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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker: Summary

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Published: May 4, 2021

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The essay explores Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" and delves into the themes of heritage and identity within the narrative. The story is narrated by Mama, a hardworking woman awaiting the return of her daughter, Dee, who has been away at school. Mama's younger daughter, Maggie, is also present but feels overshadowed by Dee's success and confidence.

Dee arrives with her boyfriend, Hakim-a-barber, and immediately shows an interest in family artifacts, such as a butter churn and some handmade quilts. She has changed her name to "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" to distance herself from her family's history of oppression. The conflict arises when Dee insists on taking the family quilts, which Mama had promised to Maggie. Mama ultimately decides to give the quilts to Maggie, recognizing her appreciation for their heritage.

The essay highlights the contrasting views of heritage and identity between Dee, who seeks to display her roots as a form of art, and Maggie, who values the practical and emotional significance of these items. It underscores the idea that heritage is not just about preserving objects but also understanding the experiences and traditions passed down through generations. In the end, Mama's choice to give the quilts to Maggie reflects her belief that heritage should be used and cherished rather than put on display.

Depiction of Heritage and Identity in Walker's "Everyday Use"

Works cited:.

• Al-Ibrahim, A. A., Al-Subhi, R. H., Al-Mujaini, A. H., & Ganesh, A. (2016). Perception of communication skills among medical students and their relevance in clinical practice. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 11(6), 568-573.
• American Medical Association. (2019). About the AMA.
• Brenner, A. M. (2017). The role of mentors in medical student career development. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 4, 2382120517718585.
• Dolmans, D. H., Wolfhagen, I. H., & Essed, G. G. (2005). Students' perceptions of relationships between some educational variables in the Maastricht medical curriculum. Medical Education, 39(5), 470-477.
• Global Health Workforce Alliance. (2016). A universal truth: No health without a workforce. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/resources/GHWA-a_universal_truth_report.pdf?ua=1
• Jain, R. (2017). Healthcare delivery in India: Challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 7(4), 87-91.
• Kumar, S., & Goyal, A. (2015). An analytical study of medical tourism: A review. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 3(2), 37-44.
• National Institutes of Health. (2021). MedlinePlus: Medical encyclopedia.
• World Health Organization. (2021). WHO guidelines for the management of cancer pain in adults and children. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550369
• World Health Organization. (2022). Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030. https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/resources/HRHStrategyWorkforce2030.pdf?ua=1

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A Summary and Analysis of Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Everyday Use’ is one of the most popular and widely studied short stories by Alice Walker. It was first published in Harper’s Magazine in 1973 before being collected in Walker’s short-story collection In Love and Trouble .

Walker uses ‘Everyday Use’ to explore different attitudes towards Black American culture and heritage.

‘Everyday Use’: plot summary

The story is narrated in the first person by Mrs Johnson, a largeAfrican-American woman who has two daughters, Dee (the older of the two) and Maggie (the younger). Whereas Maggie, who is somewhat weak and lacking in confidence, shares many of her mother’s views, Dee is rather different.

Mrs Johnson tells us how she and the local church put together the funds to send Dee away to school to get an education. When Dee returned, she would read stories to her mother and sister. Mrs Johnson tells us she never had much of an education as her school was shut down, and although Maggie can read, her eyesight is poor and, according to her mother, is not especially clever.

Mrs Johnson also tells us how their previous house recently burned down: a house, she tells us, which Dee had never liked. Dee hasn’t yet visited her mother and sister in the new house, but she has said that when she does come she will not bring her friends with her, implying she is ashamed of where her family lives.

However, Mrs Johnson then describes Dee’s first visit to the new house. She turns up with her new partner, a short and stocky Muslim man, whom Mrs Johnson refers to as ‘Asalamalakim’, after the Muslim greeting the man speaks when he arrives (a corruption of ‘salaam aleikum’ or ‘ As-salamu alaykum ’). He later tells Mrs Johnson to call him Hakim-a-barber.

Dee then tells her mother that she is no longer known as Dee, but prefers to be called Wangero Lee-wanika Kemanjo, because she no longer wishes to bear a name derived from the white people who oppressed her and other African Americans. Her mother points out that Dee was named after her aunt, Dicie, but Dee is convinced that the name originally came from their white oppressors.

Dee/Wangero now starts to examine the objects in the house which belonged to her grandmother (who was also known as Dee), saying which ones she intends to take for herself. When Mrs Johnson tells her she is keeping the quilts for when Maggie marries John Thomas, Dee responds that her sister is so ‘backward’ she’d probably put the special quilts to ‘everyday use’, thus wearing them out to ‘rags’ in a few years.

Although Maggie resignedly lets her older sister have the quilts, when Dee moves to take them for herself, Mrs Johnson is suddenly inspired to snatch them back from her and hold Maggie close to herself, refusing to give them up to Dee and telling her to take one of the other quilts instead.

Dee leaves with Hakim-a-barber, telling her mother and Maggie that they don’t understand their own heritage. She also tells Maggie to try to make something of herself rather than remaining home with their mother. After they’ve left, Maggie and her mother sit outside until it’s time to go indoors and retire to bed.

‘Everyday Use’: analysis

The central crux of Alice Walker’s story is the difference between Dee and her mother in their perspectives and attitudes. Where Mrs Johnson, the mother of the family, sees everything in terms of the immediate family and home, Dee (or Wangero, as she renames herself) is more interested in escaping this immediate environment.

She does this first by leaving the family home and becoming romantically involved with a man of African Muslim descent. She also looks deeper into her African roots in order to understand ‘where she comes from’, as the phrase has it: not just in terms of the family’s direct lineage of daughter, mother, grandmother, and so on (Mrs Johnson’s way of looking at it, as exemplified by their discussion over the origins of Dee’s name), but in a wider, and deeper sense of African-American history and belonging.

This departure from her mother’s set of values is most neatly embodied by her change of name, rejecting the family name Dee in favour of the African name Wangero Lee-wanika Kemanjo. Names, in fact, are very important in this story: Maggie is obviously known by a European name, and ‘Johnson’, the family name borne by ‘Mama’, and thus by her daughters, doubly reinforces (John and son) the stamp of male European power on their lives and history.

Dee, too, is very much a family name: not just because it is the name the family use for the elder daughter, but because it is a name borne by numerous female members of the family going back for generations. But Dee/Wangero suspects it is ultimately, or originally, of European extraction, and wants to distance herself from this. Dee’s rejection of the immediate family’s small and somewhat parochial attitude is also embodied by the fact that she reportedly hated their old house which had recently burned down.

‘Everyday Use’ was published in 1973, and Dee’s (or Wangero’s) search for her ancestral identity through African culture and language is something which was becoming more popular among African Americans in the wake of the US civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Indeed, a productive dialogue could be had between Dee’s outlook in ‘Everyday Use’ and the arguments put forward by prominent Black American writers and activists of the 1970s such as Audre Lorde, who often wrote – in her poem ‘ A Woman Speaks ’, for example – about the ancestral African power that Black American women carry, a link to their deeper roots which should be acknowledged and cultivated.

However, Walker does some interesting things in ‘Everyday Use’ which prevent the story from being wholly celebratory off Dee’s (Wangero’s) new-found sense of self. First, she had Mrs Johnson or ‘Mama’ narrate the story, so we only see Dee from her mother’s very different perspective: we only view Dee, or Wangero, from the outside, as it were.

Second, Dee/Wangero does not conduct herself in ways which are altogether commendable: she snatches the best quilts, determined to wrest them from her mother and sister and disregarding Maggie’s strong filial links to her aunt and grandmother who taught her how to quilt. The quilt thus becomes a symbol for Maggie’s link with the previous matriarchs of the family, which Dee is attempting to sever her from.

But she is not doing this out of kindness for Maggie, despite her speech to her younger sister at the end of the story. Instead, she seems to be motivated by more selfish reasons, and asserts her naturally dominant personality and ability to control her sister in order to get her way. The very title of Walker’s story, ‘Everyday Use’, can be analysed as a sign of Dee’s dismissive and patronising attitude towards her sister and mother: to her, they don’t even know how to use a good quilt properly and her sister would just put it out for everyday use.

We can also analyse Walker’s story in terms of its use of the epiphany : a literary whereby a character in a story has a sudden moment of consciousness, or a realisation. In ‘Everyday Use’, this occurs when Mrs Johnson, seeing Maggie prepared to give up her special bridal present to her sister, gathers the courage to stand her ground and to say no to Dee. She is clearly in awe of what Dee/Wangero has become, so this moment of self-assertion – though it is also done for Maggie, too – is even more significant.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Alice Walker’s Everyday Use

Analysis of Alice Walker’s Everyday Use

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 24, 2021

Probably Alice Walker ’s most frequently anthologized story, “Everyday Use” first appeared in Walker’s collection In Love and Trouble: Stories by Black Women. Walker explores in this story a divisive issue for African Americans, one that has concerned a number of writers, Lorraine Hansberry, for instance, in her play Raisin in the Sun (1959). The issue is generational as well as cultural: In leaving home and embracing their African heritage, must adults turn their backs on their African-American background and their more traditional family members? The issue, while specifically African-American, can also be viewed as a universal one in terms of modern youth who fail to understand the values of their ancestry and of their immediate family. Walker also raises the question of naming, a complicated one for African Americans, whose ancestors were named by slaveholders.

The first-person narrator of the story is Mrs. Johnson, mother of two daughters, Maggie and Dicie, nicknamed Dee. Addressing the readers as “you,” she draws us directly into the story while she and Maggie await a visit from Dee. With deft strokes, Walker has Mrs. Johnson reveal essential information about herself and her daughters. She realistically describes herself as a big-boned, slow-tongued woman with no education and a talent for hard work and outdoor chores. When their house burned down some 12 years previous, Maggie was severely burned. Comparing Maggie to a wounded animal, her mother explains that she thinks of herself as unattractive and slow-witted, yet she is good-natured too, and preparing to marry John Thomas, an honest local man. Dee, on the other hand, attractive, educated, and self-confident, has left her home (of which she was ashamed) to forge a new and successful life.

Alice Walker/Thoughtco

When she appears, garbed in African attire, along with her long-haired friend, Asalamalakim, Dee informs her family that her new name is Wangero Leewanika Kemanio . When she explains that she can no longer bear to use the name given to her by the whites who oppressed her, her mother tries to explain that she was named for her aunt, and that the name Dicie harkens back to pre–CIVIL WAR days. Dee’s failure to honor her own family history continues in her gentrified appropriation of her mother’s butter dish and churn, both of which have a history, but both of which Dee views as quaint artifacts that she can display in her home. When Dee asks for her grandmother’s quilts, however, Mrs. Johnson speaks up: Although Maggie is willing to let Dee have them because, with her goodness and fine memory, she needs no quilts to help her remember Grandma Dee, her mother announces firmly that she intends them as a wedding gift for Maggie. Mrs. Johnson approvingly tells Dee that Maggie will put them to “everyday use” rather than hanging them on a wall.

Dee leaves in a huff, telling Maggie she ought to make something of herself. With her departure, peace returns to the house, and Mrs. Johnson and Maggie sit comfortably together, enjoying each other’s company. Although readers can sympathize with Dee’s desire to improve her own situation and to feel pride in her African heritage, Walker also makes clear that in rejecting the African-American part of that heritage, she loses a great deal. Her mother and sister, despite the lack of the success that Dee enjoys, understand the significance of family. One hopes that the next child will not feel the need to choose one side or the other but will confidently embrace both.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” In Major Writers of Short Fiction: Stories and Commentary, edited by Ann Charters. Boston: St. Martin’s, 1993, 1,282–1,299.

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Everyday Use

Alice walker, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Heritage and the Everyday

Heritage, and its relationship to daily life, is the central question that Walker explores in “Everyday Use.” Through the eyes of Mama , and through the contrasting characters of Dee and Maggie , Walker offers two varying views of what family history, the past, and “heritage” really mean.

In Dee’s view, heritage is a kind of dead past, distanced from the present through nostalgia and aestheticization (which means reducing something to a symbol or piece…

Through Dee , “Everyday Use” explores how education affects the lives of people who come from uneducated communities, considering the benefits of an education as well as the tradeoffs.

Alice Walker clearly believes that education can be, in certain ways, helpful to individuals. For one, education can empower people financially and therefore materially. Dee’s education rewards her with the “nice things” she has desired since she was a child: gold earrings, a camera, sunglasses. The…

Objects, Symbolism, and Writing

As Mama narrates “Everyday Use,” she uses a multitude of objects and material goods to tell her story. Through Mama and her attention to objects, Walker investigates the meaning of materiality in fiction and explores the various ways they can be used for storytelling.

In the first place, material goods work in “Everyday Use” to stand in for and help describe characters’ identities. For example, Mama marks Dee ’s difference from the rest of her…

Racism, Resistance, and Sacrifice

Race structures the social and economic conditions of characters’ daily lives in “Everyday Use.” From the first few paragraphs, Walker makes it clear that the oppression of African-Americans is built into the society of the Deep South, where Mama and Maggie live. This injustice manifests itself in a multitude of ways, ranging from Mama’s inability to look “a strange white man in the eye” to her mentions of racialized violence, like the time when “the…

Everyday Use

By alice walker, everyday use essay questions.

What is Alice Walker’s purpose in writing Everyday Use ?

Many critics argue that the character of Dee is modeled after Walker herself. In the 1960's, Walker, the daughter of sharecroppers, was attending university and, like Dee, felt that black Americans were finally finding their own voice. But Walker also shares traits with Maggie - a childhood accident left her self-consciously scarred and shy. Dee and Maggie are on opposite sides regarding how their identity. Dee seeks to fetishize and reject the existence that comprises Maggie's everyday world. Maggie knows the inherent value of objects beyond signifiers for a culture; she recognizes the traditions and heritage that are still active. The sisters are sides of the same coin, having opted diverging paths newly open to them in the 1960s. That Walker shares characteristics with both of her characters illustrates her aim in writing the story. While Maggie and Mama are cast in a "good" light at the end of the story and Dee comes off as selfish, Walker's women give voice to the myriad interpretations of identity in an era of Civil Rights.

What is the significance of Mama's dream, in which she reunites with Dee on a television show?

Although Mama seems to accept her reality, her day dream vignette has her conforming to a much more socially accepted definition of beauty. In her dream, Mama is light-skinned, thinner, and witty: she displays all the traits that white middle class America find desirable in a "pre-Oprah" African-American woman. It is worth noting that the woman in this dream is not a product of Mama’s own conception of beauty but rather a manifestation of what Dee would admire in a “beautiful” mother. Although Mama is anxious over the wounds Dee will reopen upon her arrival, she still has the latent desire to be accepted and respected by her eldest daughter, and the world in which Mama believes she exists.

What is the significance of Dee's taking photographs of her family when she meets them in the yard?

After she greets her family, Dee returns to the car to take out a Polaroid camera. Like a tourist on an archeological expedition, Dee takes shots of the dilapidated authenticity of her family’s home. Dee is careful to include Maggie in the peripheries of the picture, like a tacked on artifact that gives added meaning to her portrait of home. Dee is also careful to separate herself from both the pictures and the context of the pictures. Ironically, Dee's camera shots are as much a reflection of Dee’s rebuke of her culture as they are of chronicling it.

Dee/Wangero takes objects from Mama's home because she sees them as being fashionable, and insists that they are priceless items meant to be displayed rather than used. To Mama, however, these quilts serve a more practical and deeper meaning. Comment on the difference between both views.

The old quilts, butter churn, and whittled benches are living manifestations of the Johnson family past. The items are not only meant for “everyday use” but they also contain memories. Each square of old fabric on the quilt represent the lives of family and friends that have come and gone; they are a reminder of times filled with pleasure and pain, the sacred and profane. The butter churn represents the tree in Mama's sister’s yard, the whittled handles contoured with the hand shapes of people who fed the family. The pressed-in smoothness of the wooden benches represents the countless family and friends who sat at the family table. Dee wants these heirlooms as displays of art salvaged from a culture that is dead to her. Maggie and Mama, however, still use these items and, in doing so, keep their culture alive.

Is Dee a wholly unsympathetic character?

At first glance, it is easy to reject Dee as a selfish and insensitive person. Upon closer inspection, one can begin to understand the struggles that led her up to this point in her life. To become the person she is, Dee would have had to overcome many obstacles - namely, the limitations placed on her rural upbringing. Her education has opened up her world, and her success at college is certainly the product of her self-possession and tenacity. Dee is in a transitional phase between childhood and womanhood, so the pretension can be interpreted as the growing pains of maturity. Dee may be selfish, but she is no doubt driven. Ironically it is the parts of Dee’s personality that we might find objectionable that has enabled her socio- economic emancipation. Sure Dee could use a long lecture on empathy, but she was able to transcend the life that was preordained for her.

Is Mama a wholly sympathetic character?

There is much about Mama to admire. She is humble, caring, hard working and self-aware. She keeps her little farm going with the strength and determination that would put many men to shame. She has no illusions about herself or either of her daughters. Mama knows Dee lives in a world outside her own, and she knows that Maggie is destined to live a life that is similarly small. With Maggie, Mama’s pragmatism feels rather pessimistic. Throughout the story, Maggie is described in less than flattering terms. Mama describes her a “lame animal” who, although loyal and affectionate, has no strong qualities. It is even more disconcerting that Mama believes Maggie incapable of acquiring any strong qualities. Mama’s half-compliments of Dee’s natural beauty, “lighter skin”, and clever wit is juxtaposed with her comment about good looks, money, and quickness passing Maggie by. Mama has long been content - or complacent - with her lot in life and projects this same sense of fatalism onto young Maggie. According to Mama, the best Maggie can hope for is to “marry John Thomas (who has mossy teeth in an earnest face).” Much like Dee, Mama’s limitations help shape her strengths, but she has trouble seeing beyond her front yard.

Would you characterize Mama as a dynamic character in the story?

Mama has spent her life in the shadow of her own daughter. She has recognized that Dee’s looks, intelligence, and drive will allow her to surpass her upbringing. She has stood by when Dee has objectified and insulted both her and Maggie with condescending remarks and called them ignorant. Dee's homecoming inspires nervous anxiety rather than joyful anticipation. When Dee finally shows up, she is much like an amplified version of her spoiled self. Dee’s dismissal of Mama’s lifestyle and objectification of the items needed for “everyday use” puts Dee into final perspective for Mama. Critic David White argues that “Mama’s pride in the practical aspects of her nature” means that she has not contemplated “abstract concepts such as heritage". Mama knows she has always been refused access into this world and hence knows when she is being manipulated.

Dee’s insistence on acquiring the quilts that are meant for Maggie finally pushes Mama to react. Mama rebukes Dee in the way she should have many years ago - by calling out her immaturity and shifting her care to Maggie. For Mama, the quilts represent both a practical and emotional consciousness that she refuses to let be compromised. Thus, Mama becomes a dynamic character through the changing relationships with her daughters.

What effect does the story being told in first person have on the narrative?

Everyday Use is told in Mama's voice. The reader never learns her name, only her familial title as Dee and Maggie call her. This gives Mama an authority earned through wisdom, age, and position as matriarch. However, her namelessness also strips Mama of identity beyond that which is defined by the home. The first person narration allows the reader to get inside the head of the protagonist, but the narrative is also skewed by that character's thoughts and feelings. We glean that Mama is matter-of-fact in how she describes herself, almost as an omniscient narrator would. We understand the fraught relationship with Dee via Mama's fantasy of being on Johnny Carson's show. These glimpses allow the reader to understand Mama through her thoughts rather judging her based on appearances, or how others see her - but it also colors how we view Dee (dynamic, selfish) and Maggie (sweet, slow). At first, Mama is a passive observer allowing her story - and her daughters' lives - to unfold around her. However, as Dee brings the larger, changing world to her doorstep, Mama becomes a fully realized person in her reaction to Dee's fetishizing their heritage. Throughout, the reader never loses sight of Mama because her voice is the story.

Even though Everyday Use was written over 40 years ago, does it still have relevance today?

Race and racial identity will always be a prevailing theme in American literature despite the increasingly diverse makeup of the populace. The dichotomy between preserving heritage while driving towards an evolving identity is a constant struggle between the past and the future. The artifacts that Dee wishes to collect would now no longer be in everyday use, signaling that the recent past has always been, and will always be, displaced through technological advances. But just as constant are the cultures and traditions that are carried forth through generations. While Dee's story has a very concrete time and place (the Civil Rights era), the Johnson family story is one that can be played out through the future, and the relevance of one's search for identity is perennial.

Everyday Use Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Everyday Use is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Everyday Use by Alice Walker

From the text:

I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed down.

In paragraphs 61-72, how does the conversation between Dee and Mama about the quilts develop the theme?

I'm sorry, please provide the text in question.

I saw my brother sneaking out of my room, his (1) movements slow and silent. When he saw me the poor kid was flinching, practically (2) under my gaze. "I was just looking at your CDs," he told me. At least he admitted he had been (3) _. annoyed, I decided

Is this related to the book Everyday use? What are you asking here?

Study Guide for Everyday Use

Everyday Use study guide contains a biography of Alice Walker, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Everyday Use
• Everyday Use Summary
• Character List

Essays for Everyday Use

Everyday Use essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Everyday Use.

• Identity Confusion in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"
• The Black Empowerment Movement within Bambara's "The Lesson" and Walker's "Everyday Use"
• Pride and Heritage in “Everyday Use”
• "Everyday Use" from an Antipatriarchal Perspective
• A Comparison of Dee and Mathilde

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In Everyday Use , Alice Walker uses a series of symbols to illustrate the life of a mother and her two girls. Throughout the story, the mother focuses on describing the stark contrast between her and her daughters. This comparison is facilitated by the degree of symbolism utilized by the author. While the literal meaning of the symbols are important, the family’s yard, the quilts, and Maggie’s burn scars provide the story with a deeper meaning and reinforce the author’s purpose. These symbols are all important because they emphasize the history of the family and connect these ideas with the changes they must learn to face in the modern world in addition to the parts of their past that they should ensure are kept with them.

The story opens with a description of the family’s yard, which is described as comfortable and a place that holds many family memories. While the main action of the story occurs within the house, mainly everything associated with the yard is peaceful. In the beginning of the story, the mother describes it as “an extended living room”. At the end of the story, she provides the same sentiment, indicating the calming nature of the yard as she watches the “car dust settle”. It is apparent that the mother finds the yard to be her happy place because she is able to make everything perfect there. She is concerned with the organization of the clay and the sand and believes that their proper placement can enhance the peace that she feels while she is there. In the last paragraph of the story, we learn that the yard is a place of comfort for true members of the family, as Maggie feels just as comfortable there as her mom does. It is the one place she will allow herself to be happy instead of scared.

The quilt is an important symbol in the story because it is representative of the family’s heritage in addition to the different ways that this heritage is honored by Maggie and Dee, which demonstrates an important contrast between the two sisters. The quilt is tied together tightly and therefore represents the ties of family. Dee does not recognize the importance of these ties and although she tries to by becoming more understanding of African culture, loses an understanding of her family in the process. On the other hand, Maggie appreciates the true value of the quilt and wants it to be used instead of serving as a form of decoration. This distinction between Maggie and Dee helps their mother gain a greater appreciation for Maggie, who appears to be the “lesser” sister at first but proves herself by the end of the story. Since the mother has a great appreciation for her ancestors and as a consequence the fabric that was used to make the quilt, she is appreciative that Maggie understands its true value.

Maggie’s burn scars are also an important symbol in this story, as it contrasts her as a character to Dee who is described to be perfect. However, we learn that the physical appearance of these sisters is not a reflection of their personalities. While Dee is proud of her looks and attitude and Maggie is shy and homely because of the burns, it is apparent that Maggie has a greater understanding of the importance of her cultural background while Dee does so more superficially. Dee appreciates the importance of items that were held by her ancestors and as a consequence wants to be more ingrained in African culture, but in the process misses the importance of the items to the family. This contrast therefore emphasizes the awareness that Maggie has of her roots compared to her sister, as colonial slavery is just as much a part of their history as their African ancestry.

In conclusion, the author of Everyday Use utilizes symbolism in able to create a contrast between Dee and Maggie in relation to their ability to understand their roots. Maggie, like her mother, fully appreciates the yard and recognizes it as a place of peace. This demonstrates that she is able to understand the struggles that her mother has experienced and believes that the sentiments of the yard should be shared. Meanwhile, Dee is less fascinated with the yard, which shows a disconnect between her and the rest of the family. Next, the quilt symbolizes both the African and American ancestry of the family, even though Dee believes that it is only representative of African life. Both the mother and Maggie recognize that this is not the case, and that it is symbolic of all aspects of the family’s ancestry. Lastly, Maggie’s burn scars create an even greater contrast between Dee and Maggie by emphasizing the difference in both their physical appearance and mental attitudes. These symbols indicate that Maggie is a greater representation of what the family represents than Dee, who only appreciates the surface value of the family’s struggles.

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Everyday Oxymoron

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Delve into the intriguing world of Everyday Oxymorons—those contradictory terms that pepper our daily conversations. Discover the art and impact of using these expressive phrases. Whether you’re a language enthusiast or just curious, our guide offers valuable tips on writing and recognizing Everyday Oxymorons to enhance your communication skills.

What is an Everyday Oxymoron? – Definition

An Everyday Oxymoron is a figure of speech containing contradictory elements that appear in our regular conversations. These phrases may seem illogical at first, but they often encapsulate complex ideas or emotions succinctly.

What is the best Example of an Everyday Oxymoron?

One quintessential example of an Everyday Oxymoron is “jumbo shrimp.” At first glance, the term is paradoxical because “jumbo” implies something large, while “shrimp” often refers to something small. However, this oxymoron efficiently conveys the idea of a shrimp that is large compared to others of its kind.

100 Everyday Oxymoron Examples

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• Jumbo Shrimp – Common phrase
• Act Naturally – Beatles Song
• Found Missing – News reports
• Awfully Good – Casual conversation
• Same Difference – Everyday speech
• Original Copy – Printing industry
• Virtual Reality – Technology
• Living Dead – Movies
• Passive Aggressive – Psychology
• Deafening Silence – Literature
• Clearly Confused – Conversational speech
• Exact Estimate – Business
• Small Crowd – Event planning
• Old News – Journalism
• Random Order – Math
• Seriously Funny – Comedy
• Liquid Gas – Science
• Constant Change – Philosophy
• Bitter Sweet – Poetry
• Alone Together – Social interactions
• Anxious Patient – Healthcare
• Lesser Evil – Ethics
• Civil War – History
• True Myth – Religious studies
• Crash Landing – Aviation
• Fresh Frozen – Food industry
• Growing Smaller – Economy
• Passive Resistance – Sociology
• Rolling Stop – Traffic rules
• Silent Scream – Horror genre
• Living Hell – Personal experience
• Temporary Fix – DIY
• Advanced Basic – Programming languages
• Known Secret – Spy genre
• Passive Income – Finance
• Controlled Chaos – Management
• Poorly Educated – Social studies
• Holy War – Religious conflicts
• Resident Alien – Immigration
• Near Miss – Aviation
• Silent Alarm – Security systems
• Tragic Comedy – Theatre
• Freezer Burn – Cooking
• Student Teacher – Education
• Negative Growth – Economics
• Painfully Beautiful – Aesthetic appreciation
• Dark Light – Mysticism
• Same Opposite – Philosophy
• Even Odds – Gambling
• True Lies – Movies
• Open Secret – Popular culture
• Original Remix – Music
• Quiet Riot – Rock band
• Fixed Rate Variable – Finance
• Harmless Crime – Legal studies
• Clearly Invisible – Spy tech
• Free Gift – Marketing
• Living Fossil – Paleontology
• Blind Eye – Metaphor
• Numb Feeling – Healthcare
• Plastic Silverware – Table setting
• Small Fortune – Wealth
• Minor Crisis – Management
• Optional Requirement – Education
• Criminal Justice – Legal system
• Passive Activity – Leisure time
• Idiot Savant – Psychology
• Guest Host – Entertainment industry
• Wicked Good – New England slang
• Peace Force – Military
• Random Logic – Game theory
• Loud Silence – Sound studies
• Practical Magic – Fantasy
• Anarchy Rules – Politics
• Chaotic Order – Complexity theory
• Civil Disobedience – Social movement
• Close Distance – Navigation
• Complex Simplicity – Design
• Cursed Blessing – Folk tales
• Epic Fail – Internet slang
• Foolish Wisdom – Philosophy
• Free Market – Economics
• Future Past – Time travel narratives
• Genuine Fake – Art
• Happy Tears – Emotion
• Human Robot – Science fiction
• Icy Hot – Sports medicine
• Inside Out – Psychology
• Irregular Pattern – Fashion
• Junk Food – Nutrition
• Lethal Aid – Military aid
• Limited Edition – Marketing
• Lonely Crowd – Sociology
• Minor Major – Music theory
• Natural Synthetic – Chemistry
• Nonprofit Business – Social enterprise
• Open Secret – Political discourse
• Passive Energy – Sustainability
• Quiet Noise – Acoustic studies
• Serious Joke – Comedy shows

What is an Oxymoron in Everyday Life?

An oxymoron in everyday life refers to a combination of contradictory or incongruent words used casually in speech or writing. These terms are deeply ingrained in daily conversation, literature, and even in product naming. The interesting part about these oxymorons is that despite the apparent contradiction in terms, they serve to make a point or draw attention more vividly than using plain language. For instance, when someone says “deafening silence,” the oxymoron effectively highlights the profound impact of the silence.

What is the Most Famous Oxymoron?

The title of “most famous oxymoron” might vary depending on cultural context and individual perspective, but one contender is “Jumbo Shrimp.” This oxymoron is widely recognized because it appears frequently in daily life, particularly in the context of dining or grocery shopping. The term intriguingly combines “jumbo,” meaning large, with “shrimp,” a creature that is often considered small. Despite its contradictory nature, “Jumbo Shrimp” effectively communicates the idea of a shrimp that is larger than average, making it an enduring example of how oxymorons can serve a practical purpose.

What is an Easy Oxymoron?

An easy oxymoron is one that is simple to understand, even for people who might not be familiar with the concept of oxymorons. Examples of easy oxymorons include phrases like “act naturally” or “same difference.” These oxymorons are considered easy because they are commonly used in everyday language and require little to no explanation for most people. They frequently appear in casual conversation and are readily understood due to their widespread usage and inherent relatability. Therefore, an easy oxymoron is not only straightforward but also instantly recognizable, serving its intended purpose efficiently.

How do you write an Everyday Oxymoron? – Step by Step Guide

Writing an everyday oxymoron involves a process of creative thought and linguistic skill. These oxymorons are often the result of poetic license or clever wordplay. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to craft your own everyday oxymoron:

• Identify the Context : Determine the situation or the setting where you want to use an oxymoron. This context can guide the choice of words and make the oxymoron more relevant.
• Brainstorm Keywords : List down the words or ideas you want to express. Think of adjectives and nouns that are directly in opposition to each other but could make sense when put together.
• Combine Creatively : Start combining your chosen words. Remember, the goal is to create a term that at first glance appears contradictory but makes sense when pondered upon.
• Test for Effectiveness : Use your newly created oxymoron in a sentence to see if it conveys the message you intended. Does it add depth or emphasis to what you’re trying to communicate?
• Get Second Opinions : Sometimes, it helps to get a fresh perspective. Share your oxymoron with friends or colleagues to gauge its impact.
• Revise : Based on the feedback and your own assessment, tweak the oxymoron for better impact or clarity.
• Use It : Once satisfied, start using your oxymoron in the intended context. Take note of the reactions it elicits and be prepared to explain its meaning if asked.

Tips for Using Everyday Oxymoron

• Understand the Purpose : Know why you’re using an oxymoron. Is it for emphasis, humor, or to make someone ponder on a concept? The purpose will guide effective usage.
• Context is Key : Oxymorons are most impactful when they fit the conversation or writing style. An oxymoron out of context can confuse rather than enlighten.
• Keep It Simple : The best oxymorons are easy to understand. Overcomplicating things may dilute the impact.
• Be Mindful of the Audience : Your oxymoron should be appropriate for your target audience. What works in a casual setting may not be suitable for a formal event.
• Avoid Redundancy : Using too many oxymorons in quick succession can lessen their impact. Use them sparingly for maximum effect.
• Explain When Necessary : Not everyone may understand the oxymoron you’ve used. Be prepared to provide a brief explanation if the situation calls for it.
• Incorporate in Various Forms : Oxymorons can be used in speech, writing, or even visual media. Understanding the medium can help you use the oxymoron most effectively.
• Review and Revise : Like any other form of communication, the effectiveness of an oxymoron can wane over time or across different settings. Be prepared to update or change your oxymorons as necessary.

By following these guidelines, you can create and use everyday oxymorons that enrich your language and make your communication more engaging and effective.

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91 Everyday Use Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

👍 7 simple steps to a+ essay on everyday use, 🏆 best everyday use topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 interesting topics to write about everyday use, 👍 good essay topics on everyday use, ❓ everyday use essay questions.

Writing an Everyday Use essay can be a tough task if you don’t know the seven simple steps to an A+ paper. IvyPanda experts prepared a simple guide to ace your Alice Walker paper.

If you have writer’s block, procrastinate, and postpone your written assignments to the last day before the submission deadline, we suggest you to divide the task into small chunks:

• Determine the type of essay and learn its features
• Pick up Everyday Use essay topic
• Do your research on the chosen topic
• Write a thesis statement

Create Everyday Use essay outline

• Work on your paper
• Proofread and edit the essay

Determine the Essay Type

Your professor might assign you to write a certain type of essay on Alice Walker novel. For example, compare and contrast paper or literary analysis (don’t confuse it with literary summary!), persuasive essay on women empowerment, argumentative essay on family heritage, etc. Or you have the freedom to choose the paper type.

Learn more about various types of essays to know what you’re going to write. Depending on it, you will narrow your research and easy decide on structure of your paper.

Don’t forget to carefully read the professor’s instructions!

Choose the Essay Topic

Brainstorm ideas you can use as a base for your future research and writing. Active reading techniques would help you to determine some points in the novel that you can use in the essay.

Make notes and write ideas that come to mind while you read the book. After you’ve finished, check your notes, and write down Everyday Use essay questions that you would like to answer in the paper.

Once you’ve created a list of topics, it’s time to narrow your focus and choose the best one. Leave only one main point for research.

Do Your Research

Once you’ve chosen the essay topic, it’s time to do your research. Read critical reviews on the novel, check our Everyday Use essay topics to get examples of papers on Alice Walker’s books. Remember to keep notes so it would be easier for to refer and to cite the sources.

Master Your Everyday Use Essay Thesis

Here’s what you should keep in mind when creating your thesis:

• Thesis statement should reflect the key point of your paper.
• It should be one sentence.
• Use it in the introductory paragraph.
• Make broad enough.

If you need some ideas on how to write good thesis statements, you can always check IvyPanda essay examples. You can also use online thesis generators.

The next step you should make after you’ve finished the thesis is to master your outline.

It will help you to structure the paper. Put only one idea per paragraph and avoid overloading your body sections with too many arguments and evidence.

Make sure that you included transition sentences to keep the logical flow of the paper.

Write Everyday Use Essay

Once you’ve finished an outline, start writing! The more detailed your outline, the easier will be the writing process. Always ensure that you writing is clear and consistent. Check if you stick to the structure.

Write a strong Everyday Use essay conclusion. Restate your thesis and summarize ideas you presented in the paper’s body. You can work on the intro after the entire essay is already finished.

Proofread Your Paper

Some students underestimate the importance of the revision. However, don’t skip this step. Check it for punctuation, grammar, spelling mistakes and typos. You can also ask your friends or classmates to proofread your essay.

Are you finding it hard to express your points clearly in your Everyday Use essay? Check our variety of samples, written by professionals!

• “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker Critical Analysis By the use of the technique of contrasting the characters and their opinions in the story, the author succeeds in demonstrating the significance of comprehending our present life in relation to the culture that our […]
• Cultural Identity and Heritage in the “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker In the broad context, Walker designs the story to underscore the conflict that African Americans faced concerning their cultural identity and heritage after the abolition of slavery.
• “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker This study therefore identifies there points; in that, Walker seeks to convey the principle that art is a living and breathing part of its origin, a significant cultural possession, and a critique of the postmodern […]
• Literary Devices of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker The plot tells about the lives of a single mother and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. The latter is further illustrated through Wangero visiting her mother with her partner and addressing the topic in […]
• Everyday Use by Alice Walker The two hand-stitched quilts draw attention and become the center of conflict in the family of Mama and her two daughters.
• “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin Dee, although she is not the only main character, is the drive that pushes the story forward, and the narrative unfolds with her arrival.
• Conflict in Everyday Use In the very beginning of the story one can already see the reason why Tuten disapproved of Dee’s actions and supported the desire of Mama and Maggie to continue with their way of life.
• Literature Studies: ‘Everyday Use’ by Alice Walker On the arrival of her sister- Dee, she was not coming in the courtyard to her mother to greet and welcome her sister.
• Parent-Child Relationships in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker The more distant and fractious relationship is between the narrator and Dee. The narrator is referred to as “Mama,” and a mama she is.
• Comparison of “Two Kinds” and “Everyday Use” The conflict between her new constructed culture and the tradition and culture that mama was brought up to know is an aftermath of the general mood of society after the effects of war and conflict […]
• Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and Walker’s “Everyday Use” Analysis The narrative’s main focus was on the family’s relationships, trials, and the never-ending cycle of pain. The storyteller is Sonny’s brother, and the setting occurred in a rural region of Harlem, New York, in the […]
• Symbolism in “Everyday Use” by Walker and “Worn Path” by Welty In the second story, the symbol of the past and something that had long gone is the woman’s path that implies the historical events of the past the value of life.
• Analysis of Alice Walker’s Essay “Everyday Use” in Reference to the Idea of Power and Responsibility Within Family This statement of Maggie’s inner power provokes her mother to exercise her authority and stop Dee from plundering the house which she has never respected, loved or devoted her effort to.
• The Short Stories “Everyday Use” by Walker and “A Worn Path” by Welty Despite coming from different backgrounds and are placed in different settings, Phoenix Jackson and Mrs. Though Phoenix Jackson and Mrs.
• Cultural Identity: “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker One of the instances of elements of life associated with identity is music. As such, blues music is not particularly popular throughout America, yet it remains a significant part and a distinctive aspect of the […]
• Stories “Girl” by Kincaid vs. “Everyday Use” by Walker In my opinion, in both Walker’s and Kincaid’s stories, there are the three themes of mother-daughter relationships, economic struggles, and societal expectations. In the case of Girl, the conflict is based on the concerns the […]
• The Theme of Education in “Everyday Use” by Walker and “Sonny’s Blues” by Baldwin Initially, in both stories, the authors emphasize the success linked to education and the necessity of school attendance. Back in time, education might create a delusion about one’s intelligence, overstating the significance of existing knowledge […]
• “Everyday Use”: Differences Between Mama and Her Daughters To be more exact, the author focuses on the problem from the African-American people’s side. Overall, Maggie seems indeed similar to her mother, and they do share numerous identical features; however, Dicie is obviously more […]
• The Mood in “Everyday Use” by A. Walker From the beginning of the narrative, a sense of antipathy is observed between the main character and Maggie. The gloominess of the fiction is mainly highlighted by hardships and the dramatic visions of the narrator.
• Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and Walker’s “Everyday Use” It is remarkable that the language of The Story of An Hour speaks for the feelings of protagonist and the plot uncovering.
• “Everyday Use” Short Story by Alice Walker Despite Dee’s overwhelming presence, Maggie is the first girl to be introduced in the story as it is she who has apparently helped her mother to make the yard “so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon….
• Heritage in Walker’s “Everyday Use” Short Story This is much different from the awareness of her heritage displayed by Maggie, who lives the lifestyle alongside her mother and is more intimately aware of the stories behind each of the pieces Dee determines […]
• “Everyday Use” Story by Alice Walker As a result, she can be considered a reliable narrator as she describes both of her daughters honestly and without skipping over any of the unpleasant bit of their backgrounds such as the fire that […]
• “Saboteur” and “Everyday Use” Literary Comparison The second story describes the life of a common family in which even tenor is interrupted by the visit of one of the daughters of Mama and their different understanding of identity.
• Denial in “Everyday Use” and “Jilting of Granny Weatherall” The old woman fails to accept her jilting by her lover to her death even though she prides in having been married and fend for her family all alone after facing the death of her […]
• African-American Heritage in the “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker Dee and Maggie do not interact, it is only as the story ends that Dee speaks to her angrily as she is leaving; this ending portrays the relationship of the African and American heritages.
• Analysis of Themes and Narration in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Differences in Physical Attributes, Education, and Personalities Between Dee and Maggie in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Rhetorical Analysis of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Literary Analysis of the Different Views in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Physical Beauty of Dee in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Relationship Between Parent and Child in Joe Johnson’s “October Sky” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• The Value and Purpose of Cultural Heirlooms in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• How Alice Walker Explores the Meaning of Heritage in “Everyday Use”
• The Theme of Jealousy Between Two Sisters in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Character Analysis of Dee Johnson in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Hidden Strength of Mama and the Fight of Tradition Against Materialism in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• Racism, Resistance, and Sacrifice in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• The Usability of Symbolism in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• Past and Present Connections: Alice Walker’s Use of First Person Point of View in “Everyday Use”
• A Comparison Between Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Joseph Geha’s “Monkey Business”
• The Importance of Home to a Family of Three Women in Georgia in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• Heritage and Selfishness in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Mother’s Important Decisions in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Importance of Tradition in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• An Analysis of the Narrative Structure in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• Symbolic References in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Value of the Intangible in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• An Analysis of the Textile Industry in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• Lost Heritage in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Themes of Identity Fabrication and Ethnological Heritage in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• True Inheritance in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• The Thematic Character of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Psychoanalytical Reading of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Character of Mama in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Analysis of Patches: Quilt and Community in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Acceptance and Denial in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• The History of Quilting Based on the Story of Quilting “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Critique of the Effectiveness of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Insecurity as the Root of Tyranny in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• A Family Heritage in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Mother-Daughter Relationships in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• The Importance of Personal Identity in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• Theme of Heritage in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Aurora Levins Morales’s Poem “Child of the Americas”
• The Use of Irony in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
• An Exploration of the Main Themes in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
• How Are Oppression and Victory Depicted in “Everyday Use”?
• What Is the Basic Conflict in “Everyday Use”?
• How Alice Walker Explores the Meaning of Heritage in “Everyday Use”?
• What Do the Characters in “Everyday Use” Symbolize?
• What Does Dee’s Boyfriend Asalamalakim Represent in “Everyday Use”?
• Who Were the Characters in “Everyday Use”?
• How Does the Author Understand Tyranny in “Everyday Use”?
• What Does Maggie Symbolize in “Everyday Use”?
• What Do the Quilts Represent to Maggie at the End of “Everyday Use”?
• What Is the Main Theme of “Everyday Use”?
• What Is the Moral of the Story “Everyday Use”?
• What Are the Self-Defense Mechanisms in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”?
• How Does Dee Change in “Everyday Use”?
• How Is Black Woman Spirituality Imaged in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”?
• Why Does Dee Change Her Name in “Everyday Use”?
• What Does the Term the Prodigal Daughter Mean in “Everyday Use”?
• What Is the Function of Tradition in “Everyday Use”?
• How Do Dissimilar Lives Create Different Expectations in “Everyday Use”?
• What Is the Deeper Meaning of “Everyday Use”?
• What Are the Similarities Between Maggie and Dee in “Everyday Use”?
• How Are Love and Acceptance Compared in “Everyday Use”?
• What Is Alice Walker’s Purpose in Writing “Everyday Use”?
• Is There Any Cultural Conflict in “Everyday Use”?
• What Can Story “Everyday Use” Give a Primary School Teacher?
• What Is the Significance of the Title “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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