Literary Criticism of Everyday Use by Alice Walker

Paper on Everyday Use by Alice Walker Cross Cultural Literature 4/14/08 The book Approaching Literature in the 21st Century by Peter Shackel and Jack Ridl is filled with various themes involving parents and their children. There are three specific stories that focus on mothers and daughters that I will use for this paper. The stories are Daughter of Invention by Julia Alvarez, Everyday Use by Alice Walker and Two Kinds by Amy Tan. These stories are similar in many ways in general, like they all involve a mother who has influenced her daughter’s life or involve a parent and their child. From another perspective though, all three stories are very different in regards to the individual relationships that each mother/daughter pair†¦show more content†¦The differences in mothering styles are reflected in the adult children’s recollection of memories from childhood. There memories show different values and beliefs of the mother’s. Maggie and Dee’s mother, in Everyday Use, was a realist. She told things the way that she saw them, and the way that she says them was her reality. She describes herself apart from what she would like to be, as, â€Å"In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can clean a hog as mercilessly as a man. My fat keeps me hot in zero weather†¦[and she continues for a few more sentences].†(p102). She goes on to protect her wish for her daughter Maggie from being taken by her sister, by â€Å"I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap.†(p107). The mother really is a quiet observer and supporter of her daughter. She makes many comments in the story just based on observation, usually never stepping in to try to mediate. In opposition is Two Kinds the mother’s insistence on pushing her daugh ter to succeed really was the core of how her daughter remembers a lot of their interactions together. The daughter rebels against her mother saying, â€Å"Why don’t you like me the way I am? I’m not a genius! I can’tShow MoreRelatedEveryday Use By Alice Walker1031 Words   |  5 Pages The short story, â€Å"Everyday Use†, was written by Alice Walker. She has a well-known reputation worldwide from being a novelist, poet, short story writer, activist and feminist. Many of Walkers writings discuss issues facing African Americans. For her short story, â€Å"Everyday Use†, Walker focuses points on African Americans lacking understanding for their heritage. She uses a quilt as a symbol of heritage for her characters, Mama, Maggie and Dee. 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