Characterization Of Everyday Use By Alice Walker - 912 Words

Characterization is considered to be an element of literature. Analyzing characterization is the key to finding a fictional story’s theme, and it is made known through direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization tells the personality or traits of the character, while indirect presents the character by their actions. Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† is a short story that reveals its theme through characterization and used by exposing the characters values, heritage, and insecurities. The literary sub ¬genre of â€Å"Everyday Use† is realistic fiction. This story focuses its writing and plot around the values of a rural family. Walker’ story is about two sisters and a mother who live in a rural section of Georgia. The oldest daughter left and pursued a college career and after a while she decides visit her mother. At the end of her visit she intends to leave with some of the family heirlooms two quilts. The mother finds out her d aughter only wants the quilts as a pretense of displaying heritage. Alice Walker story exposes the theme of heritage. Throughout the story, Walker uses indirect characterization to describe Dee, and direct characterization to describe Maggie and Mama, in order to reveal the different ways that people embrace their heritage. The indirect characterization of Dee shows how she embraces her heritage superficially. While Dee is shown to be spoiled and selfish, throughout the story her indirect characterization is shown through her ownShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Flowers, By Alice Walker1525 Words   |  7 Pageswas how Alice Walker grew up. She has written stories about her life, and stories that have had an impact on her life based on how she grew up. The two short stories The Flowers and Everyday Use have a common theme of feeling comfortable, safe, and at peace when one is home. Walker uses diction, syntax, and characterization to develop this common theme in her writing. A house is a safe comfortable place where one can feel at peace and in The Flowers and Everyday Use, the author Alice Walker developsRead MoreCharacterization And Suspense In Alice Walkers Everyday Use987 Words   |  4 Pages but those details can be used to build suspense when they are placed in the correct space. Characterization is a huge part of Walker’s piece, and the way in which she used imagery and past events builds suspense and provides only needed information. The suspense created by Walker creates a sense of uneasiness in the reader, and adds to the overall message of the story. Through foreshadowing, Alice Walker was able to build up her characters and her plot, while at the same time not giving away tooRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1725 Words   |  7 Pages17 April 2017 Everything is Not What it Seems Sometimes people forget that heritage has to do with truly understanding their past. Many often misrepresent it, especially the younger generations who just accept its presence. Alice Walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† revolves around an African American family that consists of three women, who are very different from each other. The story begins with Maggie and Mama waiting in the yard for Dee, the main character, to visit from Augusta. Dee isRead MoreAnalysis Of Walker s Everyday Use863 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† The short story â€Å"Everyday Use,† by Alice Walker, contains multiple different literary elements. History and heritage play a key role in the development and conclusion of this rather intriguing story. Although history and heritage are important, the driving factors of this story are the literary elements. In particular the elements of symbols, characterization, and point of view in this story are significant. The use of symbols in this short story provide a deeperRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker1111 Words   |  5 Pagesculture. Alice Walker highlights and distinguishes the dissimilarities and clichà © of country African American women with the actualities that make up their lives. Characterized by short, compound sentences, with long adjectives and use of literary elements, her style is eloquent conversational and authentic. Alice Walker’s short story, Everyday Use is stylistic, ironic and narrates profound interpretation of unique views and approaches to African-American culture. Walker’s use of characterization, contrastingRead MoreThe Usability of Symbolism in Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism is a technique that author’s uses to bring out the main importance of an object, but more emphasized details are being extracted in the usage of it. Alice Walker uses quilts, for example, to symbolize a â€Å"bond between womenâ €  (Spark Notes) a relationship between women, that would get passed down from generation to generation. In this story, symbolism plays a big role that makes this more attracted to the reader’s eyes. The characters such as the following: Mama Johnson, Dee, and Maggie allRead MoreEvery Day Use by Alice Walker Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up in the late 60’s as an African American in the South, Alice Walker has had to withstand many of the oppressions black people faced at the time. Her direct experience with the torment of being prejudiced by her skin color and the national movements against this, have been the fundamental basis to the themes in her writings. In her story â€Å"Everyday Use,† she depicts the different understandings of culture between a literate daughter, Dee, and her mother and sister who have not been educatedRead MoreThe 1950’s -1960’s was a tough time for African Americans. Struggling for freedom since the 19th700 Words   |  3 Pagesthey were finally closer to getting what they deserved. Alice walker’s short stor y, â€Å"Everyday use,† describes the different stances blacks had during that decade. The author uses characterization, symbolism, and theme to demonstrate African American viewpoints during the civil rights movement. Characters are picked carefully because without them the plot of the story is nonexistent. In Alice walker’s short story, â€Å"Everyday Use,† there are three main characters. Mama is a â€Å"large, bigRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker923 Words   |  4 Pagestale of conflict between society’s upper and lower class. While controversial in the real world, this notion is not far-fetched in the realm of literature. For example, Alice Walker’s short story â€Å"Everyday Use† shows prominent signs of tension between classes. When examined from a Marxist perspective, Walker’s characters in â€Å"Everyday Use† highlight how each class values items and how survival needs and societal expectations differ among classes. To clarify, Walker’s narrative focuses on two classes ofRead MoreEveryday Use By Alice Walker962 Words   |  4 Pages In Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† this story describes what a continuing theme in her writings is: the depiction of constant harmony and inner struggles and conflicts that the minority culture goes through especially the African-American society. In Alice Walker Short Story â€Å"Everyday Use† it centers on the relationships between a lower class family by the name of Johnson in a small poor rural community. This meeting takes place when the oldest daughter Dee comes home to visit her mother

Anne Frank A Young Jewish Girl Who Lived - 1054 Words

Anne Frank Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who lived in Germany during World War II. She was born in 1929 and died in a concentration camp in 1945. In 1933 Anne’s family moves from Germany to Amsterdam. Starting in the 1940’s the Nazi’s came into power and started separating the Jews from the rest of the population. The Nazi’s started beating and killing Jewish people and sending them off to concentration camps. The Jewish people who couldn’t escape from the Nazis would go into hiding. There were non-Jewish people who helped the Jews either leave the country or hide them in houses away from the Nazis. In 1942 Anne’s family goes into hiding in an annex. An annex is like an attic. She has to live in a small space with her sister, Margot, her dad, Otto, and her Mother, Edith and the van Pels. It was hard on Anne and everyone else to live in such a small space and live with the fear of being caught and having no privacy from each other. Anne was thirteen years old when she went into hiding. While in hiding Anne had a diary where she wrote all about her experience and time in the annex. It was a hard enough life dealing with the war, going into hiding, and living in a small space but somehow Anne still sounds like a teenager and I can relate to some of her teenage struggles. Anne Frank and her mother didn t get along in the slighted bit. What had happened is that they were stuck in a tiny space over the time span of 2 years and it also doesn t help that Anne is aShow MoreRelatedDiary Of Anne Frank1185 Words   |  5 PagesAnne Frank was a young Jewish girl who was forced into hiding during the second world war to escape the Nazis. On her 13th birthday, when she received an autograph book from her father, she vividly records her experiences through a life lived in the shadows of Nazi genocide. To a large extent, Anne Frank’s diary explains what life was like for Jewish families during the second world war. In 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, instigating acts of discrimination and violence againstRead MoreAnne Frank And The Holocaust1016 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Anne Frank is a Jewish girl who has to go into hiding during World War Two to escape from the Nazis †¦ After more than two years in hiding they are discovered and deported to concentration camps †¦ After her death Anne becomes world famous because of the diary she wrote while in hiding† (annefrank.org). Anne Frank was a young girl who had a bright future, but it was taken away from her by the Nazi’s and Holocaust. Before the Holocaust, Anne Frank was just the typical young girl. During the HolocaustRead MoreThe Diary Of A Young Girl1537 Words   |  7 PagesAnn Frank was a significant German-Jewish diarist. She was known for writing diary while hiding in the attic for escaping from Nazi party’s catching. (Roosevelt) Therefore, Ann Frank’s family and another family hid in the â€Å"secret Annex† in seclusion which is isolated from the outside world at Amsterdam. They lived crowded, confronted hunger, and fed up with the life in living at the confined attic (back of the book). For the next difficult two years, Ann Frank kept on her diary and recorded whatRead MoreAnne Frank : A Dark Time Period989 Words   |  4 PagesAnne Frank The Holocaust was a dark time period where millions of people were killed, including a young girl named Anne Frank (â€Å"Anne Frank.† The Famous People website). She died at the age of fifteen from horrible treatment and deadly laboring for hours and hours (Feldman). She left all her belongings and memories so she could be safe from the German Nazi’s. Her early prepared her helped her get through and watch her country be destroyed by the holocaust in which she tragically died in. Anne FrankRead MoreAnne Frank Was A Dutch Girl Who Lived During The Jewish Antisemitism Period1296 Words   |  6 PagesAnne Frank was a dutch girl who lived during the jewish antisemitism period and unfortunately died in the Holocaust. Born in Frankfurt (Germany), on June 12, 1929 she used to live with her older sister, Margot, her father, Otto and her mother, Edith until one day the nazi s ideas reached the town were they used to live. Her life has been plenty of adventures and bad moments that she had to overpass. All of these horrible adventures that she went through were able to be known by the people thanksRead MoreEssay on Anne Frank1276 Words   |  6 Pages On June 12, 1929, at 7:30 A.M. a baby girl was born in Frankfurt, Germany. No one realized that this infant, who was Jewish, was destined to become one of the world’s most famous victims of World War II. Her name was Anne Frank, and her parents were Edith Frank Hollandar and Otto Frank. She had one sister, Margo t, who was three years older than she was. Anne led a happy and normal childhood, and on her 13th birthday she received a diary from her parents. It became special to her as years went byRead MoreAnne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Essays1608 Words   |  7 Pages As an ordinary Jewish girl who was one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, Anne Frank was an incredibly memorable girl due to the publication of her diary. Anne Frank was a liberal Jew; as for she did not follow all the traditions of Judaism. On the fourteenth of August 1944, a group of German uniformed police arrested the Frank family and was sent into The House of Detention, transitioned into the Westerbork Transit Camp and then to the Auschwitz concentration camp. In JulyRead MoreDifferent Out Of Twelve Million1715 Words   |  7 Pagesheavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and the peace and tranquility will return again† (Frank 276-277). What kind of girl would be able to say such a beautiful statement with the possibility of death looming? Anne Frank could view the world in a way that is becoming near impossible- positively. She was a teenage Jewish girl who lived in Amsterdam, Holland during World War II. She and her family went into hiding in 1942 and were soon joined by the Van PelsesRead MoreInside the life of Anne Frank â€Å"Theres only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and1300 Words   |  6 PagesInside the life of Anne Frank â€Å"Theres only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and forget everybody else! It sound egotistical, but its actually the only cure for those suffering from self-pity.†Ã‚  (Frank 321) Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who went into hiding during World War II to avoid being captured by the Nazis. She and seven other people had to hide in a secret annex Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. Anne received a diary on her 13th birthday and wrote about all the littleRead MoreAnne Frank Essay1331 Words   |  6 PagesOn June 12, 1929, at 7:30 A.M. a baby girl was born in Frankfurt, Germany. No one realized that this infant, who was Jewish, was destined to become one of the worlds most famous victims of World War II. Her name was Anne Frank, and her parents were Edith Frank Hollandar and Otto Frank. She had one sister, Margot, who was three years older than she was. Anne led a happy and normal childhood, and on her 13th birthday she received a diary from her parents. It became special to her as years went

Women in an Inferior position in China Free Essays

The view of women in china may have changed over the years but they all have lived in a male dominated world. The past has been like many cultures, in the legal and cultural suppression of women. The culture of china’s past has placed women as a far inferior position to men. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in an Inferior position in China or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this environment gaining power and rights was extremely difficult. Despite this there are stories of important and powerful women in china’s history. This is different than many cultures of the world where the suppression of women’s rights was total through their history. The culture has become more open to women’s rights over the years, allowing for more power and more control for them as they years went on. Education has slowly been allowed along with greater human rights. Modern women are allowed to travel, be educated, marry and be the sole wife. They commonly participate in politics, as well as all other fields of work. Women of modern times in china have greater possibilities and fewer limitations, but things are not perfect, there is still a social bias lingering from past inequality. The women of china’s past lived in an intensely male dominated world. Men dominated china both in law and in culture. Legally women were in servitude to men in the forms of marriage polygamy was common practice for men. For the most part women did not ever participate in the governing of the country. There were Dynasties that were less conservative, women were allowed more power at times. This is evidenced by the rule of Empress Wu. She rose to power from the status of concubine to rule china. This was more exceptional rather than the rule. When the Sung dynasty took over, men dominated again. Any ability of women to gain political power was taken away. It is in the culture that the real domination can be seen. Without this the legal repression would not have happened. Many practices reinforced the view that women were inferior. From basic philosophy, Yin and Yang, equated, darkness to women and light to men. The beliefs of Confucianism said that women weren’t meant to do outdoor work, thus construing them as weak and inferior. The idea of having them not do outdoor work was reinforced by the practice of foot binding. Again started in the Sung dynasty, this practice along with the other preferences on the appearance of women objectified them and put barriers on what women could do or be. Women were seen as property, as seen by the practice of concubines and polygamy those of high status had many women and having many sons was an even higher symbol of status. Despite these legal and cultural blocks on women, the domination was not total. There were many female figures that were looked up to and honored, both legendary and real women. At times the culture changed enough to allow women to participate in politics, and more rights were given to them. Powerful women of the past were looked up to and revered. The Queen Mother of the West was mixed with legend and history, but she was worship at times by men. Other legends indicate that women could be respected. Although Disney has probably distorted it a bit, the legend of Mulan even by being passed down shows a respect for women. Not only legends were respected. There were several times in the past that women have risen to power Empress Zhen (AD 182) was fought over and had power through her beauty and high status. Other women had even more power, Empress Wu, actually had power, and ruled china for a time. The culture of china’s past has surpressed women, through it’s culture and laws, with brief periods of cultural change, in which women gained rights and respect were brief and followed by periods which they were again taken away. These limitations on women, were reinforced by the isolation that china had, continuing into the twentieth century this isolation prevented women from leaving if they could not stand their situation. Despite the few legendary women the opportunities for advancement or power for women were few and difficult. Things have changed in recent times. Women are gaining power and rights in modern times. There are international groups protecting their rights as well. The first good example of this is in the ways of marriage. Arranged marriages, and those for money are no longer the norm. They are allowed to maintain their own names with marriage. Without this they are did not have as much of a separate identity. Also in modern times, women have gained the rights of inheritance from their families, equal to that of their brothers. Other aspects of women in marriage have changed. They are not as expected to bear children, and the culture is changing to give them a voice in this decision. In the areas of employment, there are opportunities as well. Women now make up 38 percent of the total workforce. In most major parts of the work force women play a part. Women even play a part in politics, representing a major part of their official government. These women are not legendary, or exceptional. It is just accepted and considered normal. Women have made advances in the field of education as well. Illiteracy among women has fallen as well and education is accepted. Women are allowed in universities and even given funding to continue education. These opportunities, encouraged by many international organizations are also backed by Chinese law. The law states: 1.Equal rights for men and women. The Constitution stipulates that â€Å"Women enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural and social, including family life†; 2.Protection of special rights and interests of women; and 3.Banning of any discrimination, maltreatment and persecution directed at women. In addition Other laws have been enacted concerning their rights. These explicitly state aspects of life that women are equal to men. For example equal, equal votes, and rights to political power, freedom, and protection. These laws being stated are the only thing that I can see evidencing that there are not equal opportunities for women. The fact that they have to be stated so explicitly probably indicates a problem. It is difficult to find out what the cultural views of women are from the outside, but it appears that they have all the major opportunities that men do and that their power is increasing. One thing that has really changed is in the area of the world. There is the opportunity to leave the country and go to another culture. Granted the rest of the world is still mostly male dominated in culture, but the opportunity to emigrate is still there. The only lingering restrictions are from tradition. Lingering views of women as being inferior are probably the only thing that could keep them back now. These things can be seen through the increasingly seldom seen practices of mail order brides and foot binding. In addition, I came across a large industry of pornography featuring Chinese women when searching for information. These things limit the respect that women have in society. The opportunities for women have grow through history. Starting from the possessive view of women, giving them no rights, and giving men utter control, has changed in recent history to the to allow women more power, rights and education. Women have had their limits striped away, partly with law and partly through changing culture. The physical limitations have gone as well. The opportunities for travel have grown as well, the world is more open, and the ability to find a place more accepting exists. With fewer limitations, opportunities for women are increasing. How to cite Women in an Inferior position in China, Papers