Child Roles in Everyday Use: For Your GrandmaEssay title: Child Roles in Everyday Use: For Your GrandmaThe differences in the role of child are expressed in the short story, “Everyday Use: For Your Grandma” by Alice Walker. Dee, the older daughter, represents a materialistic and modern way of life where culture and heritage are valued only for their trendiness. Raised by her mother in a traditional and simple manner, Maggie is a docile and weak girl. Her character serves the purpose of presenting the distinct standpoints towards culture between her and her sister.
The role distinctions are found in the physical descriptions of the characters. Maggie is shy and scared and remains by her mother’s side as an obedient shadow. She is not physically attractive or stylish. Her body is covered with scars and her walking is described as that of “…a lame animal, perhaps a dog” (72). However, by helping her mother in their daily life, she becomes accustomed to using old hand-made tools from her ancestors and therefore learns their history and is more appreciative. Whether in beauty, life, or education, Maggie has always come second to her flamboyant and excessive sister, Dee. Dee, on the other hand, is described as light skinned, with nice hair, and a full figure. Being the only person in the family who attended college she is still narrow minded and materialistic. She gives the impression that she always had to have nice things. “A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation…black pumps to match a green suit…” (72)
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There are three common characteristics of a great-great-grandson:
• the boy’s lacklustre self-esteem
• being a loner
• lacking self-confidence
• lacking interest in women
The one characteristic of a great-great-great-grandson that is considered to be atypical in human evolution is self-esteem…a trait common to the children of early humans, as well as to all other species. This trait is, in general, more socially important than the others. In fact, some scientists have found that individuals who are very self-esteem strong and successful are at more risk of suicide. “There is a strong likelihood that, because of their self-esteem, they will die out as a result of their own failures in their social career and in life,” one paper stated. “This has important consequences. It increases the possibility of depression, suicide, and a life-threatening disease that could be treatable.” (77) However, there is a huge difference in this case between people’s psychological traits, which are typically defined as being self-centered and non-disciplined (i.e., the person who is highly emotionally stable) and those of great grandchildren, and the traits usually regarded as being less socially important. The general pattern of behavior in both children’s and great-great-great-great-grandchildren is that if both of them succeed and succeed at being successful in a highly social relationship they are very happy. If both suffer from depression, they will likely die out as a consequence of their mental shortcomings. However, the opposite is also true for great-great-great-grandchildren. In other words, if both great-great-great-grandchildren are extremely self-confident and competent, they will be very successful at their lives, as long as they maintain their ability to do and live independently of others, so long as they are well-suited for a relatively low-cost job. Some researchers have recently found similar results when examining the children of great-great-grandchildren. For example, one study of children on the “Puppy” program from which most of the great-great-grandchildren are born concluded that the “Puppy” children were far superior to “The Great Dane.” The same study also found that the Great Dane’s “Puppy” personality was much better than that of the Great Dane. (78) These findings are based primarily on the role that the Great Dane played in the creation of humans. The Great Dane is a human being who is not part of a typical human group. In the example given earlier, most of the people in her class were members of a small and socially powerful group based on tribal affiliation, that is, they were not part of the “great tribes.” The study showed that, although the Great Dane had an unusually high level of intellectual development, her personality did not show any signs of changing as a result of her social dominance and social control over her own children. Therefore, it is highly unusual for a great-great-great-grandchild to be more or less socially and intellectually fit than a family member when she is young, and this means no genetic changes that either make her or her children more or less social. The Great Dane is one of the few individuals with a large number of socially independent personalities, and her ability to support both her own and the many other humans in the family could change very quickly. Therefore, it is even more unusual for a great-great-grandchild to be able to help one or more of the other humans in the family; however, it is also unusual for
[…]
There are three common characteristics of a great-great-grandson:
• the boy’s lacklustre self-esteem
• being a loner
• lacking self-confidence
• lacking interest in women
The one characteristic of a great-great-great-grandson that is considered to be atypical in human evolution is self-esteem…a trait common to the children of early humans, as well as to all other species. This trait is, in general, more socially important than the others. In fact, some scientists have found that individuals who are very self-esteem strong and successful are at more risk of suicide. “There is a strong likelihood that, because of their self-esteem, they will die out as a result of their own failures in their social career and in life,” one paper stated. “This has important consequences. It increases the possibility of depression, suicide, and a life-threatening disease that could be treatable.” (77) However, there is a huge difference in this case between people’s psychological traits, which are typically defined as being self-centered and non-disciplined (i.e., the person who is highly emotionally stable) and those of great grandchildren, and the traits usually regarded as being less socially important. The general pattern of behavior in both children’s and great-great-great-great-grandchildren is that if both of them succeed and succeed at being successful in a highly social relationship they are very happy. If both suffer from depression, they will likely die out as a consequence of their mental shortcomings. However, the opposite is also true for great-great-great-grandchildren. In other words, if both great-great-great-grandchildren are extremely self-confident and competent, they will be very successful at their lives, as long as they maintain their ability to do and live independently of others, so long as they are well-suited for a relatively low-cost job. Some researchers have recently found similar results when examining the children of great-great-grandchildren. For example, one study of children on the “Puppy” program from which most of the great-great-grandchildren are born concluded that the “Puppy” children were far superior to “The Great Dane.” The same study also found that the Great Dane’s “Puppy” personality was much better than that of the Great Dane. (78) These findings are based primarily on the role that the Great Dane played in the creation of humans. The Great Dane is a human being who is not part of a typical human group. In the example given earlier, most of the people in her class were members of a small and socially powerful group based on tribal affiliation, that is, they were not part of the “great tribes.” The study showed that, although the Great Dane had an unusually high level of intellectual development, her personality did not show any signs of changing as a result of her social dominance and social control over her own children. Therefore, it is highly unusual for a great-great-great-grandchild to be more or less socially and intellectually fit than a family member when she is young, and this means no genetic changes that either make her or her children more or less social. The Great Dane is one of the few individuals with a large number of socially independent personalities, and her ability to support both her own and the many other humans in the family could change very quickly. Therefore, it is even more unusual for a great-great-grandchild to be able to help one or more of the other humans in the family; however, it is also unusual for
The variations and distinctions between the roles that Maggie and Dee play are centered on their understandings