"She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand." -"Everyday Use"
The characters in all three short stories give the plot its action and meaning. Because the actions of the characters consume most of the writing, characterization is easier to determine than more setting-based fiction. This was somewhat covered in class, but at least two of the stories, "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "Everyday Use," rely on foil characters, or characters who contrast and emphasize characteristics of the other person. We were told to rank how we sympathized, or more simply liked, the characters in order of least to greatest. Among many students of the same feelings, I chose Dee of "Everyday Use"-object of the above quote-as my least-liked character. I can also disclose that Bartleby of "Bartleby the Scrivener" was another one of my least-like characters. Although the stories generated sympathy for the protagonist/narrators, I was left wondering why a writer would use, in my opinion, unappealing characters that could potentially turn away readers? Maybe the so-called "likeable" characters are emphasized to show flaws in even the most sympathetic characters.
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