In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker uses direct and indirect characterization to develop the theme of honoring one's heritage by participating in family traditions. Throughout the story, Walker characterizes Mama and Dee as contrasting characters to develop tension. For example, Dee is directly characterized as always wanting "nice things, while Mama is indirectly characterized as settling for the simple things in life (i.e. a small house). Further, through direct characterization the reader learns that Dee has gone away to college and that Mama never made it past grade school. Indirect characterization leads the reader to infer that Dee believes in cultural preservation: she arrives at the home with a new name that relates to her African heritage, and she wants to take family artifacts to put on display in her home. Mama, on the other hand, is characterized as one who believes in cultural participation: there is butter in the churn when Dee arrives, and Mama--like her own mother--has learned the art of quilting. So direct and indirect characterization in the story sets up the contrast between Mama and Dee, which speaks to Walker's theme regarding honoring one's heritage.
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