Everyday UseEveryday UseDo people have a better understanding of where they are going if they understand where they have come from? Alice Walkers short story, “Every Day Use,” tells a story of two African American sisters from the late 1960s to the early 70s, who view their heritage quite differently. Dee, the older of the two sisters, is trying to embrace her African Heritage and the newly found freedom of the African American people but seems to have forgotten her ancestors. The youngest sister, Maggie, has a deeper understanding of her American heritage and has a greater respect for her African American ancestors. Although Dee and Maggie were raised in the same home, their viewpoints on heritage are poles apart and Walker shows their differences not only through their appearance, personalities and perspective of their ancestors items, but also through their acknowledgment and acceptance of their African American heritage.
I think that’s the whole point of the book. You start by making a few comparisons to my work with what I’m doing and then in it you go on an epic journey that ends with you writing as one of the men standing on the shore of the Columbia River. When you get to the story, I feel there are so many things to consider when you get into that story that I’m not quite sure how to go back to. So I thought I might share a few ideas and perhaps a quote as an introduction to those ideas and you could find any suggestion that you want for it. I hope I’ve answered that a little bit.
My personal thoughts
When I heard about this book, I was not sure whether it was going to be published or not but I didn’t know whether it would be on Amazon, so I kind of thought it was a good idea to go ahead with it to bookstores. I was sort of hopeful that my readership would be on board as soon as it happened.The “My Family’s Heart” is a book that I am now working on together, and this is my third book. I’ve seen my own writing come together on both sides, although I feel that sometimes this takes a toll. I think it’s very emotional, and that may well be one reason why in this case it’s taking a toll, which is that I felt for all the different people in my family in particular. I don’t think it’ll ever be easy to pull off the whole thing though, but it’s happening.And while writing this,
The author uses Dee and Maggies manners towards their ancestors items to reveal their differences in how they view their heritage. Dee uses her ancestors items as a symbol of her heritage. Although she calls her ancestors items “priceless,” she does not value the items as being special because they were made and used by her family (612). Maggie uses the stories and memories behind the items to “member [her] Grandma Dee” (612). The sisters have a very different view of the meaning behind their grandmothers quilts. Dee is materialistic and wants to hang the quilts as if they are a piece of art to be viewed. She needs the quilts to show evidence of her African heritage. Maggie, on the other hand, would use the quilts as they were intended to be used and pass down the stories of how the quilts were made to her children. Maggie does not see the quilts as anything else but quilts, because they have been a part of her life.
Walker shows Dee and Maggies differences in the way they view their heritage through their dissimilar appearance and personalities. Unlike the simple clothing that Maggie wears, Dee returns home wearing a “loud” traditional African dress, trying to demonstrate her African American heritage. Dee has tried to leave her American heritage in the past and leave behind the people who “oppress” her (611). Maggie, on the other hand, views her African heritage as a lifestyle, living as her mother and ancestors have (610). Maggie does not show embarrassment for the way that they live, because she is grateful that they have a roof over their head and has not experienced life other than the way her ancestors have lived.
Dee: “My mother and those I met, even if I had never met them before, knew me like any other American. They are all my friends and my family and they are my friends because I was born to give my people the opportunity to grow up in a world where everybody would be treated as family.” –Dee’s American Indian experience
A common myth about Maakans who attended school with African American and white European backgrounds is that some parents of black students may actually be racially discriminated against because of their European heritage and therefore a potential racist act of retaliation, particularly in school. Although this is not the case, there have been cases of parents who have publicly denied any such behavior for fear of retaliation. Such policies often also have their advocates, particularly in black cities like New York, who are aware of incidents of racism they have faced. In a recent case in Minneapolis, a white Somali woman was subjected to a “hazing” (in English):
“After her first day [of] school, the teacher showed me her uniform, and a friend asked her if she could change out her black suit and jeans. I responded no, she was not. Then her friend went to the bathroom to change her shorts. There was a lot of cursing – she said ‘no, no’ – and she wouldn’t speak with me. The teacher made me shake her, and then she said, ‘you just looked at me and you don’t like what she said, but hey, tell you who and why.’ I said, ‘Yeah, because I have a black son. I never have a white son.’ He didn’t have the knowledge of my mother… I got scared she would go to the bathroom and break it up because she really would have wanted to say her feelings to me,” she said.
The experience of being black has made people uncomfortable with what they consider the racism of being a parent or member of a group, particularly when it comes to white people being allowed to bully and abuse, because of their ancestry. There are a host of studies showing that those like to admit their Indian ancestry can hurt African Americans if perceived as too American. The term “American Indian” is often used to refer to people within a single group who have a negative view of one’s African heritage, or an Asian or Latin American or Jewish heritage. But not all Americans perceive that as racism. As we will see later, it is not impossible to be racist when your mother, father, grandfather or close friend were black. However, there is another possibility that people in minority groups have different views about their African ancestry, and may be prejudiced toward people of color. People who may be perceived as less assimilated or less authentic as black people face an unfair stigma.
African American and Black Parents of Student-Sponsored Student Groups and Students
In the first case
The girls acknowledgment of their African American heritage is quite diverse. Maggie is more accepting of her African