Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sibling Rivalry in "Everyday Use"
In "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, the author draws our attention to what unfolds to be a case of classic sibling rivalry, where in the eyes of one sibling the other is always "favored" by the parents. This is evident both when Dee arives and when they have the quarrel over the quilts. Another thing that Alice Walker wants to highlight in this short story is the notion that once someone leaves home when they come back, they tend to forget the special things that make home, home. It seemed that Dee has become so engulfed in her own "new" life and has completely disconnected herself with her mother and sister. "Everyday Use" is the story of sibling rivalry and the special feeling of home, which one sibling forgot, and one refuses to forget.
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The sisters rivalry is evident in the story. We first learn of their rivalry in the following statement "She thinks her sister has held life in the palm of one hand, that 'no' is a word the world never learned to say to her" for people who have siblings this is a statement we have all felt at times. In this story the description of each character sets the background for them to have different personalities and feel jealousy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really sad story because you can see just how far apart Dee has drifted from her family. She gives off the impression that she is superior because she had more of an education that her mother and sister and because she is more submerged in the current world.
ReplyDeleteYes, sibling rivalry is important; how does this relate to/substantiate larger thematic concerns (as noted on my comments on previous blogs--see my blog post)?
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