Alice Walker, Essay Example

Alice Walker describes herself as a ‘womanist’ and not a ‘feminist’ (In search Of Our Mother’s Gardens). This would be proven true as she was active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Apart from that she also confronted many issues like female genital mutilation, lesbianism, women battering in abusive relationships among others. Walker uses literature to teach women on how to deal with issues especially those that were being faced in the past. A good example is her collection ‘In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women’ (1973), she tackles problems that the average African American woman faced at the time. These are issues like value in the changing world, heritage and definition of history. She uses the grassroots to educate women on the morals, values and principles of life using short stories that bring the picture of past generations, the challenges they faced, what they went through when confronting these challenges and how they overcame them.

In the short story ‘Everyday Use’, Walker uses the characters Maggie and Dee in a tale that describes how two women face life differently and develop their personalities from how they face life. These two are daughters of a black woman who has been toughened up by the hardships she has to deal with in these times. The girls grow to be the complete opposite of the other.

On one hand Maggie is scared both physically and psychologically. The fire that burnt their house to ashes left her with burn scars on all of her limbs. This among other things is the reason why her self esteem barely exists. She dresses in a way that shows as little skin as possible and is not confident enough when enquires from her mother about how she looks. She grows up to get a fiancée with mossy teeth, not exactly what every girl is looking for. She is always nervous whenever her sister is around and walks around feeling sorry for herself. She is shy, ashamed and never speaks up for herself. She does not agree with the fancy and prestigious lifestyle Dee has chosen and is very uncomfortable when Hakim-a-barber tries to play around with her palms. She mumbles silently at the sight of her sister in her new look.

Despite all these flaws, Maggie is always by her mothers’ side and has adopted to the simple way of life that their mother has brought them up in like learning how to make quilts and taking checkerberry snuff. She earns the bun scars on her arms and legs clutched to her mother in the burning house while her sister stands outside watching. She appreciated her mother and the simple life they have although it’s not much. She loves her sister despite the fact that Dee looks down on her and the lifestyle she has chosen.  Although Dee is always selfish and wants everything to herself, Maggie always lets her have it all without any spite. This, her mother says, is her gift from God. Maggie does not agree with the fancy and prestigious lifestyle Dee has chosen. She is very uncomfortable when Hakim-a-barber tries to play around with her palms. She mumbles silently at the sight of her sister in her new look.

Dee on the other hand has and still does have her own way with everything. Her sister thinks that she holds the world in the palm of her hands. She gets to go to a good school and proves to be very bright. She graduates and moves away from home determined to live a prestigious life. She involves herself with a Muslim man whom she brings home to introduce to the family and has even changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. She demands that her mother address her in these new names. Her determination to live a diverse and prestigious lifestyle seems to have proven fruitful. She leaves her sister and mother with the constant reminder of how primitive and backward they are. Then she goes back to her dream world.

She does not forget her family even after she is living her dream. She calls home ones in awhile and even comes to visit with her Muslim male companion. Although she is determined to live a different life from the one she was bought up she appreciates and comes back for visits

However when she comes back she does what she has always done. She wants everything to herself without a care for her sister. When her mother stands in defense for Maggie, used to acting the looser, Dee storms out in protest.

The reaction to ethnic differences in the area where these two sisters are raised in puts them in different in different social classes in their lives. While Maggie walks around with her head down, her life evolving around her mother and the simple poor life she knows, Dee does the complete opposite. She gets a good education, moves away from home and mingles with people from all walks of life. She earns herself a class in the social ladder. If Maggie was more open minded like Dee, then she would also get to experience what the others in the world live like.

Diversity is healthy for the society. Experiencing and appreciating other cultures and ethnic groups brings Dee to appreciate her own ethnic background. She now acknowledges the ‘priceless ness’ of her mother’s quilts which earlier in her life, she viewed of no importance. She appreciates the simplicity in which Maggie and her mother live like the furniture, food and even the crockery.

Dee chooses to share her life with Hakim-a-barber and adopts to their way of living. This clearly proofs that America is a melting pot. People from different ethnic backgrounds are socializing and bringing their differences and diversities together.

The quilt best describes this diversity. Old pieces of clothing worn at different times by different people in different occasions sawn together produces one big beautiful cloth that is strong and useful for many things.

This theory can also be described by the salad bowl. A variety of fruits cut up in one bowl brings flavor and nutrition.