"Everyday Use"
Characterization Analysis
Mama
Quote that best represents the character: "I did something I have never done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap."
Type of character: Round & Dynamic
Explanation/Reasoning: Mama is a round character because in the beginning she let Wangero, Dee, take whatever she wanted and just sat back confused and silent. The later on she spoke up and stood up for her, Maggie and their heritage.
Type of characterization: Indirect
Reasoning/Explanation: The quote doesn't just come right out and say that Mama was sticking up for her, Maggie and their heritage. You have to read between the lines to figure that out.
Symbol
One symbol found in this story is the quilt. The quilt itself is a very meaningful item in the sense that it has history on it; it includes clothes that Dee's great grandma used to wear and pieces of uniforms that Dee's great grandpa wore during the Civil War. However, it also symbolizes value in African-American experience. The quilt additionally adds to the idea of creative activities women came up with to pass down history from generation to generation.
Imagery & Setting
The setting and imagery was a old farm that Maggie and Mama live on.
External Conflict
Mama was never who Dee wanted her to be.
Alice Walker
Alice Walker is an American author and activist. She wrote the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple for which she won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Ruby Bridges