Ribbons By Laurence Yep: A Literary Analysis

Rick Bragg’s “French Quarter’s Black Tapping Feet” takes place in New Orleans in the year 1998. The story talks about young children and their tap dancing feet. Many of the children come from very little and they have learned how to make a living by tap dancing to support their families. People think that it is a way to exploit children and have them work at such a young age for so little, but others think that it is a way that the children enjoy themselves and it is another way to keep the French Quarter tradition alive. Rick Bragg wanted to shed light on the children and stories about having to do such a grown-up thing like supporting their families at a very young age. The author uses personal stories from the children, including how they feel about tap dancing and the backgrounds in which the children were brought up, to educate people on the subculture and tradition, and he brings in professors from two different schools to get professional views of the children tap dancing to support their families.

Reflection prompt: Proud Shoes is the chronicle of Pauli Murray’s maternal grandparents, Robert and Cornelia Fitzgerald, and their experiences living in the segregation and Jim Crow-era South, particularly North Carolina. How does the book’s emphasis on interpersonal relationships and individual struggle influence how we understand the broader social and political context? What do we learn about gender identity and gender difference through the lives of Robert and Cornelia?

Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.

Together with the beliefs comes heritage which is defined as traditions passed on for years, family items and etc. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, describes about a poor family who have a different perspective about the word “heritage”. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts”. This quote connects to the title of the story because Dee thinks that Maggie and her mother will use the quilt every day. Dee has a whole different perspective of the quilts. She views the quilts as a small reminder of her heritage, that is dying. For her mother and her sister, the quilts symbolizes a bond to their cultural identity and their connection to the quilts. Because Dee has failed to understand the true meaning to their “ heritage” and she is convinced that Maggie has proven that she understands the value of the quotes symbolize in the true meaning of a person’s heritage.

Throughout the novel, the shy and secluded Biddy, was unable to function in public situations without her coat which is symbolically used as her shield, until she realized that she shouldn't let her rape define the way she leads her life, and, with her newfound courageousness, is able to put her coat away forever. “I watched her go in the store. I walked fast and hard back to our home. I hung up my coat. I looked at it for a long time. I felt some ashamed. If Quincy had the gumption to go to work, why was I so scaredy that I had to wear my coat? I closed the closet door. I wasn’t gonna wear it no more.” (Giles 170). Biddy is the type of girl

Alice Walker, a famous author, stated in her short story, Everyday Use, “Dee (Wangero) looked at me with hatred. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts.” Each person’s identity is shaped from a culture that is built with the offering of everything in his or her surrounding environment. Culture is one of the most important factors, though there are many other contributing factors, that can influence someone’s perspective on the world because all of their opinions, decisions, and morals are all based off of their surrounding environment. In the poem and story, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” and Everyday Use, they both demonstrate how one’s cultural identity is influenced by his or her surroundings, changing the

There can be great comfort in understanding one’s heritage especially when it involves the deep love and devotion of a strong mother. The poem combines family and love with the quilt to show the memories that she has shared threw the generations that have had the quilt. In the poem “my mother pieced quilts” by Teresa Paloma Acosta and the short story “ Everyday use” by Alice Walker, both author’s use imagery and figurative language to establish a quilt as a symbol for family, love and memories to illustrate their themes.

“Everyday Use” is a short story by Alice Walker, which emphasizes the importance of understanding and cherishing your heritage and the inheritance that may come along with it. Knowing who is truly entitled to the inheritance, and what their heritage meant was the central conflict in the story, when the two main characters Dee and Maggie, both wanted the two hand stitched quilts. Rather than looking at the physical aspect of the quilts the author wants the reader to know that the meaning is much deeper. The quilts are used to depict the struggle, triumphs, oppression, joy, pain, and love of each hand that helped to create the prized works of art. The quilts needed to be put to everyday use, rather than a mere decoration on the wall. Through the quilts Walker was able to show what each character valued: Dee valued the materials things, Maggie, valued things she could attach herself to, and Mama valued the acceptance of her daughter Dee.

Tradition is an important part of everyone's life. Some people follow traditions so deeply rooted in their everyday life that they don't even recognize them as such. Why do you cook rice a certain way? Well, that's the way Grandma always did it. Others hold tradition above anything else. They feel that it is very important to follow these established customs and cannot even imagine rebelling against them although they may be hurtful in some ways. They may not even remember the reason for these customs in the first place. In the short stories "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, and "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, the authors both express their attitudes towards tradition.

Folkways are customs or conventions of everyday life. There are no right or wrong associated with folkways, it’s just the way people do things. In this assignment, I had to break a folkway and support a folkway. The goals of this essay is to describe when I broke a folkway by going barefoot in public and when I supported a folkway by giving people a proper handshake in public. I will be reflecting on my experience.

Pauline Breedlove's personal history is shown to have played out in extreme measures in the life of her daughter. From the early part of her life she has worn a shroud of shame. The book says that it is due primarily to her injured foot that she felt a sense of separateness and unworthiness and

Leslie Marmon Silko, the author of Ceremony, is a significant writer who left a great impact on readers through her literature. The purpose of her literature is not to leave people with tears and goose bumps but rather to show her own understanding of the world she lives in. She claims, “This place I am from is everything I am as a writer and a human being” (Gish). It is very hard to argue against her claims because her literature, especially Ceremony, is extremely powerful and includes many of her Native American traditions. Silko’s understanding of herself and of where she came from can be an inspiration not only to the people who are closest to her but also to readers such as myself who come from different backgrounds

“Lori and Pauline are excused from vacuuming on account of their backs… Helen has a bum foot, which Ted, in explaining her absence one day, blames on the cheap, ill-fitting shoes that, he implies, she perversely chooses to wear”(89).

(Jones) Also, as her mother turns away and leaves her in the care of the teacher, the first thing she states is that she can see where her mother has “darned one of her socks the night before.” (Jones) Instead of providing any commentary on her ascension to independency from her mother, the first thing she notes is the condition of her mother’s sock, showing her embarrassment toward her.

She selfishly praised quilts as "priceless" (91) whereas she thought the same piece was old fashioned and out of style when offered to her for college. By carrying the quilts she claims to carry the heritage, however, she shuns the lifestyle of her family, which is of course a part of her heritage.