Characters in "Everyday Use" and "Civil Peace" by Alice Walker (Walker) and Chinua Achebe (Achebe), respectively are examined. Alice Walker’s theme revolves around African-Americans personal identities. Chinua Achebe’s work revolves around Nigeria’s civil war and the “civil peace” afterward, a bitter fact in many parts of the world even today (Fortin). Major and minor characters in both stories are compared and analyzed by character type, characterization, and their relationship in relation to the relevant interaction between and among characters.
In both stories, the major characters are the protagonist. However, the character of “Civil Peace” is flat while in ‘Everyday Use”, the character is dynamic. In “Civil Peace”, the main character, Jonathan Iwegbu is defined by optimism, hard work, and resilience throughout the story, even under repeated extreme challenges. Jonathan Iwegbu considers himself very lucky after going through the …show more content…
Walker let the Mama and Dee lead the interaction among the three and the outsider to discuss an essential value of African root and American heritage. This is clearly stated when Dee responded to her mother that she does not understand her heritage. The irony here is that Dee lets her Mama and Maggie that she changed her name to Wangaro in support of her African roots but later it looks like as if she changed her mind to appreciate her American heritage when in fact she does not mean it. This change, intentional or unintentional, suggests that Dee is a dynamic character. As to the interaction of Mrs. Jonathan with the rest of the community, Walker intentionally left that to the reader to ponder. The settings of the story as well as Mrs. Johnson’s conversations lead the reader to assume that Mrs. Johnson is detached from her community. To support this assertion, we can cite the isolated pasture ranch and the fact that Johnson is depicted as a “tied tongue” type of
In both stories, the major characters are the protagonist. However, the character of “Civil Peace” is flat while in ‘Everyday Use”, the character is dynamic. In “Civil Peace”, the main character, Jonathan Iwegbu is defined by optimism, hard work, and resilience throughout the story, even under repeated extreme challenges. Jonathan Iwegbu considers himself very lucky after going through the …show more content…
Walker let the Mama and Dee lead the interaction among the three and the outsider to discuss an essential value of African root and American heritage. This is clearly stated when Dee responded to her mother that she does not understand her heritage. The irony here is that Dee lets her Mama and Maggie that she changed her name to Wangaro in support of her African roots but later it looks like as if she changed her mind to appreciate her American heritage when in fact she does not mean it. This change, intentional or unintentional, suggests that Dee is a dynamic character. As to the interaction of Mrs. Jonathan with the rest of the community, Walker intentionally left that to the reader to ponder. The settings of the story as well as Mrs. Johnson’s conversations lead the reader to assume that Mrs. Johnson is detached from her community. To support this assertion, we can cite the isolated pasture ranch and the fact that Johnson is depicted as a “tied tongue” type of