Walker, Mansfield, Joyce Text

Walker - Everyday Use

1. Does the mother's refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicate a permanent or temporary change of character? Why has she never done anything like it before? Why does she do it now? What details in the story prepare for and foreshadow the refusal?

I think that the mother’s refusal to let Dee have the quilts is rather a permanent shift in character. As one of the more climatic elements within the story, this is one of the first time the mom stands up against Dee. She is standing up for her own views and perception of family heritance and legacy. Dee, pictured as the “perfect sister”, as she’s educated and confident, when compared to her sister Maggie, “the ugly duckling”, has probably never had this moment before, which is what makes this moment so climatic and significant. The mom may have felt inferior to Dee, which is why she probably let Dee kind of roll over her in the past.

The mom recognizes the genuine connection Maggie has with the quilts and their shared heritage - compared with Dee’s surface level understanding. Understanding that the quilts hold more meaning than mere decorative artifacts is probably one of the core reasons. By giving the quilts to Maggie, the mom is actually honoring the tradition/legacy.

Some details that could foreshadow this is the name change that Dee goes through. The name change could symbolize her being disconnected from the true meaning of what the quilts meant.

1. Locate examples of direct and indirect characterization. Why does the author use both methods in this story?

Direct characterization: "a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.”

Indirect characterization: “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” It can be inferred that Maggie has mentally been scarred from this, which gives her a timid/shy personality.

1. Which characters are fully developed, and which are "flat"? Is there a "developing" character here? 9) Where is the epiphany in the story? What makes this moment in the story effective?

I would say that Dee and the mom could be fully developed characters. Both of these characters have more to them than 2 traits. They both already know what they want, and their overall personality doesn’t gain/improve significantly after this plot. While you could argue that the mom’s personality is also developing (after rejecting Dee’s request), I think that her mindset regarding Dee has still been the same, she was never just able to voice it out/stand up to Dee about it. Her motives were probably the same.

Maggie may be considered a developing character, as when the mom stands up for her, she may gain confidence and understand the meaning of the heritage associated with the quilts.

Flat characters would be the boyfriend. All he does is just show that Dee has changed, doesn’t add to much to the plot and his personality is still relatively vague.

The epiphany is the moment of realization when the mom realizes that she should stand up for Maggie and have the quilts go to her rather than Dee. This is effective as this is the action that generates the overall theme of the story - it prompts us as the audience to question the true meaning of heritage.

Araby - James Joyce

1. How is the boy characterized? Roughly how old is he and how would you describe his temperament and personality?

The boy is characterized as a youthful boy - he views the world sort of in an immature lens, that hopefully his dreams can become reality. I would say that he seems to be around our age or a bit younger. His personality is heavily affected by the fact that he is so young - he dreams about the ideal romantic relationship, which sort of embodies the innocence of youth. At some point, the girl is basically the center of his universe - which kind of shows his immaturity too I guess.

1. Analyze the role of Mangan's sister. Why is she not given a name? How does her physical description relate to the boy's state of mind?

Mangan’s sister is who the boy is obsessed with and simping over, basically “his dreams.” I think by not having a specific name tied with the character, it allows us as readers to associate that character with one that we’ve had in our own lives - it provides a very general view to the audience. Her physical description is kind of vague, nothing specific, except for that she was basically the boy’s dream/ideal figure.

1. Describe the role of the boy's uncle. Can he be called the antagonist? When the uncle returns home, he is talking to himself and moving awkwardly. What are these "signs" the boy says he is able to interpret?

The boy’s uncle kind of plays the role of like a reality check to the boy, especially with him being late which wouldn’t allow the boy to continue forward with his plans. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to call him the antagonist, however his actions do prevent the protagonist from accomplishing his goals.

The uncle seems to be drunk, which seems to be a common occurrence.

1. Analyze the boy's feelings as described in the last paragraph. Are his feelings justified? How will he be changed as a result of his experience at the bazaar?

He feels down, as his dreams are sort of crushed by his realization. All of the thoughts he had previously about the girl, his plans, all failed, and he is hit with a dose of reality.

I think his feelings are unrealistic - there was no way the bazaar would have allowed him to accomplish his goals. However, I think from the perspective of the boy, who doesn’t have much life experience, his feelings would make sense his feelings seemed to be very real and genuine.

Hopefully from this experience, the boy will mature and develop more realistic and attainable goals, rather than idolizing someone. While reality is sometimes difficult to accept, we all learn to accept it anyways.