alice walker
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Stacy Ambris Ambris 1
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"
Alice Walker's story "Everyday Use" turns out to be a work of social realism. On first
reading the story appears to be about a mother's conflicted relationship between her and
her two daughters. But upon second reading you can begin to see the underlying issue of
exploring the concept of heritage. She is using the story to address the issue that black
Americans have both african heritage and american heritage. She says to deny their
American heritage is disrespectful and uses her characters Mama, Dee, and Maggie to
develop this idea.
This story is set in the late 1960's. This was a time when most African-Americans
were struggling with personal identity conflicts in cultural terms. They were no longer called
Negroes but black americans,, but still didn't;t fit in. This is also the time when the Black
Power movement developed and Black Pride. A lot of blacks now wanted to rediscover
their African heritage and they began to deny their American heritage...