“Everyday Use” is a short story by Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple. These are both famous African-American feminist literary works. Alice Walker credits Zora Nell Hurston, a famous African-American literary figure and scholar that spent her final years in nearby Fort Pierce, Florida. Back in the late 1970s, Alice Walker found the unkempt grave of Zora Nell Hurston and had everything totally restored to honor this forgotten African-American feminist hero and literary icon.
Please read the story carefully and enjoy the characters in action! Following the reading, please produce a written response to the following questions and submit through the blackboard assignment portal. Do the best you can the questions and we will also discuss in SEC Live!
1. Briefly describe the characters and action. There are three women and one man. Provide brief character sketches for all four.
2. The quilt is an example of symbolism in the story. What does the quilt represent? Describe the symbolic significance of the quilt.
3. Why is mama narrating the story? Of all three women, who might be best to narrate the story? Do you have any theories as to what Alice Walker might be trying to achieve by having mama narrate the story?
4. Can you identify any autobiographical elements in the story? In other words, other any real life similarities to the life of Alice Walker?
5. Why could this work be considered feminist literature?
