The Ironic Claim
“Part of the beauty of the object is that it has been so frequently used, and by so many hands in the family, and for the very real purpose of making butter” (Sustana). There are two types of people in the world: those estranged from their culture, and those in tune with their culture. In Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use” the use of a nostalgic tone--which slowly melts to an almost sarcastic and sensitive one--along with the implementation of a swelteringly tense mood builds up a compelling scene of a struggle for cultural identity. The story narrates a rift between a mother, Mrs. Johnson the narrator, and her younger daughter, Maggie, encountering her older daughter, Dee and her husband, Hakim a Barber, in their struggle …show more content…
Dee is portrayed to be naturally condescending. In Walker’s story, Mrs. Johnson describes this daydream, “She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers.” Mrs. Johnson is conjuring a momentous event where mother and daughter unite and share their love for one another on television like most mothers and daughters do on television. However, in her scene, she can't help but include how Dee would choose to pin a flower she deems as tacky on her mother. This shows Mrs. Johnson’s thoughts on how she thinks Dee feels towards her. The imagery of such a touching moment tarnished by how ingenuine and demeaning the emotions Dee would feel towards her mother not only makes the scene appear sad, it evokes negative feelings from the reader towards Dee. Essentially, one thing that’s a constant in Dee’s personality is her selfishness and haughty personality. This is proven again in the quote, “‘Maggie's brain is like an elephant's,’ Wangero said, laughing” and “When she was courting Jimmy T she didn't have much time to pay to us, but turned all her faultfinding power on him” (Walker, 745). This established Dee’s role as an antagonist character. With the association of Dee being an antagonistic character along with her position on how to approach and …show more content…
It pertains to their values, beliefs, thinking, and way of acting--it is their way of living. So, one’s culture connects and identifies him or her to others in that culture. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the development of the characters and their interactions with one another clearly portray the author’s view on embracing one’s culture and heritage. Maggie acts as a representative for the culture that her sister, Dee, claims to be a true representative of when in fact her actions show how much she truly misunderstands and rejects her culture. Dee’s role is implemented to challenge those who claim to be true to their culture when in reality, they prove to be more for appearances. In a way, it is a sort of mockery to the culture. Much unlike her are Maggie and her mother. They live everyday by carrying on the traditions of their culture and by preserving the livelihood of their ancestry. They live their lives just as their ancestors before them had lived. Instead of being centerpieces, they use the churn top and dasher to make butter. Instead of decoratively hanging the quilts, they use them to keep warm, as they are meant to be. “After all, what is culture but what is home to us, just as Mrs. Johnson’s yard is home to her”
“Part of the beauty of the object is that it has been so frequently used, and by so many hands in the family, and for the very real purpose of making butter” (Sustana). There are two types of people in the world: those estranged from their culture, and those in tune with their culture. In Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use” the use of a nostalgic tone--which slowly melts to an almost sarcastic and sensitive one--along with the implementation of a swelteringly tense mood builds up a compelling scene of a struggle for cultural identity. The story narrates a rift between a mother, Mrs. Johnson the narrator, and her younger daughter, Maggie, encountering her older daughter, Dee and her husband, Hakim a Barber, in their struggle …show more content…
Dee is portrayed to be naturally condescending. In Walker’s story, Mrs. Johnson describes this daydream, “She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers.” Mrs. Johnson is conjuring a momentous event where mother and daughter unite and share their love for one another on television like most mothers and daughters do on television. However, in her scene, she can't help but include how Dee would choose to pin a flower she deems as tacky on her mother. This shows Mrs. Johnson’s thoughts on how she thinks Dee feels towards her. The imagery of such a touching moment tarnished by how ingenuine and demeaning the emotions Dee would feel towards her mother not only makes the scene appear sad, it evokes negative feelings from the reader towards Dee. Essentially, one thing that’s a constant in Dee’s personality is her selfishness and haughty personality. This is proven again in the quote, “‘Maggie's brain is like an elephant's,’ Wangero said, laughing” and “When she was courting Jimmy T she didn't have much time to pay to us, but turned all her faultfinding power on him” (Walker, 745). This established Dee’s role as an antagonist character. With the association of Dee being an antagonistic character along with her position on how to approach and …show more content…
It pertains to their values, beliefs, thinking, and way of acting--it is their way of living. So, one’s culture connects and identifies him or her to others in that culture. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the development of the characters and their interactions with one another clearly portray the author’s view on embracing one’s culture and heritage. Maggie acts as a representative for the culture that her sister, Dee, claims to be a true representative of when in fact her actions show how much she truly misunderstands and rejects her culture. Dee’s role is implemented to challenge those who claim to be true to their culture when in reality, they prove to be more for appearances. In a way, it is a sort of mockery to the culture. Much unlike her are Maggie and her mother. They live everyday by carrying on the traditions of their culture and by preserving the livelihood of their ancestry. They live their lives just as their ancestors before them had lived. Instead of being centerpieces, they use the churn top and dasher to make butter. Instead of decoratively hanging the quilts, they use them to keep warm, as they are meant to be. “After all, what is culture but what is home to us, just as Mrs. Johnson’s yard is home to her”