Alice Walker
I really enjoyed this short story, but absolutely hated Dee. She was extremely annoying and totally rude to her mother and younger sister, who obviously needed special love and attention. I just felt sad throughout the entire story (until the last few paragraphs) because the woman tried so hard to give her children the most out of life, and Dee just hops back in their lives and takes advantage of everything they have. It reminded me of the novel we read last year for AP Lang, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. In the book, Le Ly's older sister kind of gave up her heritage for the life of a modern woman. I really enjoyed that book too, but her sister was not a major character like Dee was in "Everyday Use" (Walker). I thought this short story was kind of funny too because the woman kept calling her son-in-law(?) Asalamalakim because he had greeted them with that. For whatever reason, I think it's hilarious when people call other people by nicknames from things they say or do. Anyway, I really liked the ending because Dee got what she deserved and Maggie got to keep the quilts. The last paragraph was really sweet because it described her real smile, presumable after frowning for years while Dee stepped all over them.
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