Creating A Class

2 Pages 439 Words

Creating a Class


The short stories “ Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “ The Prodigal Son” have many similarities that put them in the same class. There are three similarities that stick out the most though in my mind. The main similarity is that they both deal with jealousy. Another similarity is that they are focused on family relationships, and finally they both involve only one parent two take care of more than one child.

Jealousy is a key factor in both of these short stories. In the short story “Everyday Use” the younger daughter is jealous of her older sibling because of a few reasons; the older daughter is prettier, smarter, and has lived her life more fully. However, I feel that you can also see the older daughter as being jealous of how much closer the younger daughter is with the mother and how she is more aware of the family and the families past. In “The Prodigal Son” the older son is jealous of his younger brother because he feels that the younger brother should not have received half of the father’s assets and that the father should not have taken him back and showered him with gifts when he returns.

The family and their relationships with each other also play big parts in both these stories. The relationship between the mother and the daughters in “everyday use” is a loving one just as in “the prodigal son” however in both cases siblings became jealous and this affects the relationship with the adult. The siblings in both stories feel neglected and unloved.

Another issue in these stories is that there is only one adult in the house to look over the children. I feel that because there was only one parent around the burden on each parent was too much. I think that the parents felt too much pressure and did not have enough support to take care of the family they just did what they could.

A similarity that wasn’t as important in these stories was that the children are alwa...