Everyday Use Essays

11th Grade

Everyday Use

Universal among all human groups, from co-workers to entire nations, is a particular way of behaving. As we socialize and engage with one another, we develop characteristic methods of thinking, feeling, acting, and judging. This is what we know as...

Everyday Use

Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" is a tightly woven tale that brings together many disparate elements of the story to reinforce the thesis put forward by W.E.B. DuBois that black Americans are trapped in a double consciousness between...

Everyday Use

On the surface, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is on one level about a mother’s dynamic relationship with her two daughters, who have conflicting attitudes towards both family and cultural roots. It is also a depiction of the misguided and...

10th Grade

Everyday Use

“Everyday Use” from an Antipatriarchal Perspective

According to feminist theory, cultural definitions of gender roles can be patriarchal or antipatriarchal (Tyson, 83-86). In the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker depicts her characters'...

College

Everyday Use

Mathilde Loisel of “The Necklace” and Dee of “Everyday Use” can easily be compared and contrasted, for they treat others very similarly, and the situations that they either put themselves in or, unfortunately, fall into are ironic. Although the...

12th Grade

Everyday Use

Alice Walker’s short story "Everyday Use" is set in Southern United States during the 1960’s to 1970’s, a time recognized for its importance in the Black Power Movement. After returning from college, Dee showcases a newfound love towards her...

College

Everyday Use

Human rights activist Alice Walker is one of the most highly noted authors of the twentieth century. Her stories and poems are inspiring to many people. “Everyday Use” is, by far, one of the most motivational and controversial of her works. Many,...