Document 6471756

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Lori Jackson
English 251
Kim Thueson
Fall 2009
Cultural Studies Analysis of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, superficially portrays family relationships while
delving into the conflict of heritage within the African-American culture. While the setting is
placed in the south, we quickly learn that this family has been subject to the many issues that
faced black Americans in the early 1970‟s, the time period from which the story was written.
This was a time where the Black Arts movement was working “to change the African-American
consciousness from one based on shame…to one based on being proud of everything black”
(Bressler 249). Alice Walker took the energy of this movement and analyzed its purpose through
conflicts within her story. The relationships in “Everyday Use” illustrate the conflict between
the African-American culture, the Black Arts movement, and the important role of heritage in
defining what it means to be black.
This role is first defined in the conflict that exists between Mama and Dee. Mama‟s tone
from the beginning suggests contention: “What would they do if parent and child came on the
show only to curse out and insult each other,” and “She pins on my dress a large orchid, even
thought she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky” (69), each of these statements
imply that there is tension and a lack of respect. Mama also sees her lack of education as an
embarrassment compared to Dee‟s elite schooling and knowledge saying: “I never had an
education myself” (71), yet she brags of her ability to “kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a
man…work[ing] outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing” (70). Although Dee has
a formal education, Mama is wiser because her knowledge goes beyond what can be learned in
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school. Dee perceives her mother much in the same way the Black Arts movement saw the
illiterate culture of the rural south, slow to embrace cultural change.
Change is emphasized as the history of the past is in conflict with the present. The first
house burning down and Dee‟s name change represent the past, each symbolizing a life and
identity that Dee was ashamed of. Her grand return has the appearance of flames, with “yellows
and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. [Mama felt her] whole face warming
from the heat waves it [threw] out” (72), like the blaze that destroyed the past. The new Dee
believes she is embracing her African culture by changing her name. Her inability to bear “being
named after the people who oppressed [her]” (73), shows Dee‟s lack of comprehension to the
heritage of her name, handed down from generation to generation. Dee‟s name change and
attempts to acquire her heritage through the token souvenirs “demonstrate misguided black
pride” (White 2), a common characteristic of the Black Arts movement. This pride left behind
the shame of the African-Americans oppression, and the strong and enduring culture that it
represents.
Similarly, Maggie represented all that Dee wanted to forget from her past. Maggie‟s
burns were symbolic of slavery and the oppression of the African-Americans. Dee preferred to
focus on her African heritage, while ignoring her American roots which is suggested in the way
these sisters relate. Mama describes Maggie as “…nervous, until after her sister
goes…stand[ing] hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms
and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (69). The tension builds as Dee tries
to take the quilts that had been saved for Maggie. When Mama “snatch[es] the quilts from
[Dee‟s] hands and dump[s] them into Maggie‟s lap” (76), she makes a stand – showing her pride
and use for her heritage. In the closing implication, of Dee putting “on some sunglasses that
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[hide] everything” (76), Walker finalizes Dee‟s inability to see what really matters. The
symbolism and value of the quilts represent a challenge for the black culture to recognize and
value their American roots.
“The history of Africans in America is filled with stories of pain, injustice, and
humiliation. It is not as pleasing as a colorful African heritage that can be fabricated, like a quilt,
from bits and pieces that one finds attractive. It is a real heritage that is comprised of real
people…who are deserving of respect and admiration” (White 5). While the Black Arts
movement may have questioned what real heritage was, Walker was able to demonstrate that
through “Everyday Use” our heritage becomes significant and valued.
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Works Cited
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 4th ed. New Jersey:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. 10th
ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 68-76.
White, David. “„Everyday Use‟: Defining African-American Heritage.” 2001. Anniina‟s Alice Walker
Page. 19 Sept. 2002. 26 Oct. 2009 <http://luminarium.org/contemporary/alicew/davidwhite.htm>.
Whitsitt, Sam. “In Spite of It All: A Reading of Alice Walker‟s “Everyday Use”.” African American
Review 34.3(2000): 443-59. JSTOR. 2 Nov. 2009 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2901383>.