Maggie

Maggie is another secondary character in the story.

Outer characterization

Her outer characterization is constructed mainly through Mama’s description of her and is closely connected with her inner characterization, as physical details about her reveal aspects of her personality and state of mind.

Maggie is Mama’s daughter and Dee’s sister. We learn that she is homely-looking and that she has burn scars on her arms and legs (l. 9) from a fire that destroyed their house when she was a child.

She is thin and waits for Dee dressed in a pink skirt and a red blouse (ll. 41-42). However, she is thinner than Dee, with darker skin, and has less nice hair, in Mama’s opinion: “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure.” (l. 49). In contrast with Dee, Maggie has had little education – she has trouble reading and does not see well (ll. 71-72).

Maggie is soon going to be married to John Thomas (l. 74), a man with “mossy teeth in an earnest face” (l. 74), which is why Mama wants to give her the old quilts.

Mama describes her as “a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to them? That is the way my Maggie walks.” (ll. 45-46).

Inner characterization

Maggie’s physical descriptions contribute to her inner characterization. Her pathetic appearance and lack of self-esteem are, in Mama’s opinion, related to the fire: “She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle,...