johnson beliefs in some cultural aspects by the kind of meals which she prefers. The theme of tradition is also revealed by Dee who prefers to dress in the outdated attires as a symbolic representation, also the mamas yard is a manifestation of conservatism

The theme of modernism is outlined in the book everyday use because we can see the young modern girl Dee expressing herself in nasty and foreign languages; this clearly manifests the dynamics of modernism. This theme is also seen when Maggie, a young daughter who stays with Mama (Johnson wife), prefers modern fried cookies, (Walker 86).

Theme of education and knowledge is manifested through the young educated Dee who gained his education in foreign lands as it is quoted in the short story. Illiteracy is manifested as the core theme because we can see the woman famously referred to as mama had hardly any education and that he did not see the need of the formal education but instead promoted cultural beliefs and societal norms, this is evident because she preferred traditional marriage as opposed to modernism, (Edmund 97).

The theme of love is also well outlined in this book because Alice walker addresses the relationship between the two daughters whose are seen competing for mothers love; the two girls have an attraction to the quilt because the same is valued in the environment the theme that is apparent and recognized is the Daughter's competition for the mother's love and pride in them. It is also apparent that the mothers love can not be compared with materialist nature of the environment, (Walker 86).

The theme of poverty is also manifested in the story because Walker is explaining on how Dee the daughter goes away from his poor environment to earn something for herself, this is a clear manifest of the fact that Dee was born in a poor environment, a factor that motivated her to study hard and made something in regard to money matters. The theme of conflict is manifested where the author uses the two principal characters to clarify on the theme. Walker pinpoints a case of conflict between mama and her two daughters where she rejects the values of the older girl at the expense of the disadvantaged young girl who was less fortunate. The theme of racism has also been manifested where Walker pinpoints that Mrs. Johnson who is mama did not get opportunity to a good school because of the racism that existed in the American continent, this portrays aspects of racisms in terms of color. Thus is notably that several themes as outlined above dominates the walkers writing but the book majorly capitalizes on two major theme which are the theme of family heritage and the theme of materialism.

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Symbolic revelation of characters

Alice Walker in her famous book Every Day Use has made use of symbols to depict behavioral aspects of the characters in the story. One of the symbols depicted in the book is the quilt. Quilt is a type of bed cover which is traditionally composed of three fiber layers. The symbol represented family heritage. The two sisters of Alice are portrayed as in a great need of the handmade quilt. The author expresses her feelings about heritage in the whole story. In fact, it can be said that, Alice has portrayed tradition as the basic theme in the whole story. According to them, quilt is hand made thus has the aspects of tradition. This symbol depicts the overall behavior of the characters in the story in the sense that, both live in simplicity and are not yet convinced to change their way of life for modernity. For example, Dee has a great liking of the quilt. She even can't imagine that it is hand made with every stitch stroked and out.

The yard is a frontline of the house or an area between two houses. In Alice walker's book, Every Day Use, the yard is shown outside mama's poor house. It represents poverty that has definitely captured the characters in the story. One would wonder if the house of Wangero will ever have a lawn. However, she thinks that the ample patio of her mother's house was just a shabby budge of poverty. Therefore the yard, in the story portrays traditional cultures made out of nothing by people deficient of everything.

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