In seven pages the ways in which Walker employs symbolism in her short story are examined along with a discussion of benches, quilts, a butter churn, and how they relate to Dee's cultural crisis. There are six sources cited in the bibliography.
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Alice Walkers most riveting short stories. It is the story of three women, the self-described "big boned woman with rough, man working hands" (Walker 408) mother, and her daughters
Maggie and Dee. Dee is the older of the daughter. She serves as the focal point of Walkers story. She is scornful of her mothers way of
life and has high aspirations for her own. Dees aspirations, however, often take radical turns. Walker often elicits symbolism to illustrate the contrast between the familys traditions and
Dees sometimes poorly formulated aspirations. From the perspective of her younger sister, Dee lives a glamorous life. She has, after all, gone
to college and she, unlike Maggie, suffers no physical scars from past misdeeds. Maggie views herself as mentally inferior to Dee or as Walker puts it "she knows she
is not bright" (Walker 408). She walks with a sideways shuffle along her sister whose feet shy at touching the very earth from which she was spawned.
While Maggie may be saddled with certain physical infirmities, Dees burden in reality is much more limiting. Dee struggles mentally to understand the world
in which she has never truly fit. These mental struggles take a number of manifestations, not the least of which is her isolation from almost every one around her.
This isolation is not externally imposed, however, but inwardly imposed. Dee views herself as superior to both her mother and her sister and, indeed, practically everyone around her.
In thinking about Dee, however, Maggie concludes that: "no is a word the world