Everyday Use Rhetorical Analysis

Everyday Use In Alice Walker’s story Everyday Use, a mother prepares for her daughter Dee to visit, but when Dee arrives, a clash of ideals and tradition are brought up. The mother imagines what most people would consider a family reunion, the mother and daughter crying and glad to see each other, however reality steps up and shows that Dee has become a different person who has changed mentally and who traditionally making the relationship between mother and Maggie strenuous. Alice Walker’s rhetorical strategy consists of comfort versus appearance and a differing take on tradition. In the beginning of the story, the mother imagines the depicted happy reunion between a daughter and mother and wishes it could be like that but has to deal with …show more content…
These traits are not desirable for people living in the city but traits that are used to survive and live out in the country. In Dee’s case, being fashionable and having a college degree does not help the mother and Maggie grow crops or keep the farm running. The Mother’s only goal, get by with what she has and continue living. The mother shows that even though she has very little and may not be much, her home suits her just fine. “A yard like this is more comfortable than most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room” (228). Even though the yard may not be much, the mother sees it as an extension of her house and she loves it. With the house being confining and having stale air, the yard has freedom and can be controlled to suit her needs. The mother pays more attention to the yard rather than the house in preparation for Dee’s arrival, showing how much …show more content…
She also shows that being outside is more comfortable than being in the house by saying “When the hard clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, irregular grooves, anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house” (228). Overall, the mother shows a deep gratitude towards her yard and sees the yard as the place where she can truly relax. With the argument over tradition, the mother and Dee have differing views. Dee was glad that the family’s first house burned down. To her the house represented slavery with the audience learning her hatred towards the matter later on. When Dee finally arrives at the house, along with her companion Hakim-a-barber, she calls herself Wangero reflecting her African heritage. When the mother asked why she does not like the name Dee, Wangero replies by saying that Dee was the name of slave owners in the past. The mother counters this by saying that Dee was the name of her aunt, grandmother, and could even trace it back before the Civil War. This shows that Dee was a family name, not one ordered by a slave owner. Then with the argument over the family heirlooms being brought up, Dee tells her mother