Jean Jaures once said that “Tradition does not mean to look after the ash, but to keep the flame alive.” Such was the case with the stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, and Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Despite being written in different time periods, the characters in both stories had ardent convictions. Whereas the characters in The Lottery treated tradition as a ritual and and its villagers were confomists, Everyday Use’s Dee treated it as an heirloom and Dee was radical in her views. But they are also similar in the reasons why and how they value tradition. The characters in The Lottery and Everyday Use share similarities in how they value tradition. In both stories, the characters’ value for tradition did not have any practical or …show more content…
She found value in the aesthetic appeal of her heritage. During their meal, Dee mentioned that the chute would make for a good “centerpiece”, but her artistic venture did not end there, as Dee’s final move was to have the quilts to “hang them.” Even Maggie knew, or at least had an inkling, how Dee would use the quilt. Maggie “hung back in the kitchen” then their mother “heard something fall in the kitchen” , and later a “kitchen door slammed” immediately after Dee asked to have the quilts. Yet another instance of Dee shunning practicality was her vexed reaction to the machine stitched quilts. For Dee, because the quilt was pieced together by hand, possibly denoting it to artistry, it was more valuable as a …show more content…
As parts of the ritual had lapsed away, with not one official source as to what the original ritual was, it shows that people did not have strong attachments to the whole tradition. The violence that ensued in the lottery remained ironically untainted despite the test of time. In this sense, technically, it is more of a tradition than the speculated rituals were; and it reflects the choices of the villagers of what they wanted to survive as their
Throughout “The Lottery” and The Crucible, both authors introduce traditional objects to emphasize and strengthen their characters' beliefs. In “The Lottery”, Jackson includes that while “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago,” (paragraph 5) the village still does the tradition
For the most part, there is no harm in carrying on traditions as in the case of “Dead Man’s Path.” But there are some traditions that are simply evil and mindlessly followed, as in the case of “The Lottery.” Although “The Lottery” and “Dead Man’s Path” bear some differences, the similarities between the struggle of traditions, and new ways of
In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker the author conveys the meaning of heritage between two sisters Dee and Maggie. Both have chose to live their lives differently and depending on what heritage means to you, the reader can relate to one or the other. In Dee’s case she chooses to leave her home behind in order to go to school and make the best of herself sacrificing her family, in comparison to Maggie who chooses to stay close to home with her mother. The quilt, the family heirloom brings a concern of doubt towards the mother on what heritage means to her and easily decides whom to past it on too. Dee and Maggie are examples of heritage through their points of views, personality traits, and relationships.
The quilts have a different value for each daughter. In Maggie case, “it was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her how to quilt”, her mother promised her the quilts after she was married, and because they were meant to be used and appreciated. Maggie hints that she thinks of the quilts as a reminder of her aunt and grandmother when she says, “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts” (321 Walker). Dee/Wangero sees the quilts as “priceless” (320 Walker). Before she went away for school, her mother offered her a quilt, but she said “they were old-fashioned, out of style” (320
Generation gap and heritage In the short story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker has tried to show us the gap between our generations and the importance of our heritage. The story focuses on a small family consists of Mama, sister Maggie, and sister Dee. They all grew up together in the same house and was raised by their mother who was the father and the mother for them. There are conflicts and struggles that clearly shows the gap between different generations, the importance of our heritage, and the educational status.
These quilts are described as being made from swatches of clothes once worn or owned by at least a century’s worth of ancestors, making the worth of them in Mama and Maggies’ eyes exponential. Dee only wants them to be admired at face value not for the true use. Just as she cannot understand the legacy of her name, passed along through four generations, she does not understand the significance of the quilts. Dee only sees the value of the hand stitching and material used. Mama had promised the quilts to Maggie, and Maggie's reaction to the news that Dee wants them shows that Maggie has an emotional attachment to them as well.
Dee rushed in the house and begin to ramble. Dee’s attentions was captured by two old handmade quilts, made by Grandma Dee and quilted by the mother and her own sister. Dee wanted to take the quits with her into her new marriage. Dee believed that : “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she says, “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.”
In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the meaning of heritage is admired differently by a family of the same background. Dee who now has an education and understands her heritage feud with Mama and Maggie who appreciate their heritage. Although they all come from the same household, their differences get in the way when it comes to the most valuable items in the house; including the churn and dasher that Mama and Maggie still use daily, the handmade quilts made by Grandma Dee, and how Dee is blinded by the truth of her own heritage. Dee wants the churn and dasher for decoration purposes only stating “I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table,” (Walker 272.)
Tradition is where society finds it’s comforts as humans are creatures of habit, but what happens when that tradition leads to imprisonment or worse? Comparing “The Lottery” and The Crucible, one start’s to notice common themes between the two works. Like in The Crucible the constant lies and deception that led to countless deaths, or in “The Lottery” the ignorance that tradition breeds, these two stories share common albeit, disturbing themes. Ignorance, tradition, and judgement three themes these stories shared and explored in numerous ways.
In the story, tradition of the lottery is very strong, because everyone follows it. Even if the people in the story had to kill a loved one, they still follow tradition. In most cases, tradition is the way of life. I have some traditions; Eating turkey for Thanksgiving, having ham as a food for Christmas Eve dinner, etc. Lots of people have traditions, even if it meant having to kill
In the short story, “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, one can say that the quilts mentioned in the story symbolize heritage because the quilts were made by different generations of the family. Because of this, the reader can see that Dee views her heritage as something to be put up for display so people can admire her past, where as Maggie, views her heritage as something that is learned and teach to others. For example, when Mama tells Dee that she can’t have them, Dee says, “Well … What will you do with them? … ‘Hang them’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything …”. As a general rule,
What is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up? This answer may vary from person to person, but your answer is the beginning of your morning ritual. Rituals happen even if you don’t even realize it, think about it, you wake up turn on the coffee machine, then show, brush teeth, put on clothes and then you come back to the coffee machine that now has a nice cup of brewed coffee. You do that every day and it becomes your morning ritual, if you forget to turn on the coffee machine in the morning and you continue on with the rest of your ritual when you come out for that cup of coffee and it is not there, you cannot help but feel disappointed and feel like your day has been thrown off a bit. Buy why?
The Way of Humans Tradition and customs have been within our society and still happen today. Some traditions and custom are as long as before Christ Jesus was born. In the story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson we see that tradition and customs are important to the people’s lives in the story. I will be discussing traditions and what ways can be used and how they can be forgotten. First, in the story “The Lottery” we see that their tradition of stoning is forgotten by the people.
Since the dawn of mankind, rivalries have been prominent. Whether it was over food, territory or a mate, it was indeed a conflict. In more modern times, however, rivalries over petty things are more prominent in the common person, especially in siblings. Though the siblings may be fighting over who gets what, the parents choose a resolution that is more than just an object. This solution is perfectly portrayed in Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use.”
She is horrified at the idea of her sister employing the quilts for “everyday use”; “Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags” (Walker, 320). This shows Maggie and her mother’s immodesty in their humble house in stark contrast to Dee’s ferocious Materialism. Maggie further intensifies this contrast by stating she did not require the quilts in order for her memories of Grandma Dee to remain intact; “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts”(Walker,