Character Analysis in Alice Walker`s Everyday Use

【Abstract】： Alice Walker is a outstanding woman novelist and poet in contemporary African-American literature. In her works， she tries to reveal the complex relationships between the black and white as well as their different culture values and life styles. In her famous short story Everyday Use ， There are three different kinds of woman features： Mama， Dee and Maggie. Through analyzing their characters， a better understanding of black people`s history and value is expecting.

【Key Words】： Alice Walker；character analysis；history and value

Alice Walker`s famous short story Everyday Use in In Love and Trouble mainly represents the conflict about the cultural heritage---quilts， which occurs between “Mama”`s two daughters---Maggie and Dee. . They are from the same family， but have different characteristics and hold different attitudes toward cultural heritage. It is expected to illustrate full pictures showing their characteristics and to help the readers will have a better understanding of the story.

1. physical appearance

Although the three main women characters share the same family background and environment， they are quite different in physical appearance. Mama， the narrator of the story， who is strong， hardworking as well as stern. “In real life I am a large， big-boned woman with rough， man-working hands.” That is the real Mama， a classical African American woman. Mama`s appearance in some degree exhibits her living habits.

Mama has two daughters， Dee and Maggie. Although they are sisters， they are different in many aspects. Maggie is first mentioned in the essay with the description “She has been like this， chin on chest， eye on ground， feet in shuffle.” The picture will make us easily associate the figure of classical black slave woman who is oppressed by the slavery system and is self-inferiority. Maggie is a disabled traditional black girl， and is not confident and short of rebellious spirit. On the other side， Dee has fair skin， nice hair and full figure. “Dee is lighter than Maggie， with nicer hair and a fuller figure.” The basic differences influence their psychological world and life attitude. Dee is independent and confident， what`s more， she has the courage to chase what she wants.

2. Characteristics of personality

The physical appearance can influence characteristics of personality， and the psychological world decides views of life style and cultural heritage. Mama deeply loves her two daughters， but also hold other emotions to them . For welcoming her sister， Maggie changes the clothes and asks her mom “How do I look， Mama？”.However， Mama does not answer her question directly and changes the topic. Mama tries to avoid discussing Maggie`s appearance. She gives Maggie more mercy than appreciation. As for Dee， who is influenced by the feminist and is educated， in some degree is unlike the traditional black woman， which cause Mama a little bit not like her life style. In a conclusion， Mama`s love for her two daughters are mixed with care， encouragement， compunction， appreciation as well as disagreement； it is a mixture love with many emotions.

Maggie never resists the misfortune in her life but accepts them voluntary. She accepts the scar left in the big fire， and she did not receive good education as her sister， but she never complains about it. Even when Dee wants to take the quilts away， which will be her dowry， she allows her sister to take them away. “She likes somebody used to never winning anything， or having anything reserved for her.”But she never disdain anyone， and she can knit the quilt by herself. She inherits the old black woman`s tradition both the good and bad without any change.

Comparing with Maggie， Dee has the passion for getting knowledge and yearn for education.Maggie and Mama do not have the education which causes a gap of misunderstanding between them and Dee. As her mother said “She used to read to us without pity.”From this， we can see the differences between her and Maggie are unavoidable. Education cause the different psychological values and judgments. Since she is well-educated and enjoys a good looking， in some degree， she gains the feeling of superiority and looks down others. Dee used to hate the old house； she managed to see her mother and daughter， but she will never bring her friends. She is confident and eager to chase what she wanted. Besides these， Dee is full of rebellious spirit.she changes her name， which reflects her rebellious spirit completely.

3. Different Culture Values and Life Styles

The physical and psychological differences finally decide the different culture values and life styles.Mama is a traditional mother， but actually she is the creator and protector of traditional culture. She lives the life like many traditional black women， and refuses to change the traditional way of living and protecting culture values. That is the reason why Mama refused to allow Dee taking the quilts away. Maggie is not educated， so the culture movement does not influence her so much. She treats the culture heritage as her mother does， and accept the marriage arranged by her mother. Maggie just accepts the man managed by Mama， while Dee chooses the man and marriage by herself. In a word， Maggie standings for one kind of people in that society who still adheres to the past practices and they will inherit the tradition from generation to generation. Dee standings for one kind of people in that period that they have abandoned their hometown and origins to pursue a better life in big cities.

In Everyday Use， Alice Walker， has shaped three various female characters successfully. They are different in many aspect.The inheritance and struggle of changing about the traditional culture heritage is the theme of this essay. Although the competition of the quilts is a everyday trivial matter， it reflects the changes during that time which new ideas and attitudes for black woman`s life.

Bibliography

Cynthia Cole Robinson. “The Evolution of Alice Walker“[J]. Women's Studies， 2009，

Vol.38（3）

Jia You. “African-American`s Awareness of Cultural Heritage：Alice Walker`s Everyday Use”

Overseas English（March 2015）：201-202，211.

Zhaoniao Weng. “The Awakening of Self-consciousness of the African American Women---

an Analysis of Dee in Everyday Use.” Overseas English（November 2011）：275-276.