“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Everyday
Use” by Alice Walker present characters which the reader will not forget. Both skilled
writers use specific character development plans.
“The
Things They Carried” employs a unique approach to character development. Using props,
the character is recognized by the things that he has in his back
pack.
One of the ways that O’Brien develops his characters
is by the role each person plays in the platoon. For example, Kiowa is the moral
leader and Rat Kiley is the story teller.
Kiowa is the
nicest of all the soldiers in the platoon. As a Native American Christian, he loves to
be in church. His prop is his grandfather’ hunting hatchet and a Bible. These objects
represent an emotional tie to home and something to hold on to when fear overcomes him.
He also carries moccasins with him to be able to walk
silently.
The story teller is Rat Kiley. His occupation in
the platoon is the medic. His props include M&Ms. He loves to tell stories but
he also adds a lot information to the stories to make them interesting. He is a good
soldier and carefully cares for his wounded.
As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas
satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic
books and all the things that a medic must carry…for a weight of twenty
pounds.
In “Everyday
Use” by Alice Walker, the writer uses the narrator to provide characterization. There
are three women who play an important role in the purpose of the
story.
In creating her characters, Walker focuses on the
personalities of the women. Through Mama’s honest narration, the reader learns what
separates these women in their views of life.
Mama’s
personality is gentle and strict. Mama does not have many valuable material things’
yet, her greatest possessions are those that have been made by her mother and
grandmother, particularly the quilts that they made for her. They are her family
legacy. Dee wants to take these things for herself to show them off to illustrate her
black heritage.
Maggie’s character centers on her injury
and burns that she received when the house burned down. Her mother describes her as
nervous about her sister coming to visit and ashamed about her scars. Her mother
describes her as homely. It is obvious that Mama compares Dee to Maggie, and Maggie does
not come close to Dee in looks or intelligence. In the end of the story, Mama will
realize that Maggie who desperately wants and deserves her mother’s love and
attention.
Dee was named after her grandmother. Since she
has been away at college, she has taken on the role of a black activist. She has
changed her name to Wangero. Dee has never liked her home---it was not good enough for
her. She watched and did not try to help Maggie when the house burned. Now she has come
back to get things to decorate her home to show off her black heritage. When she wants
the quilts made by her ancestors, for the first time, Mama tells Dee “no.” She promised
the quilts to Maggie.
Dee is incensed by this because she
knows that Maggie will use them for everyday use. When she realizes that she will not
get her way, Dee leaves telling her mother and sister that they do not understand what
their heritage is. Walker’s purpose is to show the different generations of characters
illustrating that change is not always good.
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