Raising fists, protesting, bleeding, sweating, and crying, are just a glimpse of what you would witness back in the 1960s as African Americans were fighting to gain equality in America. In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the readers travel back to this time period where they meet an African-American family, Mama, Dee, and Maggie, who are trying to keep their legacy alive. Throughout the story Walker shows that Dee has a different way of viewing and respecting her heritage than her mother and sister do, which leads Mama to reject Dee’s way of thinking.
To start, Dee seems to have a negative view of her family members. Dee is the only one in her family who was able to get a full education, which was due to Mama and their family’s church raising money to give her that magnificent opportunity; however, it is clear that Dee lacks much appreciation of it. Instead she comes off as thinking she is of a higher status than her family, most likely because of her education and the fact that she is “lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair, and a fuller figure” (Walker 330). Colorism is a huge matter in the African American community, and has been for years. A lot of the time people prefer Black people with light skin with bouncy curls that look similar to the loops on roller coasters over Black people with dark skin and curls that do not look as “professional.” Dee’s attitude towards her family shows …show more content…
Reading Everyday Use, the reader is able to understand precisely why Mama wants so badly for Maggie to have the quilts. Mama seems to have favored Dee a bit more since Maggie is shyer and more reserved than Dee is. After reuniting and seeing how much her daughter has changed, she snaps out of it and realizes Maggie is the one who can truly appreciate and honor their
To start, Dee seems to have a negative view of her family members. Dee is the only one in her family who was able to get a full education, which was due to Mama and their family’s church raising money to give her that magnificent opportunity; however, it is clear that Dee lacks much appreciation of it. Instead she comes off as thinking she is of a higher status than her family, most likely because of her education and the fact that she is “lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair, and a fuller figure” (Walker 330). Colorism is a huge matter in the African American community, and has been for years. A lot of the time people prefer Black people with light skin with bouncy curls that look similar to the loops on roller coasters over Black people with dark skin and curls that do not look as “professional.” Dee’s attitude towards her family shows …show more content…
Reading Everyday Use, the reader is able to understand precisely why Mama wants so badly for Maggie to have the quilts. Mama seems to have favored Dee a bit more since Maggie is shyer and more reserved than Dee is. After reuniting and seeing how much her daughter has changed, she snaps out of it and realizes Maggie is the one who can truly appreciate and honor their