Character Clues

Character Analysis

Clothing

Think clothes in "Everyday Use" are just there for decoration? Think again. Clothing gives us some serious clues about the personalities of the characters. Take, for instance, the descriptions of Dee's threads. The narrator remarks,

A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes. There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out. (20)

Besides resembling African clothing and helping to signify her new identity, Dee's bold dress screams notice me… kind of like, well, Dee herself.

In total contrast, check out this depiction of Maggie as she comes out to show the narrator her dress:

"How do I look, Mama?" Maggie says, showing just enough of her thin body enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she's there, almost hidden by the door. (7)

Swallowed up, or enveloped by her clothes, Maggie herself is barely noticeable which reinforces her super withdrawn demeanor.

Physical Appearances

Sure we shouldn't judge people based just on their appearances like we learned in kindergarten… but in "Everyday Use," it's actually kind of a good idea. That's because appearances in this story do tell us a lot about the characters. For example, the narrator tells us,

In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. (5)

We're probably not likely to find our narrator pampering herself at a spa. She's just not the type of person who puts much focus on herself. The phrase rough, man-working hands also suggests that she defies traditional gender roles in her very physical being. Sure enough, this is confirmed when we hear about her adventures slaughtering pigs and knocking out bull calves.

And one glimpse of Maggie's walk, er, shuffle, tells us a whole lot about what a profound impact the fire had not just on her body, but on her spirit:

[Maggie] has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house of to the ground. (9)

Poor Maggie seems sadder than Eeyore.

Actions

Actions: speaking louder than words since the beginning of time. And the actions in "Everyday Use" are no exception. The narrator doesn't have to say, yo, I'm tough because her actions make it crystal clear:

One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall. (5)

Similarly, we don't need anyone to tell us how little respect Dee has for other people's stuff when the narrator says:

After dinner Dee (Wangero) went to the trunk at the foot of my bed and started rifling through it. (55)

Actions are crucial in showing the narrator's character change, too. We can't help but watch in awe as the narrator puts Miss Smarty Pants Dee in her place:

I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap. (1518)

All of those great action words (or verbs, for the grammar geeks among us) like hugging, dragging, snatching, and dumping powerfully express just how different the narrator has become by the end of the story.