Discussion Questions Week 7
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love:
3.“Is this story optimistic or pessimistic about true love? Is the old couple a positive or a negative example of true love? What about Nick and Laura? What about Ed? Could you argue that he was in love?” (Making Literature Matter 685)
The story seemed to have a pessimistic view on true love. None of the characters were able to agree on a definition. As the story progressed Mel seemed to become more and more agitated and obviously more drunk. He confesses to Laura that he would love her if it weren't for his own wife and friendship with her husband which kind of makes his claims to love his own wife lose value. The old couple is sort of a negative example. They were in love but that love was killing them. Nick and Laura have a positive outlook on love but they seemed to be too freshly married to start doubting anything. Ed probably honestly believed he had to do the things he did because he was in love but Ed obviously had some problems. But he was willing to die and go to extremes for it so I would argue that Ed was in love but maybe he didn't know the appropriate ways to express his love.
Everyday Use:
1. Consider the relationship between the story’s content and title. Ultimately, is “everyday use” a good thing? The narrator uses this term in the story itself, referencing the possibility that Maggie will receive the quilts. One sister has a very negative association with the idea that such items will be used “everyday”, and in a casual manner; the other appears to believe that such items should be used in order to demonstrate value – unused items have no value in Maggie and her mother’s household. Which definition of “everyday use” does the story, as a whole, appear to uphold?
This story seems to uphold “everyday use” as being something positive. For the family in the story, “everyday use” means the quilt is valuable because it is being used for what it was made for but for Dee “everyday use” means the quilt will become worthless. The story suggests that “everyday use” (meaning putting something to good use) is the proper way to use something.
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I really like the way you explained what the meaning of everyday use was. The would positive perspective part was a good observation. The whole is the glass half empty of half full. A positive outlook can make anything work. The quilt really was the epitome of everyday use. The quilt can be used everyday to sleep in and is made of recycled old close, so there was a ton of use taken out of them.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that Dee had to explain to her mother and sister the value the quilts because of how there used and what it meant to have a blank made by one's ancestors, but at the same time it was ironic because she was just going to hang the quilts on the walls where they would no longer get any use.