Everyday Use: Contrasting Sisters

makes of the characters is something that allows the readers to do as they read the story. Constantly throughout the story the narrator, Mama, is comparing the looks, personalities, and lifestyles to one another. The first contrast that surfaces between the two sisters is their looks. The narrator describes Maggie as jealous of Dee's beauty, and Maggie ashamed of the way she looks. At one part in the story, while Maggie and Mama are awaiting a visit from Dee, Mama is explaining how Maggie is antsy and shy while her sister is around, Mama says “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed ... eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe" (Walker 933). Mama begins to describe Maggie as not considered attractive, and viewed as awkward and low self-esteemed, “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle ..." (Walker 934). After the description of Maggie she describes Dee, as being “... lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” (Walker 934).

The differences in the sisters looks and how they carry themselves plays a big role on what makes them so different in their thoughts. Besides the sisters appearances being different, Maggie and Dee have quite separate and unique personalities. As Dee is first seen in the story she seems to have a quite outgoing and bold personality, always getting what she asked for. Mama says that Maggie see her sister as“... held life always in the palm of one hand, that ‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her” (Walker

933). While Dee has the outgoing personality, Mama describes Maggie as having a very shy and nervous personality. She acquired this personality after a traumatic fire that burned and scarred her skin. Later in the story Dee moved to a city uprooting from her family heritage and coming back to visit the family later with a whole new name, Wanergo. When Mama asked her why she changed her name, from a name that was in the family for generations; Dee (Wanergo) responded “I couldn't bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me" (Walker 936). The move Wanergo made to the city inevitably changed her entire self. While Wanergo was changing throughout the years, Maggie remained at home living with Mama resulting in a larger differences between the two sisters. After reading this story the reader can clearly see how large of a difference exist between the two sisters, with very small amounts of similarity. As the differences pile up in the story, from the sisters varying appearances to their personalities, and finally the sisters two very different life styles after growing up, the reader can see that no matter how different two family members might be, somewhere inside them there is a similarity that means the world to them, for the sisters it was remembering their heritage just in two different ways.