“How does Alice Walker’s stories represents heritage conflict in the 1970s?

Alice cart is a contemporary Afro-Ameri tush writer who is celebrated for her feminist beliefs and the focal point in which she reflects her views of the hereditary pattern of black American women in her prose and stories. This essay explores two of Walkers works, Roselily and quotidian Use, both of which appe ard in Walkers collection of short stories entitled, In Love and foreboding in 1973. The paper examines the way in which the heritage conflict of the mid-seventies is re bewildered and symbolized in both of these stories.Alice Walkers short report card commonplace Use, appeared in her. The story was predominantly concerned with the concept of heritage and addresses the way in which traditional values, culture and beliefs can be wooly-minded as a result of the pressure or desire to concur into other cultures and belief systems. Within the story conflicting views of the importance of heritage are presented through the characters of the prose and the way in which th ey interact with the everyday items of their home.In Roselily the nucleotide of heritage is perhaps a little more subtle, with the story containing other, more prominent themes such as isolation and loneliness, male domination and k straight offledgeable turmoil. This story tells the tale of Roselily, an African America wo serviceman who is to marry a Muslim man and centers around her thoughts and feelings as the wedding takes place. In commonplace Use, the story is told through the eyes of Mama and key messages and statements are do through the representation of her two daughters, Dee and Maggie.Whereas Mama represents a solid, cautious and heedful character, Dee is portrayed as frivolous and superficial, someone who is unable to look beyond the surface of the world in which she lives. Her actions and behavior absorb a overweight effect on her sister who appears to walk in Dees iniquity feeling ugly and worthless. The main characters of Roselily and, as with Mama in Every day Things, everything is told from her perspective.Whilst the man to whom she will marry is mentioned, he is never named, his presence in the story is there to represent a new life for Roselily, onward from her past and her freedom She thinks of ropes, chains, handcuffs, his religion (Walker, 1). In both pieces of writing the views of the undivided characters are utilized to ensure that the importance of the heritage of Afro-Americans is not further recognized just that it is understood in the correct way. In Everyday Things the story is structured around the way in which each of the threesome characters views their heritage.Dee, successful and intelligent, feels the need to be progressive and modern and expresses embarrassment of her past. She feels that anything that occurred in her past is irrelevant to her current and hereafter life and appears to pick and involve the elements of her orbit with which she wishes to affinitize herself with. Her African punctuate, for exa mple, exists to her as something through which she can achieve aesthetical or artistic objectives. An example of this can be seen in the way she changes her name from what she believes to be an American name, Dee, to Wangero Leewamika Kemanjo.Although here her intentions are to try and coadjutor herself with her tradition and background there is an irony to her rejection of the name Dee that, in itself, was more closely aligned with her African roots than she recognized. Further evidence of Dees superficial embracement of her African culture can be seen within her sort and the way in which she attempts to affiliate herself with her African background and make a statement about the culture from whence she originated A dress dispirited to the ground, yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun.Earrings gold, too. Bracelets dangling and making noises. (183, Walker). Dee is represented very differently from her sister and her mother and it is clear that their uniq ue perceptions are purposely practiced by Alice Walker to represent conflicting views of heritage. This is compete out through their relationship with the various items that are present in the family home. Whilst not of any financial value, the value that each of the characters places upon them is of significance. The quilts can be used as an example of this.Despite the fact that they have no monetary value to speak of, each daughter would like to have them. Dee sees them as something that she can display in her city re lieunce. They act as a mechanism through which she hopes she can show off her African background to her family and friends. For Maggie, they are everyday objects that she needs to use to survive whilst living in her current circumstances there are no real windows, honest some hole cut in the side with rawhide bear outing the shutters up on the outside (Walker, 90). Despite their tatty appearance, the quilts are still of use to her in keeping her warm.Mama sees e ven further into the quilts, for her they represent her past and hold valuable memories of her family In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn cubic decimetre and more years ago. Bits and pieces of grandfather Jarrells Paisley shirts. And one teeny thinned blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezras uniform that he wore during the Civil War (Walker, 93). The quilts represent the story and heritage of the family and the struggles they have endured and overcome in order to survive in their current state.However, through the actions of Mama when she gives the quilts to Maggie, Alice Walker demonstrates her belief that heritage isnt something to preserved and worshiped as something of the past. It is a living, breathing element of life as it continues to develop and flourish not in Africa but in present day USA. In Roselily, the writing is structured entirely around the thoughts of the help and she goes through the wedding ce remony. She is looking to her heritage, and her past, in order to make wiz of her present and what may become of her in the future.Although the wedding and accompanying issues pertaining to women and their relationship with men takes forefront, the story also contains strong messages about the history and heritage of afro-American women. The story takes place at a time where the rights of blacks and whites in America were considered to be equal. Walker, however, does not seem to be in reason with this and Roselilys thoughts and stories clearly depict the lives of black women as being slaves to both men and to the system.For Roselily this is captured by her arduous work in the sewing grinder and the many unsuccessful relationships she has had. Despite the cultivated rights movement she remains a substandard citizen, there appears to be no equality for African-American women. Whilst Roselily yearns for something repair for herself and her children, she does not know how this can be achieved, Her place will be in the home he has said, repeatedly, promising her rest she had prayed for. But now she wonders. When she is rested, what will she do? (Walker, 1). Her situation can be seen to be pondering of the turmoil of her ancestors past.Her recognition that she needs more but her inability to recognize how she can achieve this is reminiscent of the black civil rights movements and the plight of the black people in their inability to recognize how they have a presence in America whilst maintaining their history and who they were. Whilst the men of this conjunction seem to have achieved their objective of freedom and rights, the women are still struggle and fighting wars of their own. Both Roselily and Everyday Uses can be seen as legate of Alice Walkers view of what it is to be an African-American.She believes that to be such to be to be both African and American to deny the American side of ones heritage is disrespectful of ones ancestors and, consequently, denigrating to ones self. (White, 2001). In Everyday Uses Dee sees her African background as something that can make her American self more evoke and appealing to her peers and friends. Her sister, on the other hand, is concentrated on the here and now. She can recognize all too well the struggles of the past and wants to utilize as something she can build upon in order to survive the future.In Roselily the negative bushel of the consolidation of Africa and American traditions upon African American women is represented and is more vividly portrayed. Roselily is a women whose past means that she is unable to see a future for herself that doesnt depend upon the economic support of a man. The fact that the man to whom she is married remains unnamed throughout the story clearly reflects Alice Walkers concerns lie firmly with women. References Walker, Alice. In Love & Trouble Stories of bootleg Women. New York Harvest Books, 2003. White, David. White.AEveryday UseA Defining African- American Heritage.. Luminarium Anthology of English Literature. 3 Apr. 2009 . White, Evelyn C.. Alice Walker A Life. New York W. W. Norton, 2005. Wood, Kerry Michael. Literary analysis African-American women and heritage in Everyday Use, by Alice Walker by Kerry Michael Wood atomic number 2. Helium Where Knowledge Rules. 3 Apr. 2009 .