Everyday Use Isn’t Just About Quilts
Dee is the type of child who has always gotten what she wanted. Maggie is the child that has always been considered a sort of underdog. We learn these things about the two siblings as the story begins. The narrator, Ms. Johnson the girl’s mother, reveals this as the reader looks into her thoughts. She a tough woman who doesn’t draw a lot of attention to herself. She lets the reader know a few things about her personally, but focus stays on her daughters. This is the day that Dee is coming for a visit and Ms. Johnson begins by recalling memories. But time changes and opportunities change people such as Dee and by the end of the story, Ms. Johnson and Maggie are changed too.
Ms. Johnson is a sympathetic …show more content…
Johnson thinks to herself the tone is light. She sees her daughter Maggie walking into the yard and remembers that their first home caught fire and how it impacted her daughters. This leads to her thoughts of the siblings and how Maggie looks to Dee with both envy and awe. This in turn leads Ms. Johnson to think about the fancy dress that Dee so wanted for her high school graduation. The emotional roller-coaster of thoughts going through the protagonist’s head makes sense. She is preparing for the grand arrival of her daughter and when she does arrive the tone shifts slightly. There is no longer a story full of memories because her thoughts are in the moment. Ms. Johnson starts to amuse herself with how her daughter and her companion, Hakim-a-barber, seem over the top by their dress and actions. She describes how Hakim goes to shake Maggie’s hand and says he “wants to shank hands but to do it fancy. Or maybe he don’t know how to shake hands”. As drama begins to build, Ms. Johnson also continues this amusement of the situation by refereeing to Dee’s new name. Dee has announced she has chosen a more African name, Wangero, and Ms. Johnson shows the reader her amusement by the way her daughter’s name is presented in the story; Dee (Wangero). Humor continues like this throughout the
Dee is the type of child who has always gotten what she wanted. Maggie is the child that has always been considered a sort of underdog. We learn these things about the two siblings as the story begins. The narrator, Ms. Johnson the girl’s mother, reveals this as the reader looks into her thoughts. She a tough woman who doesn’t draw a lot of attention to herself. She lets the reader know a few things about her personally, but focus stays on her daughters. This is the day that Dee is coming for a visit and Ms. Johnson begins by recalling memories. But time changes and opportunities change people such as Dee and by the end of the story, Ms. Johnson and Maggie are changed too.
Ms. Johnson is a sympathetic …show more content…
Johnson thinks to herself the tone is light. She sees her daughter Maggie walking into the yard and remembers that their first home caught fire and how it impacted her daughters. This leads to her thoughts of the siblings and how Maggie looks to Dee with both envy and awe. This in turn leads Ms. Johnson to think about the fancy dress that Dee so wanted for her high school graduation. The emotional roller-coaster of thoughts going through the protagonist’s head makes sense. She is preparing for the grand arrival of her daughter and when she does arrive the tone shifts slightly. There is no longer a story full of memories because her thoughts are in the moment. Ms. Johnson starts to amuse herself with how her daughter and her companion, Hakim-a-barber, seem over the top by their dress and actions. She describes how Hakim goes to shake Maggie’s hand and says he “wants to shank hands but to do it fancy. Or maybe he don’t know how to shake hands”. As drama begins to build, Ms. Johnson also continues this amusement of the situation by refereeing to Dee’s new name. Dee has announced she has chosen a more African name, Wangero, and Ms. Johnson shows the reader her amusement by the way her daughter’s name is presented in the story; Dee (Wangero). Humor continues like this throughout the