Characterization

Characters are the people who inhabit a story. They must be motivated, consistent, and plausible to be classified as true characters. In “Everyday Use” and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” the authors explore of characterization. Both of the short stories have stock characters such as Grandma Dee from “Everyday Use and John from “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” but the characters that spark the most interest are the round characters such as Dee and Mrs. Weatherall.

In “Everyday Use” Grandma Dee can be classified as a stock character because she is never really introduced but her presence is felt through out the story because of the quilts that Mrs. Johnson promises Maggie as a gift when she is married. Her life as a strong, Black, southern woman during a time where our nation was still culturally divided and race defined all people symbolizes the strength and heritage she passed on to her family.

Another example of a stock character is John from Katherine Potter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” John is Granny’s Husband that she married after George left her at the altar. He exhibits a man that is loving and respectful. He graciously raised a child that is not biologically his because loves Granny. Unfortunately, for him Granny feeling are not the same because she is still dwelling on George leaving her at the altar and the loss of her first child Hapsy.

Both literary works have round characters as well. Alice Walker crafts Dee Johnson in “Everyday Use” in a very clever matter. From the first paragraph Walker creates an image of Dee as a shallow and materialist young woman who eventually becomes more complex as the story progresses. Dee is arrogant and selfish. She is portrayed as a woman who thinks she is better than everyone else because of her lighter skin, better grade of hair, and smaller waist. Even after going to college, she still is unappreciative of all the sacrifices her mother is making for her. Dee is mislead by thinking her beauty is most important. Dee's physical beauty can be defined as one of her biggest assets. The fact that Maggie sees Dee "with a mixture of envy and awe" (160) lets the reader know that Dee has the more favorable appearance. The simplistic way in which Walker states that “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure,” (161) gives the reader the idea that Dee's beauty has made it easier for her to be accepted outside her family in society.“…her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that ‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her,” (160). One is left with the impression that Dee's appearance is above average. Walker plays on Dee's physical beauty to contrast the homeliness of Maggie and her mother. Walker goes so far as to describe