D. Definition of Terms
There should be an explanation about the meaning of psychoanalytic criticism. It is to avoid any kinds of misinterpretation in understanding this
thesis. In his book Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Peter Barry explains that Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy
that its aim is to cure mental disorder by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious in the mind 2002:96. He also defines that
psychoanalytic criticism as a form of literary criticism that uses some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature. In Critical
Theory Today: A User – Friendly Guide Second Edition Lois Tyson states
that Psychoanalytic concepts such as sibling rivalry, inferiority complexes, and defense mechanisms are in such common use that most of us feel we
know what they mean without them define it 2006:11. So psychoanalytic criticism is a literary approach which useful to understand human behavior by
using some of psychoanalysis techniques. In Theresa Mae Thompson, Ph. D
’s notes, Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory, anxiety, according to Freud, is an unpleasant feeling or signal that
people try to avoid. It acts as a signal that things are not going right. We will feel this anxiety when our defense mechanisms break down. So it is an
unpleasant feeling that makes people worry about something is going not right too much.
According to Lois Tyson in his book Critical Theory Today: A User –
Friendly Guide Second Edition, Tyson explains that defense mechanisms are
the processes by which we keep our repressed experiences in the unconscious to avoid knowing things that we feel we can’t handle 2006:15. So defense
mechanism is a tactic or a way that people use to protect themselves against their anxiety and emotional problems and it’s developed by the ego.
When we feel anxiety, core issues are revealed. In his book, Learning for a Diverse World
, Lois Tyson states that core issue is the main cause of recurring self-destructive behavior. They define our being in fundamental ways
2013:26.
7
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
In this chapter, the writer tries to show and explain some studies which are done to analyze Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and some criticisms from
books and internet. These will prove that this short story is worth reading and interesting to discuss. The writer also explains some theories which are needed
to characterize the three major characters, to analyze the core issues and self –
defense mechanisms that they use to cope with those issues. The first thing that the writer is going to review is some studies which are done to analyze
this literary work. According to Elaine Showalter’s observation in her essay Piecing and
Writing, that has been quoted by David White in his essay “Everyday Use”:
Defining African – American Heritage 2001, “In contemporary writing, the
quilt stands for a vanished past experience to which we have a troubled and ambivalent relationship” 1986:228. This statement seems to apply
specifically to the quilts of “Everyday Use”. It explains that the quilt represents the past experience that has been erased, and which we have a
trouble with. This analysis by Elaine Showalter is different from L
ori Jackson’s. According to Lori Jackson in his analysis paper, Cultural Studies Analysis of
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the symbolism and value of the quilts
represent a challenge for the black people. The challenge is to value and recognize their own American roots 2009:3. So it means that the black
people use the quilts to show how they value and recognize their own roots. In Literary Analysis of
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker by Niwar A. Obaid, the quilts in
“Everyday Use” are also the clothes that Dee’s great grandma used to wear and Dee’s great grandpa uniforms that he used to wear
during the Civil War. It gives a sense of history to the African American history because it symbolizes value in Negro-American experience. The quilts
also show that women at that time had creative activities that they came up with. They did that to pass down history from generation to generation Obaid,
2013:9. Walker also wants to show the women roles in that era and how they use their roles and creativities to appreciate their heritage.
Obaid also states that these two sisters portray their contrasting family views on the heritage and it builds a conflict about the meaning of the heritage
for the family between them. But what the narrator is trying to point out is that the idea of a quilt as a part of a family’s history Obaid, 2013:9. The main
conflict in this short story is about the different views on the heritage among the three major characters.
In Rhetoric Analysis of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, Santosh Aryal
explains that the different lives and experiences that Mama, Maggie and Dee had in the past creates different ways of viewing the world between them.
Maggie lives with Mama in a world of limitations and uneducated, while Dee
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