Alice Walker Heritage

In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker uses characterization to demonstrate that everyone’s perception of heritage is based on their personal experiences in life. In the story, one of Mama’s children, Dee comes back for a visit at their family farm, only to come back completely different. Upon her arrival, she uses African greetings, wears African clothes and accessories, and changes her name to Wangero, an African name. During Wangero’s stay, she constantly talks about items around the house and asks to have them. While looking through a chest at Mama’s bed, Wangero finds quilts handmade by her grandmother. Upon this discovery, Wangero immediately asks to have the quilts, despite the quilts belonging to Maggie, her sister. Wangero believes that

Alice Walker juxtaposes Maggie with her sister, Dee, to demonstrate how society denigrates not only African-American women but women in general in the 1970s. Early on in the story, Maggie is described as nervous, hopelessly standing in the corner. Later she is described as nearly hidden from view. On a metaphorical level, Maggie is the symbol of the lack of power women held in the 1970s. She is the epitome of the silent female homemaker. On the other hand, Dee is assertive, “will look you right in the eye.” She serves as a symbol of the free, successful modern woman. However, her assertiveness might come off as cockiness, and too much pride. By contrasting Maggie and Dee, Alice Walker is expressing both sides of the female role during that time.

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.

Maggie and Dee have completely different physical appearances than each other. Maggie has a thin body figure, and her arms and legs are scarred from the house fire. Maggie is jealous of Dee’s beauty, and she seems to be ashamed of the way she looks. Mama says, “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her

The way the burning house, her stuck-up sister, and society influenced Maggie make her unique in relation to others. Maggie was so damaged from her home burning down that she turned into a meek and undervalued young lady. Maggie is so unsure that her mother says she walks like a dog run over by a car: “chin on chest eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house on the ground.” This demonstrates that Maggie absence of self-confidence make her frightened to look. She imagines that on the off chance that she can’t see the individuals around her, then they can’t see her. What’s more, Maggie’s discernible scars have impacted on the way she conducts herself. As indicated by Mama, when she was pulling Maggie out of the fire, her arms were adhering, “her hair was smoking, and her dress was tumbling off her in minimal dark papery pieces.” This is huge light of the fact that indicates how much the flame really physically scarred her. This additionally clarifies why she is so apprehensive about individuals seeing her. Maggie’s apparent compressed version of confirmation in herself is created basically by the fire. The barbaric way Maggie’s sister, Dee, presents herself awful impact on Maggie’s certainly. At this point when Dee inquired as to whether she can have some unique quilts and Mama says no on the grounds that she

Mama had been so excited for Dee’s visit because she hadn’t seen Dee in years, “You’ve no doubt seen those TV shows where the child who has “made it” is confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father, tottering in weakly from backstage,” Mama had dreamed of this day to come because she knew she had done something good for her child, something to be proud of. But upon Dee’s arrival both Mama and Maggie had noticed her change as if she was better then them and understood more of African culture because she had an education, “ I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” Dee had converted not only her name but her clothes and jewelry to make a statement of what “real” heritage is. This quilts led to a controversy between the meanings of their heritage. Ironically for Dee, Mama had offered her the quilts a long time ago but was too interested in appearance rather than the legacy left behind, “ I had offered Dee a quilt when she went away for college. Then she had told they were old- fashioned, out of style.” Then when she comes back, she wants to hang them as décor and doesn’t want Maggie to have them because she’ll ruin them, ““Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she said. “ She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.”

In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker focuses on a rural family and their different interpretations of the African- American heritage. The story begins when Dee, the educated older daughter, comes to visit her Mama and younger sister, Maggie. The two sisters are completely different physically, mentally, and emotionally. Dee lives an educated and financially stable life with her boyfriend in the city, away from her family; while, Maggie lives an uneducated and poor life at home with her mother. Some may argue that there is no difference between Dee and Maggie’s Interpretations; however, Alice Walker uses characterization and different types of symbolism in her short story to show the difference between Dee and Maggie’s interpretations

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.

Alice Walker is a writer of many powerful short stories, novels, essays and poetry. She used her work to bring black women’s lives to the main focus, such as the rich and important in the US American Literature. In the short story “Everyday Use” written by Alice walker, she showed the conflicts and struggle throughout the African- American culture. “Everyday Use” addresses the dilemma with African Americans, trying to escape prejudice and poverty. The short story “Everyday Use” focuses on the encounter between a mother and her daughters. The setting of the story takes place in the driveway of the mother’s house. The mother and her youngest daughter Maggie wait for her oldest daughter Dee and her male friend to visit from school. Alice

Heritage is defined as something that is or can be inherited; such as in culture, tradition, or it can be something of importance handed down. Walker uses the quilts to represent the "creative legacy that African Americans have inherited from their maternal ancestor" and show the "value of the quilt in the Afro-American experience". In Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use", characterization of a mother and her daughters and the symbolism of the everyday use of a quilt are used to reveal the importance of heritage.

Maggie lost her confidence and what made her who she is, is the terrifying memories she had when the house got on fire and had left scars on her, which made her feel “ugly”. Though that Maggie seems to be the opposite from her sister, but she values life more than Dee. She is proud of where she is from and she is not willing to change her life although she is uneducated and didn’t go discover life like Dee did. Maggie is proud of her heritage unlike her

Not so much for Maggie and her mother living simple life in rural area, but for Dee. It’s new day and Dee is not Dee anymore, but Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. And things Dee considered old and out of style, Wangero appreciates and wants to collect and display. Wangero never before realized “how lovely these benches are” (243), kitchen benches her father made. She asked to have churn top and dasher her uncles whittled to decorate her apartment with. She also wants her mother to give her two quilts made out of Grandma and Grandpa old clothing and even “Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (244). But the mother decided, that Maggie will get them. Maggie who never wins, always ready to give up. The daughter who needs her help and protection. She needs to see that she can have some things too. And they were promised to her. Wangero is mad, upset, talking about how priceless they are and how her mother and sister doesn’t understand their heritage and how these quilts will get destroyed by everyday

In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, she gives us a look into the everyday life of a small African American family in the Deep South. Momma, a single mother who still lives life to their cultures traditions has two daughters. Dee and Maggie, yet Dee does not like being connected to her roots. This story and essay will show you how your way of perceiving a relationship between two people can be altered the minute you her someone’s personal feelings. In, this case, a mother and daughter’s conflicting relationship.

When the climactic scene occurs and Dee asks “Can I have these quilts?” (145), Maggie’s first implied reaction is one of surprise and anger; “I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute later the kitchen door slammed” (145). But as someone “never used to winning anything, or having anything reserved for her” (146), Maggie succumbs and offers to let Dee have them. Although “Maggie knows how to quilt” (146), she is able to comprehend the deeper personal value of the quilts, and states that she “can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts”(146). Despite their value as an item of everyday use, the quilts are meaningful to Maggie, much in the way they are to her mother who remembers having quilted them with Big Dee. The scraps, the bits and pieces and “one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War.” (145) hold deep significance to Maggie.

The narrator described herself as large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. She said she can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man, and her fat keeps her hot in zero weather (444). She seemed to be a hard working woman, who differently from Dee is proud of her heritage and where she came from. It is understood she knew she may not have had the best life possible, but made the best of it. She knew Dee was the successful, popular child, but once Dee returned home with a changed name she saw her in a different light. She realized Dee’s doings were from throwing out the cultural heritage she belonged to into the new, hip black movement. She seemed to appreciate Maggie more after Dee tried to remove things from their house to show off. When Dee argued with her about giving the quilts to her instead of Maggie who was used to never winning, or having anything reserved for her the mother grabbed the quilts from Dee and handed them to Maggie. The mother is very grateful for her children, but is not going to let Dee, the daughter who has “made it”, take over the quilts meant for Maggie once she married.