“Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black...
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Transcript of “Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black...
![Page 1: “Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black Pride –Ideas encouraged African-Americans to learn about their.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062313/56649cc25503460f9498a081/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
“Everyday Use”
Alice Walker
![Page 2: “Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black Pride –Ideas encouraged African-Americans to learn about their.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062313/56649cc25503460f9498a081/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Historical Background
• Written in 1973• Black Nationalism/ Black Pride
– Ideas encouraged African-Americans to learn about their African ancestry
– emphasized cultural, political, and economic independence for African Americans
– Discriminated against women• Alice Walker was against this movement
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Black Feminism
• Women’s Rights– Movement was started by
white suburban females– African-American women
felt excluded– Alice Walker, Toni
Morrison, Gloria Naylor represented this movement
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Point of View/Strategy/Purpose• 1st person – Retrospective
• Retro = back / spec = looking – Ms. Johnson is uneducated, but uses sophisticated
diction to explain her narrative– Expresses mixed emotions about her two
daughters, Dee and Maggie• Strategy
– Narrative– Comparison/Contrast
• Purpose– To express/explore the traditional vs. progressive
attitudes of young African-American females.
![Page 5: “Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black Pride –Ideas encouraged African-Americans to learn about their.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062313/56649cc25503460f9498a081/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Symbolism and the Quilts
• Quilts contained pieces of the clothes Maggie and Dee’s grandparents wore.
• Presents a snapshot of the life of the Johnson heritage.
ancestry
life
struggle
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Symbolism and the Quilts
• Dee – Perceives the quilt as an ornate
item/artifact of her culture• Wants to hang the quilts
• Maggie – Perceives the quilt as both a product
and a process (quilt making is process) upon which her way of life is dependent
• Quilts should be put to “everyday use” rather than hung on a wall.
– Scarred body resembles the faded patches of the quilts.
![Page 7: “Everyday Use” Alice Walker. Historical Background Written in 1973 Black Nationalism/ Black Pride –Ideas encouraged African-Americans to learn about their.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062313/56649cc25503460f9498a081/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Language of Ms. Johnson
• 2nd grade education
• Can be described as simple to complex– Uses simple sentence constructions and
words to express complex perceptions and feelings
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Contrasts
• Maggie– Shy, devoted, awkward, sweet-natured,
domesticated
• Dee– Outspoken, stylish, attractive, “educated”, free
spirited
• Attitudes– Traditional vs. progressive
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Dee’s Name
• Named after her Grandma
• Regards “Dee” as a slave name
• Denies her authentic heritage by changing her name
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Irony/Taking Pictures of House
• House– Hated her house, but wanted to show
friends pictures of her house
• The Quilts– Refused them when her mother tried to
offer them to her; now she wants to display/show them off.
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Title of the Story
• Quilts should be put to everyday use – not hung.
• Quilting symbolizes the process out of which the unimportant and meaningless may be transformed into something that is valued and useful.
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Homework• Questions on Writing Strategy and Language• Explain each of these themes as it corresponds to “Everyday
Use” Heritage, Materialism, Community vs. Isolation • “Everyday Use” was published ten years after Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Explain how the story reflects the themes of “I Have a Dream” In other words, how is Walker commenting on the aftermaths of this movement?
• Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many African Americans resembled Walker’s character Dee in embracing their heritage – particularly their roots in Africa – to claim a history beyond slavery and segregation. Research the specifics of this movement and write an essay on how it influenced literature, education, fashion, and other aspects of American life.
• Responses must be at least three paragraphs in length, containing 6-8 sentences.