Thursday, November 15, 2007
"Everyday Use"
Maggie, one of the main characters in the story shows great changes from the start of the story to the end of it. Maggies mother stuck up for her and let the other sister know that even though she was getting married now, the 2 specific quilts she wanted was for Maggie when she got married. At the end it says that the mother had hugged Maggie for the first time ever. I beleive this leads to a strong reason and result of Maggies changes.
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7 comments:
It's too bad that we don't get much background on Maggie. We don'g know what she was like as a young girl. Why is she so shy? Has she always been in her sister's shadow? It seems like Maggie and the mother had a good relationship before the sister came to visit. Was the mother not a caring mother to Maggie all these years and was this the first time the mother showed Maggie that she cared about her?
I agree with you. I believe that seeing her mother stuck up for her was something new and gave her strength. I don’t think that anyone had done that for her before. Also the words of her sister may have sparked something within her….to make something of herself.
I agree. But i also love this "clash" of cultures. Where one daughter with the college education and the other who is scared, etc all have this different path in which their lives have taken, which in simpler terms, un balances the family's cultures and traditions.
I agree, I think this was the first time in a long time Maggie actually felt wanted and cared about. And the hug from her mother just makes it even better. I hope this this will continue and the relationship between them will get better and grow, because it seems like that is what they both want from one another.
I think since the blanket represents time, that the offering to maggie over Dee shows their improved relationship will be ongoing.
Yes, Maggie's change is an important one. The mother also seems to change somewhat, right, and perhaps resolves some of the internal conflicts she has, RE Dee? the scene involving the quilts is key to understanding this. Explore Maggie and her mother's change according to some of the following issues, copied from my comments onother blogs:
If you look closely, the mother's relationhip with Dee is quite conflicted, and she is actually much closer to Maggie, in character. Consider the dreams she has involving Dee, and also the final scene (Maggie and the mother on the porch as Dee leaves). Also, connsider the contrast between Dee and Maggie as characters. This should lead to a discussion of one of the important themes of the story, which is, yes, heritage. But, again, this concept is ambiguous in the story. Through the interactions among the three main characters, Walker explores the complex and perhaps contradictory noitions of "heritage." There are, at any rate, at least two perspectives on heritage that the story presents. One represented best by Dee, and the other be Maggie and her mother.
Consider especially scenes--the dialogue and character interaction--involing the butter churn and the quilt. Also consider the symbolic value of these itmes, as they relate to concepts of heritage. Consider also the story's title.
David's comments about the "clash" of (African-American)cultures is right on, I think, and important to the "debate" about heritage the story stages. Dee's background may challenge family tradition, but doesn't this version of heritage also "unbalance," or put into question, the notion of heritage that Dee represents?
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