Read: "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker and "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jumpa Lahiri
For "Everyday Use" consider the following questions and respond to any that speak to you:
1. Mother's attitude toward daughters--especially the one she is waiting for
2. Setting and its importance--care mother takes in describing home and land; mother's character
3. Dee's arrival and the staging of the main conflict between Dee/Wangaroo and her mother and sister: how are their ideas of tradition/heritage different?
For "Interpreter of Maladies" consider these ideas:
1. Second generation Indian family returning to homeland: how would you characterize their attitudes? Why are they here?
2. Note Mr. Kapasi establishes point of view--we see family through his eyes--why is this important? How does he judge them and why?
3. What are Mr. Kapasi's own set of issues? What are the various maladies being surfaced in the story?
4. What brings Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das "together"? What does she want? What does he want?
5. How are the monkeys a symbol, or at least an important agent in the story? Why is piece of paper at end important? What does it represent?
NOTE: RESPONDING TO THIS BLOG IS OPTIONAL THIS WEEK AND A QUIZ IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE.
I enjoyed both stories.
ReplyDeleteEveryday Use
Question#1
It is very clear which daughter the mother prefers in this story. Maggie whom lives with her she describes in such a way that made me shudder to read. It’s cruel to think a parent can speak this way of their child. She says about Maggie, “….she will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (138). In one sentence we get that she thinks of her as hopeless, homely, ashamed envious and obviously is covered in burn scars. She also goes on to say that her walk is like the shuffle of a lame animal. However true these things may be, one would think a mother would find something nice to say.
The other daughter whom she is waiting for, Dee/”Wangero” is obviously the one she admires. She describes Dee in such a way as if holding her up on a pedestal. Dee represents everything the mother is not and I think that’s part of the reason why she is so enamored with her. Dee is feminine and educated and we know the mother is not. She describes her as having nice hair, a fuller figure and a sense of style at sixteen (139). The mother very specifically describes, “Her feet were always neat looking, as if God himself had shaped them with a certain style” (140). This choice of words is no coincidence. The mother really views Dee almost like some type of deity. In her eyes she is perfect. Even in the paragraph where she details feeling trapped and like a dimwit under Dee’s tyrannical readings—the mother loves even this about her. (139).
In the end she sees that Maggie is truly the beautiful one and she finally gives her the love and respect that she deserves.
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ReplyDeleteDee, maggie and mother's tradition/heritage are different because Dee/Wangroo sees heritage by things such as changing her name to sound african, dating hakim-a-barber and the main conflict where she wants to frame and hang the quilt's because she believes that to be heritage needs to be shown and put up for view, while mom and maggie see it as the people carrying out their heritage by putting the quilts to everyday use. Maggie and mom also see that the quilt shows grandmas hard work and sentimental value which is heritage and tradition. Another example of momma heritage/tradition is inheriting a name that has been passed down by generations like Dee.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, not sure where to begin. In "Interpreter of Maladies," I think the title is the best clue. Obviously, these people have problems. I would draw a parallel to grass is always greener. Mrs. Das had missed out on youthful fun. She thinks Mr. Kapasi can cure her, as if he has anything to do with the patients he sees at the doctor's office. "I was hoping you could help me feel better....Suggest some kind of remedy," states Mrs. Das (Lahiri 65). By the end of the story, the truth emerges and she really doesn't want to upset the apple cart. Everybody wants Mrs. Das. She doesn't have it so bad after all. Mr. Kapasi is having the same thoughts about his life. He also has secrets concerning his relationship with his wife, but keeps it to himself. He has a decent life too. The monkeys are a warning, that lies hurt others--the innocent. Everybody wants what someone else has. Everybody has thoughts, but that doesn't mean you should act on them. The paper blew away, just like Mr. Kapasi's fantasies about Mrs. Das. THE END.
ReplyDelete"Obviously, these people have problems" made me chuckle. I also love your explanation of the monkeys.
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ReplyDeletethe mother's attitude towards her children( Maggie and Dee)
ReplyDeleteare decribed differently from each other, for example the mother describes Dee with such pleasure to the eye than Maggie(comparing her to a dog who is ran over by a careless person, walking with her chin upon her chest and eyes on the ground). although she loves them both she compares Maggies person as someone who wants nothing more than what is given to her.She describes Dee as this beautiful girl who's person was more exciting and fascinating. ' Dee is lighter than Maggie with nicer hair ans full figures,it is a if she see herself in both of the girls.
the home is important to her character because its as if it is giving us an idea of where she is from and wants to go, meaning she was once Maggie the lone whom stayed home working in the yard, cleaning and hunting down animals, seeming trapped but yet wanting to be Dee, pretty, being able to experience the outside world going to school, meeting new people, but in the end the mother realizes that she is where she needs to be. she realizes that she is Maggie and is where she belongs once Dee shows her that the world beyond what she knows has changed her as a person.
Dee's arrival was the wake up call for the mother to notice that what she thought was great wasn't at all, Dee came home in this outfit that just wasn't fit for the trip, she took pictures as if the mother and sister were exhibits in a museum. She was just someone they didn't recognize. the conflict between the 3 was that the mother was torn between being a Maggie and wanting to be a Dee. but once she saw the change in Dee, from the name, the hair the clothing and a new found religion she realizes that that doesn't want to be part of it because it was as if Dee was losing herself as she looked for herself. the mother realize that she has only had a relationship with Dee of satisfaction and she could relate more to Maggie, because Maggie is a reflection of herself...