Culture and Identity in Everyday Use

.....characters come into conflict with the culture in which they live.

What interests you most about this prompt and why?

This prompt interests me because I like stories about conflict -- stories in which characters clash with their surroundings. It is very easy to connect with stories like this, as I often feel like separate from much of what goes on around me. Stories of culture are also very interesting because they are full of history and people, stories and humanity -- and I am very interested in the human experience, what it means to be human, what it is that makes us who we are, why we think certain things, how things change, how ideas clash, how cultures come into conflict with one another. There is a lot to explore with this prompt.

What text will you write about? Why?

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker: I thought this story was very funny and very simply told from a mother's perspective as she sees her daughter return home from the college she sacrificed so much to send her to -- only to see that her daughter has taken on a pseudo-identity in order to "tap into" the heritage and culture of her "people". Ironically, her daughter misses the point of heritage and culture and people completely -- by politicizing it, she neglects the human element and dismisses her own family in her pursuit of her so-called heritage. It is a very ironic story yet it is also full of heart and empathy because the mother never condemns her daughter: she still sees in Dee her daughter even if Dee is somewhat changed and misguided at the moment.

What is your working thesis? Keep in mind that "working thesis" means you can slightly modify your thesis for the draft and/or final essay.

Walker's tale represents how one can be socio-politically "enlightened" and yet still be ignorant of one's own actual culture.

What are three key ideas that you will discuss in support of your thesis? (Write one -- and only one -- sentence for each point.

a. Dee is searching for authenticity and latches on to material possessions, thinking these represent what she is looking for.

b. Dee's "African name" is inauthentic but reflects her socio-political rejection of white culture.

c. The mother does not judge Dee because she represents the real heart that supports any and all cultures -- a mother's heart full of love for her children.

What questions/concerns do you have at this point about your project?

I would like to know how many references I should include in this paper. Should I use direct quotes or just paraphrase? When I read different analyses of this story it appears that there are many different takes on it -- but I am drawn to a few assessments of the story that seem to align with my own take on it, so I would like to build my paper around them: my question is, do I need to take into consideration many different perspectives, or can I simply write about the perspective that I find most interesting?

Prompt 2: In some stories, characters come into conflict with the culture in which they live.

Thesis: Walker's tale represents how one can be socio-politically "enlightened" and yet still be ignorant of one's own actual culture.

Hoel, Helga. "Personal Names and Heritage: Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'." American Studies in Scandinavia, vol. 31, no. 1 (1999): 34-42. Print.

This article focuses on the way in which Dee attempts to give herself a more cultural name by adopting the moniker Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Hoel notes that there is nothing authentic or African about this name -- that it is superficial in the extreme and represents the blindness and shallowness of Dee as she attempts to reject her supposed "white oppressors" and the culture they forced on her by adopting a more African-sounding cultural identity via the new name. This source supports the thesis because it points out how Dee is missing the point of heritage and culture -- how it is more about family and place than it is about socio-political identities.

Tuten, Nancy. "Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use.'" The Explicator, vol. 51, no. 2 (1993): 125-128.

Tuten explains how Dee attempts to break out of her own culture and heritage and create a new one for herself by oppressing and manipulating her own family and ultimately isolating herself. Dee rejects her mother and sister for not fitting in with the movement that she is part of -- and ironically that movement is about recognizing one's culture -- but the culture of Dee's movement is a politicized one that is not rooted in family or love but rather in self-centered empowerment. Mother empowers Maggie at the end by giving the quilts to her -- the representations of true heritage and culture (what is handed down from one generation to the next). This source supports the thesis in that it focuses on Dee's inauthentic "culture" and identifies Maggie's adherence to real culture.

Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." 314-321. Web. https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/leonardamy/Everyday%20Use.pdf

Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" is about a family that has a culture even though it is different from the mainstream white culture. It is a culture that has grown up alongside that white culture. The young girl Dee goes off to school and learns that she can create her own culture but really all it is is a superficial culture that does not reflect real values about her how own family or history. Her mother ultimately recognizes that Maggie, the other daughter has the real culture.