Everyday Use
Alice Walker
As I read Everyday Use by Alice Walker, I found it to be extremely different from the other short story from this unit. Though there were some similar characteristics. Just like Interpreter of Maladies, Everyday Use had a variation of different types of characters throughout the story. I felt as though Maggie was a foil character in regards to her older sister, Dee. Both of the girls seemed very different to me. Maggie seemed slightly timid and a little bit clingy toward her childhood life. She seemed very wary of change and as I read the story, I could not help but feel a sense of pity for her. On the contrary, Dee was not timid at all. Ever since 'the fire' that was discussed in the story, Dee had a surge to create herself anew. She wanted to leave her old life behind and she even did so by creating a new name for herself, literally. Maggie is characterized as having her "chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle..."(Walker, 175). She is indeed a foil character to her sister Dee who "was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts" (Walker, 175). Both of these girls displayed their differences throughout the story. Walker's use of Maggie as a foil character makes the differences between Maggie and Dee more easily discernible.
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