Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis

In the story “Everyday Use”, the author Alice Walker beautifully combines the harmony and the conflicts within the African-American culture. The main themes of Walker’s story are the heritage and tradition of African-Americans. Using symbolism, the narrator gives more depth to the entire story. The author chooses to attribute symbolic meaning to everyday objects like quilts, yard or dasher as well as characters and their reactions. The main characters of the story, Mama and Maggie on one pole and Dee on the opposite one, share different views regarding the value of the objects in their lives. As a whole, we may consider Mama, Maggie and Dee as part of a larger group that they represent. All three characters symbolize a broader idea which results from their characterization …show more content…
Mama, or Mrs. Johnson is the image of unconditional love. From the beginning of the story, Mrs. Johnson’s inner monologue suggests us the limits of a mother’s unconditional love and her devotion towards her children, regardless of their attitudes. Mrs. Johnson is a strong person, physically and mentally, she is a loving mother who is sometimes threatened and burdened by her daughters, Dee and Maggie. Because of the circumstances of being a single mother, mama rejects the traditional gender role when she has to work in order to raise and provide for her daughters the best she can. She takes on an alternative, masculine persona. She is proud of her hardy nature “a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands” (Walker, ) and her ability to butcher hogs and milk cows. In the story presented, she literally turns her back on the house, the traditional “female space”. She feels that it confines her too much. Even though Mama has willingness to operate outside of her rules, Mama lacks a broad view of the outside world and is, to some extent, intimidated by Dee. Because

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Alice Walker Everyday Use Analysis