She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know.
In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the narrator reflects on how their mother read to them, imposing her interpretations and beliefs on them. This act of reading was not gentle; instead, it involved overwhelming her children with a barrage of words and narratives that shaped their understanding of the world. The children felt confined under the weight of these stories, which included external perspectives and lifestyles that weren't their own.
The mother used storytelling as a means to educate, immersing her children in a world of imagination and knowledge, often without considering their readiness for it. This method left them feeling both enriched and burdened by the information and perspectives they absorbed. The quote illustrates the complex relationship between the mother and her children, highlighting themes of identity, inheritance, and the sometimes harsh realities of education.
