How thought-provoking! You have done an excellent job of helping the listener to attain a greater understanding of Alice Walker's short story. I enjoyed the imagery and delighted in how you used the border of my quilt throughout the video. Would love to be a student in your class. Thank you. Robin Joyce Miller.
I don't think she's a flat character either. But I do think almost every word Walker devotes to her is meant to demonstrate her delusion and condescension.
@@BrianArtese AHA!! I was waiting until I finished the video to comment again. And my suspicions were true. The omission of some details that can redeem her a little. Wangero is self-centered and condescending for sure. Moreover, she has always got away with everything; she's used to that and enjoys it. HOWEVER. After mama gave the quilts to Maggie, Wangero just turned and went to Hakim-a barber. Wangero wanted these quilts. Badly. She could have fought for them. Jank them from Maggie and get in the car. Instead, she kissed her sister and told her to better herself. She told her that is was a new day for them, almost as she was congratulating them for finally standing up to her. I want to believe that, as an author, Walker has very clear that her characters are people. And people are not intrinsically good or bad, black and white (speaking only of colors, not race). People have emotions that taint and influence any of OUR decisions. And the same thing for Wangero. She may look down at her family, but she loves them. IN HER OWN WAY. No matter where they choose to live she would manage to visit; if she despises them so much why would she manage to visit? Of course she wouldn't bring friends; and yet she did. And she visited with a very important person for her. Maybe, as you say just for anthropological studies purposes only, but what Dee had meant was not letting anybody who knew her see how her family lives. Maybe it's just me trying to redeem Wangero, but it's just that I see her as a real person.
@@BrianArtese BTW, you sound white, are you? Not that it matters, I just want to thank for acknowledging how white cultures would want to "preserve" ethnic artifacts without having any actual connection to them. And also, I wanted to thank you for the visual aids. Not being from this country, they totally helped me have a real idea of how the house would actually look like, or the patterns in the quilt and what they mean. And the churn.
@@carlosrodrigomejiagarcia8005 You make a very good, well-stated argument. You may be right. The thing that makes me hesitate to argree with you fully is the fact that this a short story and not a novel. In her novels, it's true that Walker wants her characters to be fully-fleshed individuals with internal contradictions and multiplicities. But stort stories are different. Their purpose is often to "make a point" -- and I think it's true of this story especially. In order to make her basic point, I think Walker needed Dee to represent the way we tend to condescend to "simple" rural people, and how we try to appropriate their authenticity to ourselves, even as we elevate ourselves above them. Short stories, in other words, are frequently not character studies, but philosophical statements, and authors do often create characters that represent one aspect of humanity in order to make that statement clear and coherent. So when she tells Maggie to "better herself," she actually says, "You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie" -- as if Maggie has made nothing of herself -- even though Maggie has practiced and absorbed the "culture" that Dee is trying to appropriate. That "too" means, "Make yourself into Me, who is something, not nothing." And when she says "It really is a new day for us" -- that's a common way of referring to an awakened political consciousness -- in this case, the political consciousness of Black Nationalists like herself, as opposed to the politically ignorant (in Dee's view) world that Maggie and Mama live in. I really think every word out of her mouth is meant to be seen as a condescending insult. Again, it's part of the "point" the story is trying to make. By the way, in respose to your other question: yes, I'm white! Thanks very much for your thoughtful conversation.
This is helping my 15 yr old understand this story so much better. Thank you for respecting the text and your thoughtful commentary.
You're welcome, I'm glad it was useful
How thought-provoking! You have done an excellent job of helping the listener to attain a greater understanding of Alice Walker's short story. I enjoyed the imagery and delighted in how you used the border of my quilt throughout the video. Would love to be a student in your class. Thank you. Robin Joyce Miller.
Thanks much Robin -- and thanks for your lovely design!
The best walk through and the way you stop and describe each part is amazing
thank you!
who is here for school and doesn't have good reading comprehension.
I cannot understand what this story is about by reading it. This helps so much.
Thank you for this. I've taught the story for three years now in my Sophomore HS English curriculum- and this will be very helpful for year 4.
thank you -- glad it's useful!
Thank you so much .This helped me a lot 👍🏼
Thank you thank you thank you! Now it is so easy to understand!!
You're welcome -- glad it helped
this channel is golden, i hope it keeps living
thank you sir -- it's alive, just slow!
I have this syllabus in my sy ba English literature. It very interesting story . I like the way they represent cultural heritage and black people .
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this definetly helped!!!
Glad it was useful!
Thank you.
welcome!
dee's nuts (im sorry i love this video)
😂
Found here via D. Icke.
🗿
Can we please give Wangero a break, already? She is not that horrible. Or 2 Dimensional.
I don't think she's a flat character either. But I do think almost every word Walker devotes to her is meant to demonstrate her delusion and condescension.
@@BrianArtese AHA!! I was waiting until I finished the video to comment again. And my suspicions were true. The omission of some details that can redeem her a little. Wangero is self-centered and condescending for sure. Moreover, she has always got away with everything; she's used to that and enjoys it. HOWEVER. After mama gave the quilts to Maggie, Wangero just turned and went to Hakim-a barber. Wangero wanted these quilts. Badly. She could have fought for them. Jank them from Maggie and get in the car. Instead, she kissed her sister and told her to better herself. She told her that is was a new day for them, almost as she was congratulating them for finally standing up to her. I want to believe that, as an author, Walker has very clear that her characters are people. And people are not intrinsically good or bad, black and white (speaking only of colors, not race). People have emotions that taint and influence any of OUR decisions. And the same thing for Wangero. She may look down at her family, but she loves them. IN HER OWN WAY. No matter where they choose to live she would manage to visit; if she despises them so much why would she manage to visit? Of course she wouldn't bring friends; and yet she did. And she visited with a very important person for her. Maybe, as you say just for anthropological studies purposes only, but what Dee had meant was not letting anybody who knew her see how her family lives. Maybe it's just me trying to redeem Wangero, but it's just that I see her as a real person.
@@BrianArtese BTW, you sound white, are you? Not that it matters, I just want to thank for acknowledging how white cultures would want to "preserve" ethnic artifacts without having any actual connection to them.
And also, I wanted to thank you for the visual aids. Not being from this country, they totally helped me have a real idea of how the house would actually look like, or the patterns in the quilt and what they mean. And the churn.
@@carlosrodrigomejiagarcia8005 You make a very good, well-stated argument. You may be right. The thing that makes me hesitate to argree with you fully is the fact that this a short story and not a novel. In her novels, it's true that Walker wants her characters to be fully-fleshed individuals with internal contradictions and multiplicities. But stort stories are different. Their purpose is often to "make a point" -- and I think it's true of this story especially. In order to make her basic point, I think Walker needed Dee to represent the way we tend to condescend to "simple" rural people, and how we try to appropriate their authenticity to ourselves, even as we elevate ourselves above them. Short stories, in other words, are frequently not character studies, but philosophical statements, and authors do often create characters that represent one aspect of humanity in order to make that statement clear and coherent.
So when she tells Maggie to "better herself," she actually says, "You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie" -- as if Maggie has made nothing of herself -- even though Maggie has practiced and absorbed the "culture" that Dee is trying to appropriate. That "too" means, "Make yourself into Me, who is something, not nothing."
And when she says "It really is a new day for us" -- that's a common way of referring to an awakened political consciousness -- in this case, the political consciousness of Black Nationalists like herself, as opposed to the politically ignorant (in Dee's view) world that Maggie and Mama live in. I really think every word out of her mouth is meant to be seen as a condescending insult. Again, it's part of the "point" the story is trying to make.
By the way, in respose to your other question: yes, I'm white!
Thanks very much for your thoughtful conversation.
@@BrianArtese I like what you say. I cannot try to dispute your arguments. Thanks.