Everyday Use Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Everyday Use - Research Paper Example The author influenced by various happenings in his/her lifetime as well as before his/her lifetime would come with works, completely basing on those events or just using it part of the work, fictionalizing the other parts. There have been many American writers who have created works on this basis with Alice Walker being one of the prominent ones. She came up with her short story, â€Å"Everyday Use† after being influenced by various events related to racism during her lifetime. Alice Walker was heavily influenced by the Black Power Movement and she brings out those influences in her work. â€Å"Walker’s short story â€Å"Everyday Use† contains several important parallels to the author’s own life. Born in 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia, Walker grew up in an environment much like that described in the story† (Wilson). When doing so, various authors will incorporate various historical and cultural elements as part of the plot, and Walker did that in her wor k. So, this paper focusing on various historical themes and cultural symbols in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† will compare it with other works including Walker’s Color Purple, Chinua Achebe’s â€Å"Dead Men’s Path† and Charlotte Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. 2. Themes and symbols in â€Å"Everyday Use† In â€Å"Everyday Use†, Mrs. Johnson or ‘Mama’ is the name of the mother while Dee and Maggie are the two daughters. 'Mama' introduces herself as "a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands". So, the Mama could be constructed as women with good physical strength. 'Mama' always exhibited a lot of care and responsibility to both her daughters and tried her best to give both of them a better life. As both the daughters were different in every aspect, all theirs friction were handled with care by her. Dee and Maggie are extremely contrasting both physically and mentally. The elder s ister, Dee is portrayed as a beautiful and successful, however at the same time an arrogant woman, who does not have any pride for her culture and heritage. On the other hand, Maggie is shown as a disfigured and lethargic, however at the same time a simple girl, who has a lot of pride in her heritage. "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks" (Walker 25). Although both the girls had a different personality and different affiliation towards their culture, their relationship was a smooth affair, until the cultural symbol of quilts entered the picture. The mother, Mrs. Johnson and Maggie lead their lives following their culture to their heart, and without compromising on any of their cultural traditions. It is only the elder daughter, Dee in the family who has changed her lifestyle and distanced herself from her culture. The in fluence of modern living and deterioration of culture is evident when Dee arrives home with her boyfriend, Hakim-a-barber. Dee, who is going to a college outside her state in the North, surprises her mother and sister with her changed behavior. She, because of the influence of Black Power movement, changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo in an attempt to detach from her culture. Mrs. Johnson and Maggie felt very uncomfortable with the name change, attitude and actions of Dee. "When Dee and her friend use strange words to greet the mother and Maggie and when they announce their names†¦this is not the culture of the mother- nor perhaps of