Alice Walker's Everyday Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Alice Walker's Everyday Use - Essay Example Maggie is comfortable with who she is as a person and is proud of her family’s heritage. While she may be self-conscious of the burns and scars left by the fire, and she may be edgy about Dee’s opinion of her appearance, she still accepts herself as she is, knowing that it cannot be changed. She still manages to wear her family name with pride despite the bad hand she has been dealt. Dee, on the other hand, believes that she is above her own heritage, doing what she must to keep herself separated from the life that her younger sister leads. This can be seen when Dee changes her name to Wangero, because she â€Å"couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after that people who oppress† her. Dee changes what she can about herself because she is not pleased with the person she was raised to be. Similarly, Maggie wants to keep one of the family quilts because it has meaning to her. Dee, however, does not think that Maggie has the kind of love to her heritage tha t she has and demands the quilt for herself. Dee’s very personality makes it known that she has little love for her heritage and has an ulterior motive for wanting the quilt -- if she has it, Maggie cannot. Instead of arguing, Maggie agrees to give up the quilt that was rightfully hers, stating that she could take another quilt.

Dickens and His Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dickens and His Society - Essay Example The realist tradition operated under the belief that the novel held a responsibility to examine the basic nature of society as it was as a means of exposing its strengths and weaknesses and to begin pointing out methods of reform (1996). Dickens does this in every book he wrote, often focusing on similar themes such as in his novels Great Expectations and David Copperfield. In both stories, Dickens illustrates human nature as he chronicles the development of a young boy into a gentleman. In each novel, the boy must survive a number of relationships with others, most of which seem designed expressly to ensure his failure, eventually finding his own way to success. Through his various plot developments and narrative elements, Dickens continues to invite his reader to make moral judgments about his characters even as this same audience is permitted sympathetic involvement in the characters’ experiences. Both stories begin with the main character at a very young age, although told from a much older perspective. Pip, in Great Expectations, is found living under the care and supervision of his bitter older sister and her down-to-earth husband Joe. The defining moment of his life takes place here as the small boy, seeking comfort from the graves of his dead parents and siblings, meets with an escaped convict and is both terrified enough and humane enough to assist the man with his escape. Shortly after this terrifying experience, Pip is employed by Miss Havisham to be playmate to her adopted daughter Estella and chooses to spend his money trying to get an education. He is suddenly lifted into the upper class through the intervention of a nameless benefactor and his studies take on a classic curriculum rather than a practical one. As he gains the knowledge suited for a gentleman, Pip’s attitude toward his sister and brother-in-law change drastically only to suffer a further reversal once he finally learns the nature of his fortune. David Copperfield also opens with a story from childhood, this time fondly recalling a pretty young mother and the family servant Peggoty (his father had died six months before he was born). However, this happiness comes to an end when his mother marries Mr. Murdstone who beats him and sends him away to a very strict boarding school. David stays at the school until his mother dies and he is returned home to go to work in one of his step-father's factories and boards with the Micawber family who are already struggling with debt. When the Micawbers leave London to escape further threat of debtor's prison, David leaves on foot to finally arrives at his great-Aunt Betsey’s house in Dover. She renames him Trotwood, Trot for short, and sends him to school at Canterbury, where he stays with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes but is plagued by the unpleasant Uriah Heep, who works to destroy everyone around him. Although fond of Agnes, he marries Dora and lives unhappily until Dora's death. David travels abroad to clear his head, finally realizing he's in love with Agnes to whom he returns and they have three children together. There are many shared social themes addressed within these two novels. Both boys are the victims of abusive homes and sometimes dire financial circumstances. One gets the sense that Pip's sister would have been nicer to him had she not had to struggle so hard to make sure the family had enough food to eat. It is unlikely Mr. Murdstone would have been nicer to his step-son had more money flowed into the house, but it seems clear David's mother would not have married him had she not been worried about the family's welfare enough to convince herself this was the best option. Money is also closely