Thursday, June 18, 2009
"Everyday Use"
For my mini book club I read and presented the short story "Everyday Use." The first time I read it, I thought 'well this seems semi-normal and uncomplicated' but as I read it again and then discussed it in class, I became aware of some topics and ideas that had not occurred to me. One of the questions that bugged me a lot was 'why did Dee change her name?', I just could not figure it out. Even during some of the discussions I could not come up with anything more than a logical guess. It wasn't until Stephanie joined my group did it make sense; she mentioned that the name probably belonged to a Muslim group or society that believes in finding your true African roots, not those of a slave family heritage. Once that idea was planted in my mind the rest of the story really started to make sense. Then I was able to piece together all my other questions, like why did Dee want the churn top, the dasher, and the quilts. Dee's behavior and idea's were those of this group, she basically wanted to take the stuff to show off to her new society and say "look where I came from." Thinking over the story and then discussing it several times with different people helped broaden and deepen my understanding of the story. One thing that I liked to ask, during the discussions,was "what do you think the theme was?" and honestly I got many different opinions and ideas, from things like 'home will always be there' to 'life doesn't always give you what your want' even though when I first read it I thought that it was like a prodigal child who did not completely learn the lesson. I very much enjoyed the story, before and after the discussions, and my favorite part was the ending. I cold not help but smile when I read the last few paragraphs, the fact that the uneducated mother stood up to her college educated, know it all daughter and told her that she could not have what she wanted and that the quilts belonged to Maggie, her sister, who was not use to getting what she wanted. I am glad I was able to read and discuss such an interesting story.
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"Everyday Use" is a great story. It is a great example of how people struggle to find their place in this world. This can be through looking at ones lineage to identify themselves. Do you draw strength or encouragement from your ancestors?
ReplyDeletei agree!! the ending was great! there was something about Dee that made me want to run for the hills - and take her mom and sister with me! her character was really dispicable, not because she was mean, but because i think she really didn't see her true heritage - her family. she didnt respect them, they were just trophies of quirkiness to show off. and her guy friend - i thought he was really likable! and i wanted to know why he and Dee were together or friends or whatever they were.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I'm glad you appreciated "Everyday Use." That's been one of my favorites since college. I'm always frustrated by people who move away, on to bigger and better things, and seem to forget where they came from. While Dee was interested in looking at her ancestoral heritage, she forgot to look at her immediate family. She was disrespectful and patronizing.
ReplyDeleteI liked this story. I feel like all families have slight competition among siblings. Dee is ironically the lost souls, who can't seem to find her place. I like that Dee's guy friend was Muslim, but her family did not understand that. It never hurts to know your heritage, but this was a little bit radical. Great story, I liked the end, because the mother did not let Dee step all over her.
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