Introduction
The story in the book “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker discusses the importance of cultural heritage and identity. In her work, the author talks about the life of a mother and two daughters. They went through a difficult path that separated them, and now they must overcome many difficulties to understand one another.
One of Dee’s daughters returns to her childhood home long after she was last there (Walker 2). She got a good education and now believes in fighting for the rights and heritage of African culture. This visit causes her mother and sister to face identity issues they had not thought about before. Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” illustrates how people shape cultural backgrounds and attitudes towards others based on their heritage and identity.
Discussion
Character Analysis
The characters in the story have conflicting views on how to cherish and respect their heritage and identity, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. Walker uses Dee’s character to convey to readers a sense of the dangers of looking at one’s cultural identity on a superficial level without a deep appreciation of one’s cultural heritage. At the same time, the image of the second sister, Maggie, shows the value of preserving and transmitting one’s cultural attributes and values to future generations.
The story suggests the complex relationship between a person’s cultural identity, personal values, and attitudes. The different points of view of the characters demonstrate the importance of understanding and respecting one’s cultural values. At the same time, it is essential to emphasize people’s understanding of their origins and not just the appropriation of other people’s distinctive images for personal gain.
In this way, each character serves as a reminder to readers of the dangers and prejudices that can be expected of people. The designation and importance of the cultural background are due to many factors. The cultural background has a significant influence on the formation of a person’s heritage. In addition, this factor can shape a person’s identity and how they see themselves.
Cultural Background
Cultural background is an essential social element that many factors can shape. This concept includes the unique values, customs, characteristics, and experiences of particular groups of people. The society in which a person grows and is brought up can significantly influence this parameter. This is due to a particular language and religion that are not typical for all people but for specific groups with common socio-cultural characteristics. Thus, culture can be passed on from generation to generation, thus forming a cultural heritage.
The cultural background can be fundamentally different in different regions and countries due to which people inhabit a particular region. Depending on this, people from different countries have different ideas about the fundamental values that are inherent in their people. For example, people from Asian countries have cultural characteristics such as collectivism, treating elders with respect and reverence, and focusing on academic achievement.
However, even within the context of a single region, specific details of the cultural background can vary greatly. Thus, collectivism is, for example, more characteristic of the Chinese; respect for elders in China and Japan and a strong emphasis on learning are valued in Korea. This explains where specific values and traditions can form in people, as the cultural background becomes a powerful way to convey the symbols of the people.
Exploration of the Cultural Background Topic in the Story
The theme of cultural background and its transmission can be traced in Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use.” When one of the daughters, Dee, comes home, she notices the lid of the churn that has been standing in their yard all the time (Walker 6). Then the daughter asks her mother for permission to pick her up, to which she receives a story that Mrs. Johnson’s aunt, who was taught to make butter by her grandmother, used this thing.
Thus, it turns out that this item has been in their family for more than a hundred years. This demonstrates how the cultural background manifests itself in history through the example of one family. An item’s importance and cultural significance are conveyed by emphasizing its old age and the fact that it has been passed down from generation to generation.
Another example of the cultural background of a particular population in the story “Everyday Use” would be the moment with the blankets. One of the sisters – Dee, proclaims herself a fighter for the rights and traditions of blacks (Walker 4). In this regard, she wants to take blankets from her mother that, in her opinion, could well reflect her culture. At the same time, Dee’s sister, Maggie, is more concerned that blankets should be used for their intended purpose and not to demonstrate cultural affiliation. Thus, the author clearly shows readers how people’s cultural background can influence their lives, determining many aspects of using blankets.
Cultural background plays a significant role in shaping a person’s heritage based on their past and community. Heritage may include various aspects such as beliefs, traditions, customs, or specific patterns of behavior (Oskoz and Gimeno-Sanz, 138). It is passed on from previous generations, thus demonstrating the standard connections between people of all ages. Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” explores the theme of the legacy of the values of certain people, thereby proving its importance and necessity. Their cultural background altogether forms a person’s heritage since it denotes all habits and, to a certain extent, a person’s character.
Cultural background dramatically influences people’s behavior and attitude to the environment, including objects that are accessories of their culture. An example of this is when Dee starts criticizing Maggie’s house and lifestyle. She is also dissatisfied with how her sister dresses, her lack of variety, and her small old home (Walker 8). By this, the author emphasizes the differences in the cultural perception of various objects of the two sisters. One treats her heritage carefully, while Dee looks for flaws as if trying to isolate herself from him.
Another example of a scene in which the characters’ legacy is shaped differently is the use of a churn. When Dee first saw her, she wanted to take her as a decorative element without thinking that her ancestors used this thing differently (Walker 6). At the same time, Maggie opposes this idea of her sister, as she uses the churn for its intended purpose. Thus, for Dee, cultural objects became mere decorations with no hereditary value. This traces the formation of different heritages due to the cultural background, significantly different for the sisters. The United Nations defines cultural heritage as being shaped by cultural background and many other factors (Wiktor-Mach 1596). Thus, it proves that background has a degree of influence on how a person will define himself.
Cultural Heritage and Identity
In conclusion, it should be noted that cultural heritage is essential for determining how a person will relate to the things of his people in the future. The two sisters’ different attitudes towards the things their ancestors used are justified since they were formed as a result of the factors of growth and learning of people in different environments. In addition, individual heritage can be shaped by people’s relationships with their closest relatives. Thus, the connection and differences between the sisters in Walker’s story can be traced to their relationship with the surrounding cultural objects.
The theme of cultural heritage and identity is central to Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” as a way to connect with the past and understand one’s identity. The history of the book is centered on topics that relate to the self-determination of the cultural characteristics of people and their feelings about it. In addition, the story reveals essential themes related to the opposition of generations and differences in their perception of their roots and origins.
A mother and her daughter are the best illustration of how people with the same racial and cultural definitions can change after a long time under external factors (Kim et al. 425). Society can seriously impact people’s self-determination by unconsciously forcing them to change their minds (Su et al.4). Culture can be a determining factor in many of a person’s relationships with the outside world.
Throughout the story, the theme of identity and attitude to cultural heritage is the main one and manifests itself constantly, forcing readers to think about their identity. Identity and cultural heritage are well illustrated by the mother’s story describing the meaning of the patchwork quilts made by her grandmother, aunt, and herself. This is an integral part of the people’s history, which can be traced to the heritage and traditions of the family and the whole people.
A mother tells her daughter Dee that the blankets are not just pieces of fabric but contain significant story elements (Walker 3). These stories are part of the history and identity of their family, and the blankets themselves are a symbol of this family heritage that must be protected. Mom values blankets for their history and connection to her family, while Dee sees them as aesthetic items representing her African heritage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be said that cultural background is an important attribute that helps shape the behavioral characteristics of a person and determines many traditions, customs, and habits. In addition, the background is essential in how it affects the human heritage, which is formed over many years by passing specific characteristics from one generation to another. Heritage, in turn, can shape a person’s identity and character traits, depending on their past and cultural affiliation.
In this regard, cultural background, heritage, and identity are essential for disclosure in art. The story Alice Walker described clearly demonstrates how all these factors can differ within the same family. In this way, heritage can be viewed from different perspectives by people from the same culture who grew up in different environments.
Works Cited
Kim, Soojung, et al. “Development of intangible cultural heritage as a sustainable tourism resource: The intangible cultural heritage practitioners’ perspectives.” Journal of Heritage Tourism, vol. 14, no. 5-6, 2019, pp. 422-435. Web.
Oskoz, Ana, and Ana Gimeno-Sanz. “Engagement and attitude in telecollaboration: Topic and cultural background effects.” Language Learning & Technology, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 136-160, 2019. Web.
Su, Xinwei, et al. “A bibliometric analysis of research on intangible cultural heritage using CiteSpace.” Sage Open,vol. 9, no. 2, 2019, pp. 1-18. Web.
Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Rutgers University Press, 1994.
Wiktor-Mach, Dobrosława. “Cultural heritage and development: UNESCO’s new paradigm in a changing geopolitical context.” Third world quarterly, vol. 40, no.9, 2019, pp. 1593-1612. Web.