Talk:Everyday Use

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 28 August 2019 and 6 December 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Mooodsy.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 20:57, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 9 January 2019 and 30 April 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ngriepp.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 20:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Blended Article
Why is there a director, producer, etc. listed in an article about a short story? Shouldn't that specifically be reserved for an article about the movie. Two entirely different things can't be combined, all of that should be deleted until there's a separate article. Promontoriumispromontorium (talk) 00:02, 14 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Is there a reason the story "humorously" describes both "Mama" and "Maggie"?QuoththeRAven (talk) 19:21, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

I added a bit under the "Reception" Section using Elaine Showalter's "Quilt as a metaphor in 'Everyday Life'" explaining another interpretation of Dee and Maggie G.Sant6 (talk) 16:03, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

Should never have added an entire section on how quilting was such a huge thing back then and the history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loudon27 (talk • contribs) 00:50, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Spoilers
Is it worth it to put spoiler notices in this article?--Martin925 03:20, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't think so, there isn't much to spoil.--69.183.219.251 17:55, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

thi story is a wonderful story about culture and how oppsites comibne forces to be ne ja..ɸ —.197.84]] (talk) 23:30, 13 November 2007 (UTC) 'Bold text''

'''Yes it is worth it to put spoilers in here. You come to wiki looking for information, and maybe a 'leg up' on your fellow classmates. Jeffersonman —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeffersonman85 (talk • contribs) 17:48, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

WTF?
>"The meaning of the title requires the reader to read deeper within the short story. "

What does this mean? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.164.214.44 (talk) 01:23, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Bias
I feel like the description of the characters and the story is very biased. I am studying this short story and the interpretation of Dee as a "selfish" young woman who is simply following a trend when she tries to deepen her association with her heritage is just that - an interpretation. We can't know if that's actually true as Mama's judgment of Dee is heavily biased.

The description of Dee in this article is similar to the one Mama would make, but it doesn't acknowledge that her point of view is really crooked (one example among many: at some point in the story Mama makes the comment that she actually believes Dee would've danced around the ashes of their burned house.. hard to believe anyone would dance around the ashes of their own home).

So this article needs to be revised for bias. - Kuгtѕκγωαικєг T a l k / C o n t r ı b s 23:28, 28 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Although I agree with you that bias shouldn't be involved, isn't it different if it's a character's bias? Plus it's her own mother saying she would "dance around the ashes", and why would a mother say that about her own daughter if there wasn't anything to back it up by? She also dopes mention how much Dee had hated their old house and that is why she would've "danced". 32.208.167.57 (talk) 20:26, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

Mama's Story It is important to remember that this is Mama's story told from Mama's point of view. I also agree that there's too much editorialising in the description of Dee, i.e. "Dee is selfish" "Dee just wants to follow the latest trends." I don't need to be told that Dee is selfish because it's obvious enough (she tries to claim her own sister's wedding presents); however, if she were shy and submissive like Maggie, she would never have escaped the traditional family poverty. As for following the latest trend--what Walker is critiquing, I think, is not Dee's search for an African identity (Walker did that herself) but the way she rejects her own family traditions in favor of this new identity. From the mother's point of view, why should someone who rejects her grandmother's name be given her grandmother's quilts?

Can you show me where the author says it is, "Mama's bitch ass story," please? Doesn't seem like she would use this vulgar language. Lwarn1 (talk) 17:25, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

BTW--since Dee apparently regarded her mother's home as a prison, dancing around in its ashes seems appropriate enough, metaphorically speaking. After all, this is fiction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.52.246.101 (talk) 22:53, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Strongly agree with both of you. In particular, I don't see anything in the story to support the idea that Dee was just following a trend. 141.195.136.90 (talk) 06:06, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Agreed, but I don't see anything in the story to support the idea that Dee was NOT just following a trend.

The whole article is very biased towards Mama's view of Dee. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loudon27 (talk • contribs) 01:33, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Other Characters
what should we put in reference for the other charachters like Hakim-a-barber?--75.72.25.219 (talk) 05:00, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

What about Dee's companion? I believe there should be a description of him to contrast Maggie's future husband, adding to the differences between the two sisters. 69.88.187.2 (talk) 13:17, 25 October 2010 (UTC)EMFP bdfg bg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.133.60.104 (talk) 23:45, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

It would be helpful to mention Maggie's severe burns since they contribute to much of her reserved behavior. Pat otoole (talk) 16:39, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I agree it shows Maggie's behavior and it will help the readers understand the difference between Maggie's view on the world versus Dee's.Caitlin1198 (talk) 20:02, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I agree that Maggie's scars from the fire should be mentioned because they relate to her self-esteem and how she feels toward Dee. I am going to include that. Hbran21 (talk) 20:47, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I agree, Maggie's scars are explanation for a major part of why her character is the way she is. Sbraith21 (talk) 00:59, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I could be wrong, but at any point in the literature does it specifically state that Mama called Maggie ugly? She mentions how she has lower self-esteem but I don't think she says she's ugly, just that she doesn't resemble the more lavish looks Dee presents. I'm not sure if this should be included in Maggie's character description. Her burn scars however are necessary because they can show why she may be more frail compared to Dee. 32.208.167.57 (talk) 20:19, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

Under Hakim-a-barber's character description, I fixed minor grammatical errors and change the reason why Mama begins calling him this in the first place. He instructs her to call him Hakim-a-barber because she cannot pronounce his real name - Asalamalakim - not because she is unsure whether he is married to Dee or not. Kyacrichton (talk) 17:33, 6 November 2019 (UTC)
 * I added to the description of his character in case readers were confused. 192.132.64.3 (talk) 19:48, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Mama's character description is very basic. Maybe adding something about how she values tradition and her heritage. Sbraith21 (talk) 01:02, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree, for being the narrator she has little-to-no background information on her in this section. Also mentioning how she has what seems like an epiphany at the end of the story and finally saying "no" to Dee might help show how her character developed in such a short story.32.208.167.57 (talk) 20:21, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

I did not like how they made such a big description for Mama and Maggie when they weren't in the short story so much and they were not the best characters. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loudon27 (talk • contribs) 01:24, 25 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I disagree, I believe that Mama and Maggie were vital to the story. They help show the drastic difference from them and the new Dee/Wangero — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jfida2 (talk • contribs) 16:08, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Contested deletion
This page should not be speedy deleted as an unambiguous copyright infringement, because... (Little to no plagiarism. I did however see many other sites fork information from Wikipedia with the correct mirroring info though.) --GuyHimGuy (talk) 02:09, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

Adding a Section
I believe this page could use a section on interpretations of the story, as it may be confusing to some readers. I will add information from an article by Barbara T. Christian. Lexymaz (talk) 19:28, 5 April 2017 (UTC)


 * Oeparker1 (talk) 19:59, 5 April 2017 (UTC)Can you add a citation for this?
 * I believe that one interpretation of the story is pretty biased, I will add some more information from an essay done by Mary Helen WashingtonAlang22 (talk) 20:09, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I think multiple interpretations from different sources could definitely provide good insight to those looking for other ways to analyze what they can gain and interpret from the story G.Sant6 (talk) 02:56, 16 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree, multiple interpretations from different types of sources can allow readers to pick which makes the most sense to them and do further research to see if they can strengthen the argument that is being made as well. Plus, everyone thinks differently so including as many different interpretations of the same piece of work is helpful for readers to see the different perspectives the author could have been looking at the story from.32.208.167.57 (talk) 20:11, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

I believe they could add some more in depth detail about the short story. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loudon27 (talk • contribs) 01:42, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Character
In the middle of the story Mama says that they did not mention, and she did not ask, if Dee married Asalamalakim. Where does it mention that the two are actually married? And if it does not should there be mention that it is just implied? Hbran21 (talk) 21:08, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Agreed, in the plot it clearly states that Mama is unsure if Dee married this man, but in the character description page it states that Dee married a Muslim man. Sbraith21 (talk) 00:47, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Agreed. It was never explicitly stated. G.Sant6 (talk) 02:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with you, there was never a clear answer whether the two were married or not — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jfida2 (talk • contribs) 16:01, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Addition of Symbols
I feel having a whole section for symbols, and only having one symbol isn't enough. I am going to write about Mama's yard which is another symbol found in the story Mkade1 (talk) 21:11, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I'm going to add an inline citation about the history of quilt making in African American history Sstan6UNH (talk) 20:34, 23 April 2019 (UTC)
 * I agree, even two doesn't seem enough to have a whole section on symbolism. Maybe changing the section just to the background and the possible meaning of quilting in the literature would make more sense here.32.208.167.57 (talk) 20:15, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

I also am going to add another possible thing the quilt or quilting may represent to Mama and Maggie that Jennifer Martin mentions in her article " The Quilt Threads Together Sisterhood, Empowerment and Nature in Alice Walker's The Color Purple and Everyday Use". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 32.208.167.57 (talk) 01:10, 21 November 2020 (UTC) I also added information from the essay "The Quilt Threads Together Sisterhood, Empowerment and Nature in Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple' and 'Everyday Use.'" I added how it quilting helped bond females in the African American culture.16:26, 25 November 2020 (UTC)Jfida2 (talk)
 * I agree that there should be more symbolism in this section. Having one piece of symbolism for such a powerful text is crazy. I believe, even though it is obvious, to add the changing of Dee's name and her colorful dress. This is her way of connecting more to her culture, feeling more grounded. It is important because these things now differentiate her from the rest of her family. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jfida2 (talk • contribs) 19:06, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Interpretations
I am going to add an other interpretation of the story from the essay “Stylish vs.Sacred in “Everyday Use” by Houston A. Baker and Charlotter Pierce-Baker. Agard6 (talk) 03:50, 17 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Agreed, that is a great essay that has a lot of valuable information that can add to this page

I think the section under "Interpretations" about Barbara T. Christian's article needs more clarification. I believe she was more addressing the " tendency to idealize an ancient African American past while ignoring the recent African American past..." I am going to add this under the already mentioned information! Mooodsy (talk) 22:29, 5 November 2019 (UTC)

I think that adding some information about Elaine Showalter's, Quilt as Metaphor in "Everyday Use", would also be a good addition in the interpretation section. Sbraith21 (talk) 00:56, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Themes
I slightly reworded what was written in the themes section. I also expanded on it. Kyacrichton (talk) 01:36, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

Should really make the themes section a lot bigger of a deal in this article because it is a huge part of the short story in general. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loudon27 (talk • contribs) 01:53, 25 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree with you, the story is a very heavily filled with themes. Especially for its time, it was packed with lots of important themes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jfida2 (talk • contribs) 16:19, 25 November 2020 (UTC)