Discuss point of view in Walkers Everyday Use . Is the narrator Essay

Discuss point of view in Walkers Everyday Use . Is the narrator reliable How does the point of view affect our assessment of the other characters in the - Essay Example The Mother appreciated her modest yard as the following quote shows, â€Å"anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house† (Walker, 1998). Yet the Mother could also face the tragedy in her life, like when her daughter was burned. This is proven by the quote, â€Å"Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggies arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes (Walker, 1998). She did not sugar coat the events in her life by making them appear better or more tragic than they were. This view of her life makes the Mother’s narrative believable. The Mother’s choice of words when describing herself and her daughters also make the narrative plausible. When describing herself, she is far from flattering by saying, â€Å"In real life I am a large, big.boned woman with rough, man.working hands† (Walker, 1998). Her daughter Maggie, who had been burned in the fire, was described as â€Å"a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him† (Walker, 1998). The Mother’s other daughter, Dee, receives more of her venom. She is illustrated as pretentious, always wanting to be better than her Mother and Maggie. These descriptions are blunt, so make the story more credible. Using the descriptions of her daughters, the Mother makes the reader feel sorry for Maggie and contemptuous of Dee. When relating Maggie’s acceptance of her fate, by marrying a local boy because of her self esteem being damaged by her burns, the reader admires and pities Maggie. On the other hand, when Dee comes home with a new African name, trying to relate to her African roots, her Mother is disgusted. Dee’s real roots were there at their home with the Mother and Maggie, but her exaggerated ways make the