A Question Of Heritage In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Dee does not truly value the heritage, and her interest in the quilts seem to reflect a cultural trend. This cultural trend becomes evident when the mother says, “I had offered Dee a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style”(Walker 96). We learned early in the story that Dee acquired a style at a young age, and she allowed the world around her to alter and manipulate that style.

Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use” is a story decipating family and heritage. She released the story with a collection of other short stories called In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women. This collection revealed Walker to be one of the finest of late twentieth century American short-story writers (Phy-Olsen). According to Cowart, the story address itself “to the dilemma of African Americans who are striving to escape prejudice and poverty.” One of the main characters, Dee, made drastic changes and would like her mother and sister to see things her way. Dee’s statement to her mother and sister regarding their disregard of heritage is very ironic considering the fact her name is a part of the family’s history, her new behavior, and her

Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," is a story about a poor, African-American family and a conflict about the word "heritage." In this short story, the word "heritage" has two meanings. One meaning for the word "heritage" represents family items, thoughts, and traditions passed down through the years. The other meaning for the word "heritage" represents the African-American culture.

Here the tone shifted from prideful to authoritative. Dee demanded to own the two quilts. Mama said the quilts had been made by her ancestors and she “hung up on them on the quilt frames on the front porch and made them (762).” The quilt frames symbolize the object which helps organize and keep the family's generations alive, and the front porch symbolizes the connection of the family with the world. Mama knew the quilts were what kept the generations together, regardless of what the people around thought or did.The quilts needed to be used in order to keep the family traditions alive. Soon after, the protagonist came up with an excuse and said the “lavender [pieces], [came] from old clothes” which had been “handed down (762).” The lavender symbolizes love and devotion. The old clothes symbolize the legacy of the family's heritage. Although Dee only wanted to the quilts, Mama felt her past family's love and devotion through the quilts. Dee wanted the quilts because to preserve them, not because of an emotional connection to them. In addition, the young woman continued to offend her mother to the point where Mama told her the quilts were for Maggie, the youngest sister, and Dee exclaimed how her sister could never “appreciate the quilts.” She continued and said “She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use (762).” Everyday use represents the “everyday use” of customs and true purpose of the quilts. Although Dee thinks her sister will destroy the blankets through sex and daily use, Mama wanted her to understand how everything she wanted had a special purpose in their

In the story, she introduces two sisters with almost opposite personalities and different views on heritage: Maggie and Dee. She uses the contrast between the two sisters to show how one should accept and preserve one's heritage. Beyond the contrast between two sisters there exist the judge figure mom, the narrator and the Dee's irony. The irony on Dee's opinion is the key to understand the story and why the mother let Maggie keep the quilts, which symbolize the heritage.

Because, the quilts had been made by the grandmother’s hands, the work that went into the quilts is the reason for importance of saving or preserving them as a family heirloom. “Maggie”, knows the true value of the quilts, “Dee” seems to view them as any other common blanket. Alice Walker stated in the story that Maggie felt like the world never learned to tell Dee no. That is a direct reference to the mother never standing up to Dee and asserting her rightful place.

Almost everyone has something in their family that has a very special meaning. Most of the time that object has something to do with family heritage. This is definitely true for the poem "my mother pieced quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. In the poem "my mother pieced quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, both author's use imagery and figurative language to establish the quilt as a symbol for family heritage to illustrate their themes. Family heritage is what brings family together.

Heritage has an influential role in every individual’s life. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a short story that portrays two sisters’ from a poor African American home and their conflicting views on the value and meaning of heritage. Maggie, the younger sister, is uneducated but truly appreciates where she comes from. Dee, the oldest sister, is an educated college student but her she has a warped idea of heritage. Alice Walker uses the characters, point of view and symbolism to develop the main theme of heritage.

Together with the beliefs comes heritage which is defined as traditions passed on for years, family items and etc. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, describes about a poor family who have a different perspective about the word “heritage”. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts”. This quote connects to the title of the story because Dee thinks that Maggie and her mother will use the quilt every day. Dee has a whole different perspective of the quilts. She views the quilts as a small reminder of her heritage, that is dying. For her mother and her sister, the quilts symbolizes a bond to their cultural identity and their connection to the quilts. Because Dee has failed to understand the true meaning to their “ heritage” and she is convinced that Maggie has proven that she understands the value of the quotes symbolize in the true meaning of a person’s heritage.

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, Walker juxtaposes two different daughters in their quest for a cultural identity. The narrator, their mother, talks about how each daughter is different; Dee went off to college and became well-educated, contrary to their impoverished and low status as black women in the south. Meanwhile, Maggie isn’t nearly as educated as Dee is, but is still literate. The entire story centers around Dee’s visit with her new Muslim significant other. The story’s climax is when Dee wants to take two special quilts back home, but those quilts are for Maggie. These precious quilts comprise their culture. Henceforth, Dee does not deserve to take the quilts with her because she has decided to take on a culture that varies significantly from her own and she is already used to getting what she wants.

“Everyday Use” is a short story by Alice Walker, which emphasizes the importance of understanding and cherishing your heritage and the inheritance that may come along with it. Knowing who is truly entitled to the inheritance, and what their heritage meant was the central conflict in the story, when the two main characters Dee and Maggie, both wanted the two hand stitched quilts. Rather than looking at the physical aspect of the quilts the author wants the reader to know that the meaning is much deeper. The quilts are used to depict the struggle, triumphs, oppression, joy, pain, and love of each hand that helped to create the prized works of art. The quilts needed to be put to everyday use, rather than a mere decoration on the wall. Through the quilts Walker was able to show what each character valued: Dee valued the materials things, Maggie, valued things she could attach herself to, and Mama valued the acceptance of her daughter Dee.

Novelist Alice Walker, in her short fiction story, “Everyday Use,” portrays the common misconceptions involved with embracing one’s heritage. Set in the 1920 American south, Walker depicts the rocky relationship of an Afro-american family caused by opposing lifestyle choices and views. Walker utilizes the narrative perspective while developing the individuality of her characters to convey the idea that one’s heritage should be apart of your life, not a piece in it. Prior to Dee’s return Walker employs figurative comparisons, contrasting ideologies, and physical descriptions to begin her characterization of the three women.

The general meaning of "heritage" is the characteristics and traits of a family passed from one generation to the next. In this case, the quilts are being passed down from Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ezra to Walker. But now the question is, "who will the quilts pass down to next?" Just right after the controversy, Wangero is unsure about if Maggie should have the quilts because Maggie knows how to sew. Wangero says, "You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts!" (126). Wangero is attempting to explain to Walker that the quilts have sentimental value. In her own mind, Walker questions Wangero, "what would she do with the quilts?" Wangero's response is that she would display the quilts. Wangero looks over at Maggie and contemplates about the quilts which she holds in her hands and says, "Mama, she can have them, like somebody

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use” she creates a conflict between characters. Walker describes a family as they anxiously await the arrival of, Dee, the older sister of the family. When Dee (Wangero) comes home to visit Mrs. Johnson and Maggie, right away the readers see the differences in the family by how they talk, act, and dress. Dee has changed her name to an "African" name and is collecting the objects and materials of her past. Dee thinks that since she is in college she knows mores then the rest of her uneducated family. She is more educated and looks down on the simple life of her mother and sister. When Dee asks for a beautiful family heirloom quilt to hang on her wall, Mrs. Johnson finally denies her of this task. Mrs. Johnson finally sees that Dee does not want the quilt for the same purpose as Maggie does. Instead, Mrs. Johnson will give Maggie the quilt to keep her and her husband warm. The theme of the importance of heritage becomes clear at this point of the story. This theme is shown by Walker's use of conflict, irony, and symbolism. All throughout her short story she incorporates heritage. She describes it as a background feeling between family members, and African heritage to heirlooms that have been in the family line for generations. Dee the older sister takes her heritage for granted by only wanting her heirlooms for her educational purposes.

This underlying message that I believe walker has tried to symbolize is the reality of this happening in so many families all around the world, forgetting who they were raised to be, where they came from and most Importantly who helped them get there. Another form of clever symbolism is the quilts themselves, the title of this story “Everyday Use” metaphorically refers to how mama wants the quilts to be used. “In both of the quilts were scraps of dresses grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago, Bits and pieces of grandpa Jarrells paisley shirts and one teeny faded blue piece about the size of a penny matchbox that was one of great grandpas erds uniform that he wore in the Civil War.” ( ) The quilts are very important and represent the entire past of their family dating all the way back to the civil war.