In Alice Walker's 1973 short story Everyday Use, a mother chooses to validate one daughter's values over another's, and in so doing affirms her own value system. The mother, called Mama, is also the narrator of the story, and so the events that unfold are seen through her perceptions.
Mama is poor in education and opportunity, but rich in spirit and pride. She understands the limitations of her birth and environment, but goes beyond these limitations. She also understands the positive values of her heritage and possesses strength, black pride and the work ethic of the older generation Mama represents. She cites her positive qualities with pride:
I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-
working handsà.My fat keeps me hot in zero weather.
I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water
Mama is accepting of all people, even when they are critical of her life style, and even when she rejects theirs, as is the case with her older daughter Dee who left the hard life of her youth for greater opportunities in the city, and in the dominant, market-driven society. Dee is portrayed as someone with misguided black pride, while Mama and daughter Maggie are portrayals of authentic black pride.
As described by Mama, Dee is the smart, pretty, ambitious daughter who could ôlook anyone in the eyeàHesitation was no part of her natureà.At sixteen she had a style of her own; and she knew what style wasö (29). Although these are qualities that Mama admires, she is critical of DeeÆs self-centered, egotistical nature. Maggie is the opposite of Dee. She is slow, and content with the simple life. After she was burned and scarred in a fire, she became even more introverted, walking with ôchin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffleö (29). Maggie cowers while Dee dominates. As Mama says, ôMaggie will be nervous until after her sister goesàeyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister
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