The Usability of Symbolism in Everyday Use by Alice Walker...

Symbolism is a technique that author’s uses to bring out the main importance of an object, but more emphasized details are being extracted in the usage of it. Alice Walker uses quilts, for example, to symbolize a â€Å"bond between women† (Spark Notes) a relationship between women, that would get passed down from generation to generation. In this story, symbolism plays a big role that makes this more attracted to the reader’s eyes. The characters such as the following: Mama Johnson, Dee, and Maggie all symbolize a manifold of different things that happened and/or took place back in the 1950s and 1960s. The characters and the quilt are combined together even if you as a reader can’t see that. The patches intertwined with the characters and it†¦show more content†¦She brought false hopes of heritage and misinterprets the whole process of being African American. Authors tend to always use symbolism and try to mix it in the writing, so you can go on a scavenger hunt and find them yourself. That scavenger hunt was made by Alice Walker and she threw it on the characters in many different ways that are blinded by people. One of the hidden symbols is found in Mama Johnson, a very caring, intelligent, courageous, and independent woman. She in general is true and complete representation of African-American culture/heritage; she is the exact image for every person out there who’s been through possibly every horrible entity and is still smiling. â€Å"Mrs. Johnson wears clothing that is practical for the kind of life she lives. Her overalls and flannel nightgowns depict her no-nonsense, harsh life that she leads on a daily basis.† (Symbolism in Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use†). Mama dressed as to symbolize a hard working woman with a tough/difficult background, â€Å"her man-working hands clearly meant to indicate a rough li fe, with great exposure to work,† [Velasquez 2] in this piece of evidence it explains how difficult it was just by feeling and having a view of her hands. Her appearance says so much about her past and what she had been encountering, but she doesn’t discourage herself in trying to be someone she isn’t. She clearly lets everyone know who the real her and she has no piece of