In Search Of Heritage in Everyday Use Essay

In Search Of Heritage

In the story Everyday Use Alice Walker told the story from Mamas point of view. The theme of this story is of a mother who is trying to cope with changing times and two daughters who are completely different. Having the story told from momma's point of view helps to reveal how momma feels about herself and how she defines her daughters Dee and Maggie.

"Everyday Use" is told from momma's point of view which helps to reveal how she feels about herself. Momma feels that she is an uneducated person, she says "I never had an education myself," (157) this creates barriers between her and her daughter Dee who has a college education. She describes herself as "big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands" (157) that wears overalls by day and flannel gowns by night. From momma's point of viewwe can tell that she favors her relationship with her daughter Maggie more than the relationship she has with her daughter Dee.I think its because Dee went off to college so it created a new perspective on life for her, and Maggie on the other hand stayed home, with burned body and no education, so she learned the simple things in life like quilting and farming from her ancestors. Reading this story from momma's point of view creates the feeling that the story is told from a genuine point of view with no biased feeling toward anyone, just the truth.

Momma's point of view defines how she feels about her daughters and the level of separation that exist between the two daughters.Momma describes Maggie as a partially educated child who does not look as captivating as Dee. Its because Maggie was burned in a house fire that left her burned all over her body and thats the reason she doesnt wear revealing clothes unlike Dee. Dee, on the other hand, is described as an educated young woman who is ready to take on any and every adventure. Momma says that Dee used to read to her and Maggie without pity (159). She describes Dee as fashionable; she used to prepare dresses out of momma's old suits and is always updated on the current fashion. Momma likes the different qualities Dee has, but she is somewhat threatened because they are unfamiliar to her. The way mama described both her daughters we can see how she portrays both the girls.

Overall Alice Walker used the point of view incredibly in her story "Everyday Use." Mama gave the readers enough information to view the different personalities of both the daughters. Also the first person view used in the story helped the readers analyze how mama felt about herself. Mama is definitely caught in the time zone, the beliefs, perceptions suggests that she is what she is.