"Everyday Use"

"Everyday Use"
Alice Walker

The speaker uses similes while telling this story as a source of imagery. For example, "When the hard clay is swept clean as a floor..." (Walker, 173). This story about two sisters who were as opposite as two people could ever be provided some ironic situations. For instance, Dee, who was named after her aunt and changed her name to Wangero, called her mother out for not understanding her heritage when Dee basically threw her heritage out the window. She comes back to see her family after all of this time apart and asks for all of these things that are of some importance to her mom and sister. However, she does not even asks, she basically just says I am taking these to make my house look nicer. Therefore, when her mom said that those quilts were for Maggie, I was thinking "Yes! You tell her!" She deserved to be put in her place.

In a way, I saw this story in the view point of Maggie. Being second to her sister in everything, I could not even imagine how torturous that would be. She was pushed around all of her life, and it was time that someone stood up for her.