This is the instructions: In this essay, you are offering an opinion (an argument) about a literary work of fiction from our syllabus that you are backing up with evidence (facts from the story). T

 This is the instructions: 

In this essay, you are offering an opinion (an argument) about a literary work of fiction from our syllabus that you are backing up with evidence (facts from the story). The finished product will be approximately 1,000 words in length, typed with standard font size and margins, double spaced. The essay will be evaluated on your use of a good thesis sentence, the support of the thesis through textual evidence, and your ability to offer thoughtful analysis rather than plot summary. 

As always, your paper should be written in standard academic English, be formal in tone, and be substantially free of grammatical and mechanical errors.

If you are using sources, you must properly document the sources both within the paper as parenthetical citations as well as provide the necessary information about the sources on an accurately formatted works cited page. Use MLA format.

 Avoid using “I, me, my, mine” or “we, our, us, let’s,” as these are meant to be formal, academic essays. Instead, use “one, they, them, the critic, the reader,” and so on.

This is the story you will be using to do the assignment:

http://intensiveenglish1.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/0/4/13041485/everyday_use_full-text.pdf

 AnEssayon“EverydayUse” -HegelHoel Thisisanexcerptfromalongeressay:http://home.online.no/~helhoel/walker.htm NamesareextremelyimportantinAfricanandAfricanAmericancultureasameansof indicatingaperson’sspirit(13). TheseimportantnamesDeebaseshernew-foundidentityonresembleKikuyunames, buttheyareallmisspelt.WangeroisnotaKikuyuname,butWanjiruis.Itisoneofthe otheroriginalnineclannamesoftheKikuyus.(Cf.Kenyatta'sFacingMountKenya, Secker&WarburgLondon1961,p.8)Thelastofthethreenamesisalsodistorted.The correctKikuyunameisKamenju.ThemiddlenameisnotaKikuyunameatall.Oneof myKikuyuinformantstoldmeheknewaladyfromMalawiwhowascalledLe(e)wanika. Later(inJanuary2000)I foundoutthattherewasakingLewanikainBarotselandin Zambiafrom1842- 1916.AliceWalkermayhavewanted Dee"whoknewwhatstyle was"(p.50 inInLoveandTrouble) toassumearoyaltouchasanAfricanprincess.The namesarethereforeamixtureofnamesfrommorethanoneethnicgroupandmaybe thatisthepoint.DeehasnamesrepresentingthewholeEastAfricanregion.Ormore likely,sheisconfusedandhasonlysuperficialknowledgeofAfricaandallitstandsfor. Thisideaisstrengthened whenyoulookattheotherAfricanphraseDeeWangerouses intheshortstory.Shegreetshermother:«Wa-su-zo-Tean-o».ThisisaLugandaphrase showinghowtheBugandapeopleofUgandasay«GoodMorning».Itcanbetranslated assomethinglike"Ihopeyouhavesleptwell".Onecanwonderwhysheusesthis greetingwhenshemustknowthatthephrasewillmakenosenseforhermother. WhatthisaddsuptoisapanEastAfricanmixture ofnamesandphrasesusedbyDeein thestory.Addtothisherlong,flowingdress,whichisprobablyaWestAfricanfeature. TheonlyAfricansIhaveseenintraditionalflowingdressesinEastAfricaaretheMuslim womenonthecoasthidinginsidetheir blackbui-buis.Otherwisecolorfultraditional dressesaremadeoftwopiecessuchasthekangasinTanzaniaorhaveadistinctwaist linewithasash,suchasthebusutisinUganda.OfcourseIhaveseenandevenbought andusedlong,flowinggownsmadefortourists,buttheyhavenothingtodowith traditions,onlywithfashion. Thenyoumayask:DoesDeeknoworcare?orDoesAliceWalkerknoworcare?Ibelieve AliceWalkerdoesknow,andthatshehasmadeDeeembracethisconfusionof misunderstoodculturalbitsandpiecesfromalloverAfricaonpurposeeithertoletDee representanythingAfricanortoportrayherasaveryshallowandsuperficialyoung womanwhodoesnotbothertocheckhersources.Deefollowsthefashion,andright nowitis«in» tocelebratethedistantAfricanroots.Shehasdiscardedhergivenname, Deebecauseasshesays:"Icouldn'tbearitanylonger,beingnamedafterthepeople whooppressme."(p.53inInLoveandTrouble).Shefailstounderstandthatthename, Dee,also goesbackseveralgenerationsontheAmericancontinentandthereforeis morepartofherheritagethananadoptedAfricannamewhichdoesnotevenmake sense. ChristiangoesontosaythisaboutWalkerandAfricannames: Duringthe1960sWalkercriticizedthetendencyamongsomeAfricanAmericanstogive upthenamestheirparentsgavethem- nameswhichembodiedthehistoryoftheir recentpast- forAfricannamesthatdidnotrelatetoasinglepersontheyknew.Hence the grandmother(sic!)in«EverydayUse»isamazedthatDeewouldgiveupher name forthenameWangero.Deewasthenameofhergreat-grandmother,awomanwhohad keptherfamilytogetheragainstallodds.Wangeromighthavesoundedauthentically African butithadnorelationshiptoapersonsheknew,nortothepersonalhistorythat sustainedher(14). Dee’scompanioninthestory,HakimaBarberisaBlackMuslimwhogreetsthemother andsisterwiththewellknownArabgreetingAsalamalakim(as-salamalaykum)which means«peacebewithyou».Themotherinthestory,MrsJohnson,atfirstthinksthisis hisname,thatheisintroducinghimself,andsomeconfusionarisestillhetellsherthat shecancallhimHakimaBarber.Thisisacorruptionof thenameHakimalBabasince BarberisnotanArabname,butinMrsJohnson'smouthitwouldprobablyhavebeen pronouncedthesameway.ThisismostlikelyAliceWalker’swayofmockingpeoplewho shredtheirrecentrootstotakeonforeignnameswithout questions.Thesenames clearlymakenosensetoordinarysensiblepeople. WalkermayknowthatHakimmeans(religious)rulerorleaderandshethereforeadds totheironywhenMrsJohnson,whoisapracticalwoman,showsthatshehasrespect forherMuslimneighborswhenshesays:«Youmustbelongtothosebeef-cattlepeoples downtheroad.Theysaid«Asalamalakim»whentheymetyou,too».Butherdaughter’s citydwellingcompanionanswers:«Iacceptsomeoftheirdoctrines,butfarmingand raisingcattle isnotmystyle».Heacceptswhatissuitableforhimandleavestherest. Somespiritualleadertoguideyou,youcouldsay!Hedoesnoteatporkthough, somethingDeedelightsin,butshedoesnothaveaMuslimnameeither. AliceWalkersaidinaninterviewwithJohnO’Brienin1973,herequotedfromBarbara Christian’sbook: I amintriguedbythereligionoftheBlackMuslims....«EverydayUse»astorythatshows respectforthe«militancy»andprogressiveagriculturalprogramsoftheMuslims,butat thesametimeshowsskepticismaboutayoungmanwhoclaimsattachmenttothe Muslimsbecauseheadmirestherhetoric.Itallowshimtoacknowledgehiscontempt forwhites,whichisallhebelievesthegroupisabout(75-76). Allinallthiscoupleisputinanunflatteringlightandyoucanofcoursesaythatitisnot necessarytoknowabouttheconfusionoftheirnamestounderstandthat.Istillargue thatthisknowledgeaddsdepthstotheunderstandingofthecharactersinthestory.