In Alice Walker's Everyday Use sisters Dee and Maggie can no longer be at odds. Although their slight differences and similarities are obvious to the reader, they become clearer when the mother sees them. More features can be seen for him when his mother shows this to him. Mother is very good at noticing the different qualities among her daughters, especially those that she doesn't know about.
Dee is a girl who is optimistic - about herself. Confident and self-assured, he has no doubts about himself or his life. He thinks he knows who he is, he knows what he wants, and he is ready to achieve these things in any way possible. Mama stated that Dee had always held on to life, that 'No' was a word the world had never learned to say to her. 'Maggie, on the other hand, is very insecure. She spends most of her time preparing for Dee's visit and finds out what Dee might think of her. Even though she is young, which her mother always reminds her of, her lack of confidence makes her look younger. During the conflict. quilting, Mom realizes that Maggie is more than ready to let go of the quilt knowing that she will lose the fight with Dee.
While it was clear that Dee and Maggie liked each other, even on a deep level, there was still a lot of tension between the two. Mother is the first to show tension. Dee is disappointed with Maggie when Mom admits she used to believe that Dee hated her sister. Even though they lived in the same house during their childhood, the two sisters lived in different worlds. Educated and worldly, Dee is always disappointed, childish, and unkind to Maggie. Likewise, Maggie is nervous about Dee for many of the same reasons. Maggie is also annoyed by the physical damage she suffered when her house caught fire while Dee left the house on time. Maggie is always compared to her sisters and grows only nervous when Dee is around.
Perhaps the only person Dee respects is herself, while Maggie respects others, especially her own family - a trait that surprises Mom near the end of the short story. Since Dee spends most of the story getting the family heirloom from her mother, she becomes stubborn about the blanket Mama Maggie promised. Maggie would put them to sleep and in five years they would be in tatters. Less than that! 'Dee believes that only she can truly respect her legacy, even if only she thinks about it. Maggie, on the other hand, has no problem wrapping up her sister. She gives up without selfishness. This act of kindness, What her mother saw as a sign that Maggie would be more grateful for her legacy rather than Dee, changed Mama's perception of her two daughters, finally realizing that Dee was selfish and Maggie was selfless.
Both Dee and Maggie spend most of their stories getting someone's approval. Dee tries to get Mom's approval by showing how educated and loving she is about her legacy, while Maggie tries to be admired by her sister. Finally, Mama Dee's sympathy was even less than before, and Maggie got approval, but from Mama. 'When I looked at him, something hit my head and came down the stairs.'
Even though Dee and Maggie grew up together, they ended up growing up as two very different people. Both of them took their qualities for what they were and didn't think about it. On the contrary, Mama recognized these qualities as if they were the most obvious aspects. Because of that, and the incident with the blanket, Mom was able to fully assemble the bigger picture of her daughter and finally see who they are.
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Sibling Rivalry in ‘Everyday Use’ Essay.
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