Appreciation and Realization

Appreciation and realization of what we have and what surrounds us is something that our generation greatly struggles with. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” Dee, one daughter of the speaker clearly takes for granted all that she has and has been given. On the other hand, Ezra Pound is very observant of what is around her in “In a Station of the Metro.”

Last Friday I attended the writer’s panel. Four writers spoke about writing in regards to Baltimore and realizing all that is happening in the city. Baltimore columnist Gregory Kane, editor-in-chief for the “Urbanite” Elizabeth Evitts, poet Chez Thompson Cager, and children’s author Jane Conly, all showed appreciation for Baltimore and the realization of what is going on in the city through their work.

Mr. Kane emphasized the need for more writers to find the truth in what they are writing about, to realize what exactly is going on and then write about it. He said that too many people take no for an answer when denied information, there is always some way to get to the truth. Ms. Evitts spoke to us about how too many people are ignoring what is trying to be said in the city and what needs to happen. Too many developments are happening throughout Baltimore which aren’t necessary and other necessary improvements are being ignored. We need to open our eyes and realize what needs to be done, not what would make our tourist attractions more pretty. Ms. Cager read to us a poem of hers entitled “city woman.” It described one woman’s life, starting at an early age and how she lived in a city throughout it all. She came to realize every single little thing that made up a city, and appreciated each one of them, even the bad things. Lastly, Ms. Conly read to us two excerpts from two of her books: “While No One Was Watching” and “Crazy Lady.” Both were from a child’s point of view, but still had the appreciation and realization of different aspects of the city that we should all strive for.

Ezra Pound does have this realization and appreciation that we should all strive to have. In two lines she describes the scene she sees at the Metro Station. She describes the faces of all of the people in the busy metro. They are “apparitions” to her because she does not know any of them, they are simply her surroundings. She has enough appreciation for the situation that she is in to take note of it and write about it later. So many of us take for granted the everyday steps we take and what happens along the way.

A character who does not have appreciation for what is done for her and what is around her would be Dee from “Everyday Use.” The family described in this short story seems to be quite poor, but one of the daughters was given the opportunity to do better things in her life. After having money raised for her to go away to a good school she was able to make something over herself. Now she views herself as much more “well-off” than her mother and sister. When she comes home to visit she brings her new “husband” with her and during their short stay they seem to insult the rest of the family the whole time. Dee had told her mother that when she came to visit she would not bring any of her friends with her. She point blank told her mother that she is ashamed of the way she used to live and the way her mother and sister still live. It was also noted that she hated their old house that had burnt down but she would most likely not like the new house either because of its small size. Dee also wants to take with her some of the objects throughout the house that were made by her ancestors. She wants to use these items in her home as fashionable, and not truly recognizing them for the wonderful man-made artifacts that they are. When she clearly is the person who has no appreciation for her culture and its past, she notes to her mother and sister that they do not have appreciation for it.

It is so important that our generation starts to realize what is going on around us and appreciating it all for what it is worth. We seem to be a more “carefree” generation, not really caring about is happening outside of our own world. Appreciation for our surroundings will give us so much more in life, so much more than paying attention to what only affects us.