Ideas for an imaginary conversation between Dee in "Everyday Use" and Sammy from “A & P.”Write a dialog between the two characters that...

In the stories "Everyday Use" and "A&P," the two
characters you mention, Dee and Sammy, are very different, so I would expect their
dialogue to represent two opposite points of view, though they wouldn't be necessarily
arguing.

Dee is very self-centered.  She has turned her
back on her American heritage to connect directly to her long, lost ancestors from
Africa.  She has taken an African name, and "family" is "concerned" she has completely
rejected what they have had as a family unit in this
country.

In this sense, Dee has already crossed that "rite
of passage" into a new part of her life.

Sammy on the other
hand, is very innocent in his perceptions.  He reacts emotionally--and one would have to
argue--and physically, not only to the girls who enter the store in bathing suits, but
also to his manager's chastisement of them for their attire.  Sammy has not crossed that
line, taken that passage yet, but is on the brink, noting as he quits the job, that
things will never be the same.

Dee is somewhat militant in
her view of the world; Sammy is resolved in his decision to quit for the sake of the
girls, but the author seems to provide the smallest hint of sadness in Sammy's decision,
knowing that he is leaving special behind him as he takes this step in "growing
up."

It is here that I see the biggest difference between
the two, which casts them into opposite ends of the spectrum: Dee feels strongly defiant
in leaving her past behind, while Sammy is vindicated in his decision, but
sad.

So a dialogue between the two should be based on what
you know of each of them from the story.  For instance, the two
characters might meet at a party--or at the coffee house--and end up talking
socially.

If Dee complains about family, wanting the quilts
and not getting them, Sammy might ask why she wants them.  Are they meaningful because
the hands of the past have made them, people who she holds dear to her?  Once she
responds, Sammy might be curious about why she has turned her back on her "roots," and
in that case, why she even wants the quilts that her sister truly cares about.  Dee's
response should be in keeping with her character, so something selfish would be
expected: she's part of the family with an equal right to them.  However, this
contradiction is also a part of Dee.  If she really is a part of the family, why would
she insist she is not, 'repressed by a people who brought her ancestors to the New
World?'  She says she wants nothing to do with that heritage.  Sammy might respond to
the contradiction, and share something of his own experience: that one's past,
regardless of whether we like it or not, is a part of who we are.  He might then talk
about how things changed when he left that part of himself behind: the world looked
different, his parents seemed to expect more or never understood his decision...or even
that they did, but knew his life was moving in a new direction; perhaps they were sorry
to see it go.

Each speaker's dialogue should be part of a
new "paragraph."

The dialogue should include quotation
marks at the start and end of each person's "speech."  Use conversational tags (he
said/she said tags), with punctuation inside the closing quotation mark of each
"speech."

Examples:

"I
wonder if this game will ever end," Amanda sighed.

"But it
looks like they're going to win!" exclaimed Mike. "Are you excited about
winning?"

"Yeah, that's great!? Will your mother be able to
take us home?" Amanda responded.