Everyday Use: A Mothers Choice Essay examples -- American Literature

A Mothers ChoiceIn her short story terrene Use, author Alice pushchair introduces us to a Mother awaiting the visit of her miss, Dee, who has left her rural upbringing to go away to college. Although we are not told an take away location, the descriptions provided by Miss Walker lead us to believe that the story is set in the very poorest section of the south. Momma narrates this story, and describes to us in her let simple way the dynamics of the family and the conflicts that arise with Dees homecoming. Momma tells us she is uneducated I never had an education. After second grade, the school was closed. She further describes her rough, rural lifestyle. I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing...One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before darkfall. Although seemingly simple and backward, Momma clearly describes the differences between her two daughters, the confli ct that comes about with Dees homecoming and the choices she is forced to make between her two girls. Maggie and Dee are two sisters that are as different as night and day. When Momma talks of Maggie, it is with a sad and gentle reflection of this daughters lot in life. Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a cut across run over by some careless person rich enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks. Momma tells us, however that Dee, She would always touch anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature. Where Dee is pretty and bright, Maggie is scarred and slow. Momma seems more content being in Maggies presence, having more in common with her than with her daughter Dee. She and Maggie tend the house together, ... ...py and shout. The daughter who has the deeper family values, who pick ups the true nature of heritage will be getting the quilts. Although Dee tells momma You just dont understand ... your heritage. it is she who does not understand t he signification of what she holds in her hand.By making Momma the narrator, Alice Walker has given us a simple but clear viewpoint. Listening to Mommas voice, we can better understand the background that makes two daughters so opposite. Momma helps us comprehend the confusion and conflict that Dees arrival back home brings, and how everyone reacts. Through mommas narration, we can follow her judgment process as she wrestles with the decision of who should get the quilts. Without Momma, the reader would not feel as intricately involved in the story or identify with the emotions Alice Walker incorporates in Everyday Use.