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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
In six pages this paper examines the differing views of Mama and Dee regarding cultural identity as presented in Alice Walker’s short story, and then arguing in favor of Dee’s more global interpretation. Two sources are listed in the bibliography.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGeveryday.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
, February 2010 -- properly! Cultural identity is a theme that is interwoven throughout Alice Walkers
novels and short stories. Growing up in Georgia as the daughter of sharecroppers, Walker was indoctrinated early into the cultural fabric of the Southern slave, where oppression was countered
by religious devotion. However, her frame of cultural reference increased considerably during her college years and subsequent marriage to a white civil rights attorney. Alice Walkers preoccupation with
defining cultural identity in her own life was reflected in her art, most notably in her famous short story "Everyday Use." It is the story of Mama and her
two daughters Maggie and Dee. Maggie remained home with her mother, both seemingly content to live and die in the same community whereas Dee went away to college, which
gave her a broader cultural perspective much like Alice Walker herself. For Mama (and Maggie), cultural identity involves the passing on of traditions like quilting that she believes reflects
the family and community that define ones identity. However, Dee believes this is all backward nonsense and takes a more impersonal approach to cultural identity that is equally passionate
to her mothers stance. She believes that identity cannot be realized fully without a connection to ones native culture. For black Americans, this involves reconnecting with their African
roots. Of the two perspectives, Dees views are ultimately more important than those of her mother. Dee is depicted in the short story as a self-centered snob because this
is how Mama sees her. However, Alice Walker scholar Professor Sharon Farrell argues, Dee "offers a view of heritage and a strategy for contemporary African Americans to cope with
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