Posted: September 20th, 2022

discuss the relationship between the quilts and identity in the story: “Everyday Use”

Place your order now for a similar assignment and have exceptional work written by our team of experts, At affordable rates

For This or a Similar Paper Click To Order Now

1. In “Everyday Use” we find objects at the center of very important questions about family relations, the proper use of history and the nature of identity formation. The most significant of these objects are obviously the quilts. In (100 words), discuss the relationship between the quilts and identity in the story. Consider specifically if and how the objects embody aspects of identity on the one hand, and how they are used to create a sense of identity on the other. Then in another (100 words), consider how the story itself might be considered similar to a quilt. 2. In some ways, this story could be interpreted to be about a debate within the black community about the proper uses of heritage and black history. On the one hand, there is Mama’s authentic, natural, and personal heritage of humans with names and identities. On the other, Wangero’s progressive, political and modern use of her heritage that seeks to transcend historical oppression. The story comes down decidedly in favor of Mama’s position. Most readers tend to agree, but not all. Dee/Wangero is portrayed rather unsympathetically, but it is important to keep in mind that it is Mama who portrays her, and in the first paragraphs it is easy to see that Mama is intimidated by her daughter’s modern, educated, cosmopolitan life. On reading carefully, one might discover that the portrayal the reader receives might not be altogether accurate, and the identity constructed for Dee/Wangero in Mama’s imagination might be a fearful fantasy. Or she could be completely right that Dee is vain and superficial. Or maybe it’s somewhere in between. It might be that both characters hold viable worldviews, and each suited to one aspect of a rapidly changing world. The difficulty is that all of the reader’s information comes from a place of bias, and the story uses persuasive rhetorical devices to convince the reader of the correctness of the narrator’s values and conclusions. Consider the story again with an awareness of the narrator’s bias in mind. Consider her (unintentional) attempts to persuade the reader into adopting her point of view. The story quietly asks the reader to agree with the narrator, but as a reader, you have to make a choice about how you will actively interpret what you’ve read. Individuals are often compelled to make decisions even when they lack sufficient reliable information, and this story challenges the reader to do just that. In about (200 words), answer the following: If you were in the position to decide what to do with the quilts, what would you do? Why? Be sure to include some analysis of how Mama’s representation influences your decision one way or the other. 3. identify a specific theme related to the concept of “identity” that develops over several passages. Use evidence from the text (at least two passages) to make an argument about how the theme is developed in the story and what readers are invited to value or conclude about the theme. (This is focusing on what the story “says” at a deeper level.) Then, analyze the story’s conclusion about that theme in the context of your own experiences, deciding whether you agree with the story’s conclusions or not, and how the story gets it right, wrong, misses something important, or helps add to your understanding about the topic. (500 – 700 words)

For This or a Similar Paper Click To Order Now