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1、Everyday-Use-for-your-Everyday-Use-for-your-grandmamagrandmamaSummary ThemeSymbolsCharacter analysisSummary “Everyday Use” tells the story of a mother and her two daughters conflicting ideas about their identities and ancestry. The mother narrates the story of the day one daughter, Dee, visits from
2、the city and clashes with the other daughter, Maggie, over the possession of heirloom quilts.ThemeHeritageThe main theme in the story concerns the characters connections to their ancestral roots. Dee believes that she is affirming her African heritage by changing her name, her mannerisms, and her ap
3、pearance, even though her family has lived in the United States for several generations. Maggie and the mother are confused and intimidated by her new image.Here, Walker criticizes the short-sightedness of radicals and their shallow knowledge in subtle terms.Symbolsa.Quiltb. The old quilt is an embl
4、em of Amercian womens culture itself, an object of communal harmony made by women out of their well-worn clothes.c. Walker identifies the quilt as one of the traditional art forms of African Amercian women, showing the creativity of the black woman.b. Name Dee follows the example of some Amercian bl
5、acks in adopting an African name to replace her original family name. She has discarded her given name, Dee, because as she says, “I couldnt bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me.” However, she fails to understand that the name Dee also goes back several generations,therefor
6、e is more part of her heritage. She introduces herself as “Wangero leewanika Kemanjo”(Wanjiru is a Kikuyu clan name indicating honrary acceptance into the Leopard clan). Character AnalysisWalkers three cycles of black woman a. Those “who were cruelly exploited, spirits and bodies mutilated, relegate
7、d to the most narrow and confining lives, sometimes driven to madness” Maggie, doesnt know her own worth; her mother says she walks like “a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car.”But Maggie has the hidden power of creativity, humility and quiet feminini
8、ty of black woman. b. Those who are not so much physically but psychically abused as a result of wanting desperately to participate in mainstream Amercian life Dee inhabits the second cycle; “A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes.” Though she appears not t
9、o want to assimilate into white society, she does not appreciate her own heritage until it has become fashionable to do so. Dee tries to find the roots of African culture, but actually what she knows is very shallow and vague. Walkers own feeling toward Dee is mixed. For one thing, she is pretentiou
10、s and selfish. The narrator says Dee “washed us in a river of make-believe,burned us with a lot of knowledge we didnt necessarily need to know.” For another, she is the feminists ideal-a woman who makes a success of herself despite overwhelming odds. She has managed to move to the city, get an educa
11、tion, and get a good job. She is politically involved and active. She is the future. c. Those who gain a new consciousness of “the right to be themselves and to shape the world” The mother, “a large,big-boned woman with rough,man-working hands.” The mothers sudden snatching away of the quilts from Dee and presentation of them to Maggie demonstrates a rejection of stereotypes. Therefore, the mother prefigures the women of Walkers third cycle in her self-reliance but simultaneous connectness to her past. She is “on her right to be herself”, that is the meaning of “in real life.” Thank you!结束结束
