The Theme behind “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker the most important elements that allow the reader to comprehend this short fictional story’s theme include the setting, characters, and symbolism. The short story “Everyday Use” theme touches on heritage and the two differing views and understanding of the word within one family. The narrative perspective, differing points of views in the dialogue, rising of action, climax, and resolution all entice readers into the story and allows them to comprehend the connotation. This brief essay will explain how Alice Walker used these elements in her short fictional story to assist her readers grasp the underlying significance and theme, which is heritage and family history.
In the beginning of the story, “Everyday Use”, Walker presents the exposition by one of the main characters, Mama, who gives background information regarding her daughters (Maggie and Dee or Wangero), their house, and etc. while …show more content…
“Dee.” “No, Mama,” she says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”“What happened to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know” (Walker 193). The conversation between Mama (protagonist) and Dee (Wangero the antagonist) leads the readers into the rising action where the story gains direction, changing from being informational to instead getting into the “meat” of the story by introducing the conflict that must be resolved (Muller and Williams 52). The conflict in the story then leads to the element that momentously brought out the theme of Walker’s story, which is symbolism. The symbols used in this fictional story consisted of the handmade crafts from Mamas past generational family members. Dee (Wangero) delighted in these historical treasures due to her new found understanding of her heritage, and family history that she felt her mother and sister just couldn’t
In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker the most important elements that allow the reader to comprehend this short fictional story’s theme include the setting, characters, and symbolism. The short story “Everyday Use” theme touches on heritage and the two differing views and understanding of the word within one family. The narrative perspective, differing points of views in the dialogue, rising of action, climax, and resolution all entice readers into the story and allows them to comprehend the connotation. This brief essay will explain how Alice Walker used these elements in her short fictional story to assist her readers grasp the underlying significance and theme, which is heritage and family history.
In the beginning of the story, “Everyday Use”, Walker presents the exposition by one of the main characters, Mama, who gives background information regarding her daughters (Maggie and Dee or Wangero), their house, and etc. while …show more content…
“Dee.” “No, Mama,” she says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”“What happened to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know” (Walker 193). The conversation between Mama (protagonist) and Dee (Wangero the antagonist) leads the readers into the rising action where the story gains direction, changing from being informational to instead getting into the “meat” of the story by introducing the conflict that must be resolved (Muller and Williams 52). The conflict in the story then leads to the element that momentously brought out the theme of Walker’s story, which is symbolism. The symbols used in this fictional story consisted of the handmade crafts from Mamas past generational family members. Dee (Wangero) delighted in these historical treasures due to her new found understanding of her heritage, and family history that she felt her mother and sister just couldn’t