Expanding the Horizons of Beauty Through Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Ess

Expanding the Horizons of Beauty Through Fiction, Poetry, and Drama In the short story Everyday Use, Alice Walker employs symbolism to enhance the message of the story and the value of the genre. As she narrates the relationships between Mama and her daughters Dee and Maggie, Walker uses the quilts as the main symbol to support the meaning of heritage and bond between generations of African American women. It is thanks to this symbolic meaning that we are able to reflect on the conflict of the story as Walker presents the contrasting ideas of Dee and Maggie about appreciating family traditions. Maggie knows how to keep her heritage alive as she learned to quilt herself, whereas Dee would hang the quilts as decoration and thus holds a rather superficial view of honoring one’s tradition. Symbolism in fiction, therefore, opens a door to understand the characters in a deeper dimension, identify the conflict in a better way, and help the author develop the plot in an interesting ma nner In addition, symbolism works as an aesthetic glass through which the reader can perceive the beauty and universal appeal of the story. In every culture, heirlooms are a bonding element among family members. Thus, the symbolic meaning of the quilts allows the reader to connect personally with the story, help him reflect on his own family and, possibly, appreciate how past generations have contributed in his or her life. Furthermore, symbolism becomes even more relevant to the African American community. The fire in the Johnsons’ house is an important event that symbolizes the flame of oppression in society before blacks were granted civil rights. Maggie’s scars, therefore, become a symbol of the marks that slavery and abuse left in the hearts of African A... ...read their works, we are encouraged to explore life in a profound way and understand the struggles, fears, and hopes that are part of the human experience. And so, as they skillfully use each key element in their works, these African American writers remind us that the power of creativity and beauty goes beyond the color of one’s skin, that literature is a universal art. Works Cited Walker, Alice. â€Å"Everyday Use.† English 120. (Professor Theresa Sweeney). Fontbonne University. 2012. Handout. Hayden, Robert. "Those Winter Sundays." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 551. Print. Wilson, August. "Fences." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 1517-1566. Print.