A Comparison between Dee and Maggie in Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay Example
Siblings can be alike in many ways, and yet the story, "Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, features two sisters who could not be more adverse. Each area that one excels the other lacks in. Due to the characterization of humble Maggie, this does not forge a rivalry but rather frustrates the reader over such opposition. Dee is loud, trendy, and selfish already, but once Maggie is used as a foil it reveals the severity of her actions immensely. As the mom of these children narrates the story, she gives the reader clues about each character directly and cleverly alludes to other traits. Dee gets almost anything she demands; and, only when she is finally told “no”, does the reader see her true colors. When she returns to her family's household, she insists they call her Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo t
...o respect her African American heritage. As she visits, she only talks about Maggie as if she is worthless. Embarrassed to be Maggie's sister, Dee always treats her as a dumb and boring girl that does not deserve her attention.
Finally, Dee pesters her mother to give her a few quilts already promised to Maggie. She does not budge, and they begin feuding; Maggie then walks over and says, “She can have them, Mama," she said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her.”. Although the narrator refuses to hand them over, the quilt conflict exposes where each relationship stands; and where it ends. Always playing second fiddle, Maggie sustained a rough life even from her early years. As a child she was in a house fire and was scarred permanently. Dee, who
cares largely about looks, rejects her sister and only focuses on improving her life instead of Maggie's. This affects Maggie as she grows and she learns to be content with not having everything in her mediocre life. When she offers her quilts to Dee, it becomes clear in a few lines how Maggie has been treated her whole life; and her Mom will have none of it. After Dee has thrown her fit and storms out, the reader can see each character for who they are. Mrs. Johnson has worked hard for her daughters and will love them forever, no matter what choices they make. The author has likely been forgotten by her children as well and the narration is her way of weaving her heart and memories into the tale. Although the story does not even mention Maggie often, she is still one of the most important factors in the fiction. Even if she does not have an education to rub in her family's face, she understands the real meaning of family while Wangero dismisses them over a few quilts.
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