Group Name: Blue Professor Mohamed Deyab Course Name and No:

practical
Criticism , Eng3232E
Submission day: 9November, INTRO : Nourhan Body 3 critical analysis:
2021 kamal20196991 Mariam Emad 20194513and
Conclusion: Bassem Nada Helmy
Elsawi20184520
Body 1”theme and main
ideas” Faten Salama20174781
Body2 structure and point of
view by Nada Ashraf 20197044
and warda Mohamed 2019
0131

The short story "Everyday Use", written by Alice Walker, is about an African-American
mother and her two daughters. The story evolves around one daughter, Dee, coming back
home to visit her family. As one is introduced to the characters in "Everyday Use", it becomes
apparent that the two sisters, Maggie and Dee, are very different. Maggie is portrayed as a
homely and ignorant girl, while Dee is portrayed as a beautiful and educated woman. The
story goes beyond these differences, though, to deal mainly with the way in which the two
sisters value their heritage. Maggie knows nothing but her heritage, for she has never left
home.
Heritage is the theme of the story. This theme is best exemplified by the character of Dee.
Growing up as an African American woman, Dee felt that her history was full of oppression.
This sense of being oppressed caused her to adapt and construct a new heritage. She takes
on a new name and she dresses herself with different clothes and accessories. She attempts
to create a new identity. Her anger and desire to reject her heritage. Also, she were the same
reason why she failed to make her new legacy meaningless. What she saw was only a small
perspective of oppression by rejecting her true roots. Her new identity becomes more empty
and full of pretentions.
The main characters in the story of "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker are Mrs Johnson, Dee,
Maggie, and Hakim-a-barber which they have a different characters and struggles. Mrs Johnson is the
mother of two daughters, she didn't receive an education. She loves her youngest daughter Maggie
because she is more wise and proud of her identity than her older sister (Dee). Mrs Johnson doesn't like
the way of life of her daughter Dee, but she doesn't complain in order to respect her. Dee is the older
daughter she is more educated than her youngest sister Maggie, physically beautiful. Dee isn't proud of
her African origin, also she tries to get out of her traditions. Dee prefer change her name as she
ashamed of her culture identity from Dee to Wangero leewanikhi a Kemanjo. The youngest daughter is
Maggie who is shy and proud of her cultures identity compared to her older sister. She has burn scars
and marks on her face which made her very nervous. Hakim-a-barber is anthor character in the story
who is the partner of Dee, he is a Muslim person.
This story include the approach of psychological about the characters. Dee is a jealousy person, but she is activists
and separatists. She is searching for personal meaning and more to learn, she married hakim because both of them
understand each other. While her mother is not caring about education. There relationship is not perfect
according to the differences in there characters. Maggi is shy, but she has an envy eye on her sister. She is closer to
her mother while Dee is not. The mother is not closer to her daughter or even try be near her or understand, she
wants her to do as she wants. Dee is free and has strong character wants to do what she likes., such as she is
interested in history and heritage while her mother and Maggi don't care about heritage of there family, they
prefer to idealised and harsh realities Africa. At the end The differences in there characters made all the gap and
struggles between them.

Everyday Use” focuses on the bonds between women of different generations as symbolized in the quilts
they fashion together. This connection between generations is strong, yet Dee’s lack of understanding of her
history shows that those bonds are vulnerable as well. The quilts are pieces of living history, documents in fabric
that chronicle the lives of the various generations and the trials, such as war and poverty, that they faced. The
quilts serve as a testament to a family’s history of pride and struggle. With the limitations that poverty and lack of
education placed on her life, Mama considers her personal history one of her few treasures. The symbol of the
’yard’also represents for mother free space of regrets and short coming. The yard at the beginning and the end of
sentence appears as connecting events and bookend ing action. The yard was prepared for Dee’s arrival. Mother
concentrated on every single detail in yard.the mother preferred the yard than confining house as the yard gives
her freedom while house represents discomfort, as for Maggie and Dee the yard evokes safety, a place where they
can exert what a little control they have over environment.

To sum it up the story talks about four main characters which are: first the mother who is
a dreaming character dreams to be reunionned with her daughter in a TV show while her
eldest daughter thanking her for all what she did for her. Second the small daughter Maggie
who was an envy sister at the beginning because she thinks that her sister had everything on
a golden plate, while she has scares an burns on her skin but at the end she turned to love her
sister. Then Hakim who is the boyfriend of the eldest daughter, he is Muslim and tells the
family about the Muslim traditions. Last but not least Dee is the eldest daughter who is trying
to spread in the family; she also has a strong stunning character which is so concerned about
the family’s heritage and history that she choose a husband that would help her taking care
of that heritage.