Maggie And Dee example essay topic

"Everyday Use" In the short story "Everyday Use", Alice Walker highlights the characteristic of individuality. The narrator of this story is the mother of two daughters who is a hefty woman with a big heart. The tale focuses on the days of two siblings, Maggie and Dee. The following is an analysis of the Dee the oldest child. Dee's character development is a reflection of the relationship with her family, her sense of individualism and her heritage. The short story starts with Mama and Maggie waiting for the appearance of Dee.

Dee had moved to Augusta to attend college. Dee was the only one to receive that level of education in her family. Her choice to go to receive a higher education created a deep separation gap between her family and her. When Dee arrives she is wearing stylish clothing that is brightly colored yellow and orange. Walker depicts it as, "A dress so loud it hurts my eyes".

(Walker 70). Dee is wearing an array of gold jewelry which symbolizes her success on her own. She seems to mark her independence while showing that she is strong. A significant other accompanied her.

It is uncertain to the others his connection with her, but he is presumed to be her husband. There was not any sign of affection, which proves that she is not very emotional and does not want to show any signs of attachment towards another individual. This is because years ago she had been left by a man whom ended up marrying a girl from the city. She wants to show she is strong again and does not require a man, or anyone else to make her life seem complete. "She is determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts".

(Walker 76) Dee seems to shut out the world surrounding her. She Gorkes 2 wants to give off the persona that she does not require others in her life. She can achieve whatever she is set after. She likes having a feeling of power and superiority over others.

Dee has always envisioned herself as someone of a higher class, which is above her family and that of her past. "At sixteen she had a style of her own and knew what style was". (Walker 74) Dee has announced that she has decided to change her name. She states that the reason for the rash decision is because, "I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after people who oppress me". (Walker 77) This is another example of her marking her separation. In another sense, she is marking her own territory.

She knows that she was named Dee after many generations dating back to the Civil War. She wants to be her own person and not associated with anyone from her past. She had no real appreciation towards anything that she had growing up. Dee is one of those people that always seem to have a reason for their actions. During her visit, she was taking pictures of her house and asking for some of the everyday household items.

She wanted to use them in her own home. Her purpose for this was for show. She wanted to be associated as someone who owned valuable things. She was always concerned with the way that people perceived her. As she was looking around she spotted two hand made quilts that contain scraps of clothe that date back to the Civil War. Dee envisioned these quilts hanging on her walls.

To her surprise Mama has already promised them to Maggie. At this Gorkes 3 point Dee becomes very upset and says, "Maggie would be backwards enough to put them to everyday use". (Walker 78) Dee puts value on these quilts and cannot imagine the deeper meaning of them. The MLA style guidelines provide rules for scholarly writing.

This template provides a basic layout for a term paper using these guidelines. Two typical elements of MLA term papers are provided as examples in this template: source citations and quotations. 1. Source Citations Per MLA guidelines, all sources must be cited on the Works Cited page, located at the end of the paper. Within the body of the paper, a pointer containing the author's last name and a page range within parentheses (Erickson 24-67) indicates the cited text.

The author's last name corresponds with the entry on the Works Cited page, allowing readers to look up the source of the citation. 2. Quotations Guidelines for quotations are based upon the length of the quote. Quotes with fewer than four lines of prose or three lines of verse are quoted directly in the sentence. According to the MLA, include this type of quote "directly in the sentence and enclose it within quotation marks". Quotes longer than four lines of prose or three lines of verse follow different guidelines.

Introduce these quotations with a colon: Start long quotes on a new line. Indent the quote one inch from the left margin. Also, double-space the lines and omit quotation marks. The Long Quote style in this Word template is provided for formatting. If you quote more than one paragraph, indent the first line of each paragraph an additional quarter inch. When quoting verse, maintain line breaks from the original work.

Include a pointer after the closing punctuation, such as the one that follows. (Erickson 34) For additional examples and comprehensive style guidelines, refer to the MLA Web site.