Characters in Everyday Use Essay Example

Characters in Everyday Use Essay Example Characters in Everyday Use Essay Characters in Everyday Use Essay â€Å"Everyday Use† an excellent depiction of the scuffle among the old-fashioned and traditional against the more modern views on the important issue of heritage. Author Alice Walker, aligns the readers with contradictory yet justifiable characters within â€Å"Everyday Use† by bringing onto light the relatively conflicting personalities of Dee and her sister Maggie through Mama’s point of view. Walker delivers the story through the narration of Mama, a strong and brutally honest mother â€Å"Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dogthat is the way my Maggie walks.† whom is guilty of unconditional love towards both of her daughters. Through Mama, Walker strikes such a master stroke that allows the reader to feel genuinely safe against the authenticity of both the author and the narrator’s points of view. Making it doubtful for the reader to question the validity of a mother’s opinion towards her two daughters. Mama’s oldest daug hter, Dee. A smart, well-educated but materialistic personality. Also very confident â€Å"She was determined to stare down any disasternot flicker for minutes at a time.† and an insanely egoistic. On the flipside to Dee’s characteristics is Mama’s second daughter, Maggie. An illiterate, awfully shy and incredibly selfless soul. Both of Dee and Maggie are important to the story as both see their heritage and acknowledge it, but not in the same manner. Dee’s character can be confusing. She is often portrayed as an egoistic personality, yet there can be much more dug up to help us better understand her character. We can hopefully all agree that Dee’s flamboyant dressing taste as well as reluctance to be called â€Å"Dee† are much more than just her being self-centered. Dee can be seen as becoming more and more distinctive towards her heritage and what it stands for. She does not seem to like the fact that â€Å"Dee† was a name given to her by an oppressor â€Å"She’s deadI couldn’t bear it any l