"Gorilla, My Love," Everyday Use," and "Girl"

"Gorilla, My Love," "Everyday Use," and "Girl" are all stories which deal with family life slash growing up. All of these stories present conflicts and pose different vantage points.

On "Gorilla, My Love" I really found myself siding with the children and Hazel, the narrator. Though, when children are in conflicts with adults the elders are typically right. The point-of-view helps sway the reader onto Hazel's side when they are seeing the silent film. She makes a good point about sticking to what one says and turning on one's word. However, at the end of the story we see Hazel clearly having childish views as she asks about the marrying a relative.

My favorite of the three stories was definitely "Everyday Use." I sided with the mother and Maggie because Dee (Wangero) was bossy and spoiled. Dee was blessed with good looks and very rarely had to work hard for something she wanted. It was just given to her most of the time. In the end, when the mother took the quilts from Dee and gave them to Maggie it really demonstrated the toughness of the mother and the reward Maggie deserved for being a good daughter. The quilts and they way they were to be used by the two daughters demonstrated the daughters personalities. When Dee was asked what she would do with he quilts she replied hang them up. Dee was a very "showy" girl who liked to dress in style and turn heads, to look nice and reap the benefits. However, Maggie would put the quilts to everyday use. She would use the quilts and respect the designs of them forever. They were not just "in-style" to her. At the end, Maggie smiles and the reader is left to wonder if this is a turning point in her shyness.

The last story, "Girl" is one long sentence. It depicts everything a woman is taught, it is repetitive, and reads quickly. It comes off as a crash course into what women do, but ends in a question. Almost as if the narrator is judging the girl she is talking to. You wouldn't be that kind of girl... would you? The last statement is a source for conflict that the reader never sees materialize.