A static character is defined as, “a character that will remain unchanged regardless of the nature of the story’s conflict” (220). Dee is a great example of this type of character because throughout the story Dee does not seem to care much about her heritage, culture, and family. We notice this because Dee decides to change her name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo”. The reader learns that Dee’s name was given to her after her aunt “Dicie” (454). Furthermore, Dee does not take this into consideration and goes behind her family’s back and changes her name. This comes off as an offense to the family’s culture and heritage, but Dee does not seem to care. Furthermore, Dee continues to offend her mother by rummaging through her home and tries to take sentimental items such as hand made quilts. Despite what Dee’s mother says to her, Dee will remain an unchanged character, she will continue to be a selfish and rude person regardless of whether it offends the family or not. Dee is also considered to be a flat character, “barely developed or stereotypical” (219). Dee’s view about her heritage, culture, and family did not change throughout the story. She criticized and stereotypes her heritage at the end of the story by telling her mother that her mother doesn’t understand her own heritage (457). She criticizes her mother and sister by saying, “You out to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it” (457).
A round character is, “well devolved, closely involved in and responsive to the action” (219). Mother is a great example of this type of character because as the story goes on she notices how Dee has not changed and will never change her perspective about her heritage, culture, and family. At the end of the story mother becomes upset with Dee’s actions and decided to do something about it. It seems as thought mother has always let Dee walk all over her and tell her otherwise up until the end of the story. Mother stands up for herself and her daughter Maggie when Dee tries to take the quilts from her home. The reader notices this when mother says, “I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s [Dee] hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (457). Mother changes and notices that she can stand up for herself and her family. She notices that her daughter Maggie deserves the quilts much more than Dee because Maggie is respectful to her culture and has used her lessons she had learn from “...Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her [Maggie] how to quilt herself” (457).
Furthermore, mother is also considered to be a dynamic character that, “grows and changed in the course of the story, developing as he or she reacts to evens and to other characters” (220). The reader notices that mother changes at the end of the story when she says, “When I looked at her [Maggie] like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet. Just like when I’m in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout” (457). Dee’s actions have caused her to wake up and stand up for herself and Maggie. She realized that Maggie is a much better representation of the family’s culture and heritage and she deserves the quilts much more than Dee.
Alice Walker does a great job to represent Dee as a static and flat character, while her mother is represented as a round and dynamic character. Dee is considered a static and flat because her actions and feelings do not change thought the story. She continues to be disrespectful to her family, culture, and heritage and does not seem to care weather it offends her family or not. On the other hand, mother is considered a round and dynamic character because her actions and feelings do change at the end of the story. She becomes fed up with Dee’s actions and comments and decided to stand up for herself, her family, and her daughter in an effort to show the reader that Maggie is a much better representation of heritage and culture unlike her sister Dee.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 451-457. Print.
Kirszner, Laurie, and Stephen Mandell. “Character:Round and Flat Characters.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 219-220. Print.
Kirszner, Laurie, and Stephen Mandell. “Character: Dynamic and Static Characters.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 220. Print.
Culture, Heritage, Family
There are many different cultures and heritages in todays society. Alice Walker does a great job to address these issues in her short story “Everyday Use”. Walker shows the reader throughout the story that heritage and culture can be expressed in many different ways. Culture and heritage can be expressed either by an important object or by a persons appearance. Furthermore, Walker addresses the conflict between Dee and mother, and shows how a change in ones lifestyle and attitude may come off as an offensive to the family’s culture and heritage, especially if you were raised in that culture. Culture and heritage cannot be learned overnight, it is a life long learning process that is taught to you by your ancestors and previous generations.
Walker uses Dee (Wangero) and her mother to show the reader the different sides of culture and heritage. The reader learns that Dee is a complex, materialistic, and selfish person, while mother on the other hand, is a lady of hard work, passion, and simplicity. The author uses vivid details to portray each characters physical appearance. Walker describes the mother as, “a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-looking hand” (452), also she can, “kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man” (452). Walkers intention is to show the reader that mothers heritage is strong and that she can still do all of the things her previous generations could do. The author wants to show the reader that mothers heritage makes her strong and independent. Maggie, mothers other daughter, is a shy, kind, and quiet girl. The reader learns that Maggie is a lot like her mother, she is not physically attractive since she has “burn scars down her arms and legs” (451). While on the other hand, Maggie is much different than her sister Dee. Maggie has learned and is familiar with the family’s culture and heritage that has been taught to her from previous generations. She picked up many skills from her mother and uses them to express her culture and heritage. When the family is discussing the dasher, Maggie is the first one to jump to the topic by saying, “Aunt Dee’s first husband witted the dash...His name was Henry, but they called him Stash” (455). Mother responds to the comment by saying, “It was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her [Maggie] how to quilt herself” (457). Walker is trying to show the reader that Maggie is much more familiar with the family’s heritage and her past. She has learned many things throughout previous generations that have been taught to her by her mother.
Dee, on the other hand, is described in a much different way, Walker describes her as being light skinned, with nice hair, and a full figure (452). Dee comes to visit her family during the summer when it is extremely warm outside. When Dee arrives to the house she is wearing a long colorful dress with jewelry, bracelets, and earrings. Walker is trying to show the reader that Dee is more worried about her appearance rather than comfort.The reader can notice Dee’s attitude toward her culture and heritage when Dee decided to change her name to “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo”. Dee doesn’t seem to care about the importance of her name and the fact that she was named after her aunt Dicic, “You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicic” (454). Dee responds by saying, “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who appress me” (454). Dee has always tried to distance herself from her family, heritage, and culture since her aunt “appressed” her, probably due to the fact that she didn’t want to learn the family’s heritage and culture. By changing her name to Wangero, Dee has completely isolated herself from her culture and heritage.
The actions of Dee in the story show and represent a culture clash between Dee and her family. Dee’s actions are very aggressive, selfish, and careless. Dee begins taking items from her mothers home as if they belong to her without even asking. Dee’s mother describes Dee as going “to the trunk at the foot of the bed and started rifling thought it” (456). Dee tries to take various items such as a churn top, a dasher, and several quilts. All of these belongings that Dee is trying to take are meaningful items and hold sentimental value to the family’s culture and heritage. On the other hand, Dee thinks that these items are antiques and that , “they’re priceless!” (457). She does not consider the hard work and craftsmanship of the items which are part of the family’s heritage, culture, and a representation of hard work. What Walker is trying to show the reader is that Dee’s materialistic, greedy, and selfish attitude towards her family is offensive and hurtful and she does not represent or show any sing of culture or family heritage.
Walker used irony in the story as well. Although Dee is pretty and educated, she does not value her real culture and heritage. What Walker is trying to show the reader throughout the story is that culture and heritage are taught, from one generation to the next. It is a life long learning experience and cannot be taught overnight. A person who possesses true culture and heritage does not have to look pretty or have the best education, but instead the person needs to understand and respect their previous generations, their family, and the sentimental items which were created with dedication and hard work.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 451-457. Print.
Two Amazing Differences
William Faulkner and Tim O’Brien are two of the greatest American writers of all time. They both used different tones, styles, and motifs to show the reader the true meanings behind their imaginative writing. From grotesque and gloomy characters and setting, to war stories and repetition; both authors use different literary styles of writing.
William Faulkner uses many gloomy, grotesque, and melancholy events, characters, and setting. Faulkner’s writing is considered to be a souther gothic style of writing which uses many details and vivid images to show the reader the fine details of his writing. Faulkner’s paints a perfect picture in the reader’s mind about his characters. For instance, in his famous short story “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner uses gross details to show the appearance of Emily when he writes, “Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand” (210). Furthermore, he uses many words and long sentences to paint a sinister picture in the readers mind of the events and the main character in the story. His writing makes the reader want to read on; his stories are suspenseful and disturbing. He also uses different narrative perspectives; for instance, in “Barn Burning” he uses third person limited omniscience, while in “A Rose for Emily”, he uses third person plural. Sometimes it may be hard to decipher and understand the themes and motifs in Faulkner’s writing since he uses a distinct writing style.
Tim O’Brien, on the other hand, has a much different writing style. Most of O’Brien’s writing is fiction about the Vietnam War (406). It is interesting to learn that O’Brien’s stories are fiction because he uses such fine details and paints a realistic picture in the readers mind about the soldiers and the obstacles that they had to go through during the war. O’Brien’s plots focus on danger, violence, courage, endurance, despair, and other topics often associated with war fiction, but he treats these topics with an emphasis on the contemporary dilemmas faced by those who may be unwilling participants in the unpopular war” (406). Furthermore, O’Brien also uses long sentences, lots of commas, and repetition to show the reader the burden and weight soldiers had to carry in his famous short story “The Things They Carried”. He uses repetition to show the reader how everyday life was for the soldiers, repetitive and boring. Additionally, most of O’Brien’s stories are told in first person, but at times he uses the third person perspective to show the reader what other characters are thinking. It may be difficult to stay on track with O’Brien’s writing since it is so repetitive and to the point.
It was interesting to learn about William Faulkner’s and Tim O’Brien’s different writing styles. They both posses a unique style of writing and express their characters and settings in different ways. Faulkner uses distorted, dark, and gloomy characteristics and long sentences to portray a souther gothic style of writing. He uses bold detail to paint a ominous picture in the readers mind of the setting, characters, and theme of the story. Tim O’Brien on the other hand, used repetitive words, sentences, and fine details to show the reader how war really was for the soldiers. At times he uses repetition to portray a repetitive and boring lifestyle for the soldiers during their time in war. Both authors portray a unique style of writing which makes their work both interesting and fun to read.
Work Cited
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 209-215. Print.
O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. 406-419. Print.
