Mama's Family

that, although their individual dreams may be different, there is a consistent end goal in feeling successful through being able to provide for one’s family instead of the acquisition of materialistic items. Travis, Ruth and Walter’s son, asks for fifty cents to bring to school. Ruth tells Travis to get his mind off of the money because it is Mama’s money to spend;Ruth is trying to teach Travis that money is not everything, although she knows that both she and her son have dreams about what…

Moreover, Mama dream with Dee fix the estrange relationship she has with her family, but Mama understands that will never happen. The way Dee raise herself proves she wants more than what Mama’s offer. In many ways, Mama and Dee life are different, they act as two strangers who lives in a house. Everyday Use spread awareness of American society of the brutality African-Americans suffer. Though it was not apply, it was loosely base of the era for African-Americans and Black Panthers. According…

central conflict between the members of the Johnson family⸺Mama, Dee (Wangero), and Maggie⸺is complex. However, the character who clearly fulfills the role of the antagonist is Dee, Mama’s eldest daughter. Dee is a swan among a family of ducks: she possesses a beauty, an intelligence, and a sort of dominance over everyone around her. All of these are qualities which have not graced Mama and Maggie. Naturally, Dee is an object of jealousy in her family. Not only is Dee aware of this fact, she…

to better reflect her African descent. Because Dee is a family name, Mama is a little disappointed, but does not argue with Dee over the trivial…

part of this major historical struggle. Mama declines and states that the importance of these quilts has nothing to do with the oppression of their people but it’s family value. Mama wants the quilts to go to Maggie who understands the value of family tradition. Dee objects because her education has put value on these quilts, not family value but monetary. The most important line in this story is where Dee tells Mama that “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she said. “She’d probably be…

unobtrusively that it takes a while to notice”(39) Her dream is to own a house where her and her family can live. She wants to have a backyard for her grandson travis to play in, she wants to have an area where she can garden, and she wants it to be big enough for the whole family to live comfortably. Her dream of having a house is motivated by her wish to make living conditions better for her family. She says, upon receiving the $10,000 insurance check “I spec if it wasn’t for you all… I would…

traditional black culture in the rural South, and her educated, successful daughter Dee, or “Wangero” as she prefers to be called, who scorns her immediate roots in favor of a pretentious “native African” identity. The story’s setting takes place at “Mama’s” home in the Deep South. The story begins with her and her younger daughter “Maggie” waiting in the yard on a visit from her oldest daughter “Dee.” While waiting for Dee to arrive, Mama daydreams about reuniting with her daughter on a TV…

everywhere you just have to go and find them. In this 1973 short story by Alice Walker describes symbolism through objects of meaning to a family. Maggie,…

simply cannot see that her African American culture is still in existence, but rather she sees it as a bunch of artifacts. Walker’s “Everyday Use” uses a small object, such as a quilt, in order to symbolize the great endurance that the women of Mama’s family had to face and the history behind their struggles. Dee only desires her mother’s quilts because they remind her of African decorations of the past. Meanwhile, Mama gave up receiving an inheritance because she wanted to be continuously…

somewhere in the south. She lives by her traditional standards furtive and proudly. Details of her home are limited, but we know many things around the home are home-made, or are complete by scratch, usually by the persons inhabiting (Mama and Maggie). Mama’s life has been difficult, yet stable. She, herself, grew up with a sister with whom she seems…