Three short stories (Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," and Tillie Olsen's "I Stand Here Ironing") explore different perspectives on the nature of the family. In all three stories, the family is shown to be a paradoxical force in the lives of the protagonists, with both positive and negative effects. In each of the stories the family is shown to be a crucible in which the individual is shaped, and at the same time a constrictive force from which the individual is driven to break free in order to forge his or her own separate identity. The three stories show variations on this theme.
Walker's story is the tale of a mother, two sisters, and the grandmother's quilts. It is the story of what it means to be true to one's roots, in this case one's family or racial roots. One sister (along with her mother) discover the truth and goodness o the family, while the other sister is ashamed of her family roots and suffers a shallow and bitter life because of her failure to see the human soul behind an economically limited existence.
Maggie, the younger sister of Dee, and the mother of Maggie and Dee (the narrator) await the return of Dee, who has been living away from home for a long time. Maggie and the mother see Dee as a sophisticated, independent and strong woman who is not like them at all. Dee is in fact a completely self-centered person who cares about nobody but herself. She is ashamed of her roots, her true roots, her family. It is ironic to find that she has become a person who supposedly honors her African roots. She has changed her name to an African one. Her boy friend says Black Muslim greetings and has an African name, too. Dee is wearing a bright, colored African dress. Her boy friend's hair seems to be in dreadlocks, and Dee's hair seems to be in some exotic fashion with roots in Africa.
Maggie and the mother do not know what to make of all this. They are simple people who are true to the...