Clothing In The Story Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Have you thought of someone’s culture as weird? Have you thought that you are completely different from them? If so, what prompts us to make that assumption. Culture is a very good reason for this. So, to what extent does one’s culture inform the way one views others and the world? Culture informs a person on the way others are and the world.

Culture is a strong determinant of people's views of the very nature and meaning of

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.

“ A dress down to the ground… yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. Earrings gold, too…Bracelets dangling and making noises…” Her hair, “stands straight up like the wool on a sheep.” (183, Walker). This is how Mrs. Johnson describes her daughter‘s new appearance. Although Mrs. Johnson does not disapprove of Dee’s new African fashion she is not comfortable with it. Dee had taken on the task to flash her African roots while she failed to understand the true meaning of her heritage. Dee makes the mistake of believing that one’s heritage is something that one puts on to display. Mrs. Johnson does not display African fashion. Nonetheless she knows the true meaning of her heritage; something that Dee does not seem to understand. Through “Everyday use”, Walker conveys that culture and heritage are taught from one generation to the next and it is not suddenly acquired and definitely it is not something that one suddenly puts on.

“Culture is sometimes described as a lens through which we view the world, meaning that one’s culture influences their perceptions and interactions in everyday life” (Davis, 2006). Every culture has different beliefs and customs

Dee chooses to change her name because she feels that she no longer wants to be named after her oppressors, when in fact the legacy of her name is attributed to four generations of Dees in the family. If she doesn't even understand the significance of her own name and decides to change it without inquiring, Mama must feel that she can't possibly understand the significance of quilts that have pieces of clothes that were either worn or owned by possibly a century of their ancestors. The quilts held stories and documented generations within the family, Dee's intent to preserve it as art would do the quilts no justice as she could not tell the story of the patches they contain, whereas, Maggie has probably heard every one of these stories being

After reading the short story, I found it said that, as a reader, I noticed that the mother favor or likes Maggie better than her other daughter, Dee. I was confused on why Mama believed that Dee hated Maggie, until Mama and the community raised enough money to send Dee to school in Augusta. Mama resented the intimidating world of ideas and education that Dee forced on her family on her trips home. Dee has come back to lay claim to some old blankets that she has a newfound “historic” appreciation for: she thinks they would make trendy décor for her apartment. To Dee, the quilts represent the historical significance of an oppressed people. The problem is that Mama has a much more practical use for the quilts; Mama intends to give them to Dee’s

A Mutual Cultural Perception Culture shapes one’s perspectives and characteristics in which paves a pathway into society; however, one’s cultural position is connected by one’s decisions regardless of the importance of one’s culture in terms of introducing values and beliefs at an early stage of life. In other words, as individuals within society begin to view others and interpret the world, they may choose to follow a different path into society in which their cultural influence remains static. Some individuals within society believe that one’s culture impacts one’s perspectives and moral values of one’s physiological beliefs, one’s cultural identity; however, some individuals effected by a new environment and society may feel disconnected

Culture is known to make people see the world differently. At the age of nine Gabby had an art project to make a 3D landscape of where she thought she got her culture from. Gabby and her parents talked about her culture and she found out she had a lot of stuff with her heritage that influenced her culture in many ways, including her views on the world. In Alice Walker's short story “Everyday Use”, she uses a family’s culture

Have you ever viewed someone differently based on their culture? Or has someone´s culture ever informed you the way one views others and the world? In the following section there are three different aspects that can identify a person on how they see the world and others and they're going to change your perspective.

The core characters contribute to the plot and are highly eccentric, colorful, and delightful. They are characters that can attract talent and have strong comedic beats.

The mom is waiting on her daughters Dee in the front yard. The other daughter Maggie is nervous to see her sister; because of the burns all over her from a house fire that occurred 10 years ago. Maggie is jealous of the success and easier life her sister Dee has had. Mamma is imaging her daughter Dee coming home and praising her for the success Dee has made for herself. When Dee arrives to the house with her boyfriend, Hakim the mother disapproves of him and the clothing she is wearing. Then Dee sees some old quilts that were made a long time ago and were used by her ancestors in the Civil War. Dee continues to insist on the quilts saying Maggie is not mature enough to have them, then Maggie comes in the room and tries to make peace

The story ‘Everyday Use” by Alice Walker I believe the theme to be, To know and understand your Heritage. When the daughter Dee comes back home to visit she has changed her name and is now involved deeply in the African Culture. Her mother is appalled as she named Dee after her grandmother and aunt, Dicie (Abcarian, Cohen & Klotx, 2012, pg. 589). The name change is best described in the story when Dee states “No, Mama, she says. Not “Dee” Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!” (Abcarian, Cohen & Klotx, 2012, pg. 589). As the story goes on Wangero seems excited about the old things in the house that she once hated or believed to be old such as, the benches for the table that her father made and the churn made by her Uncle (Abcarian, Cohen & Klotx, 2012,

Some reasons why people view the world differently than others involves inheritable traits, the inner makings of one’s self, and ones surrounding culture.

Alice Walker, was born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1944, she was born to sharecroppers Minnie Lou Grant and Willie Lee Walker. Growing up in this environment provided Walker with the inspiration for much of her works like her short story, “Everyday Use”(Navies). In this story a woman named Mrs. Johnson and her daughter Maggie are waiting for Mrs. Johnson’s oldest daughter, Dee, to come back to visit from her school. When Dee does shows up, she is different than when she left. When she left, she had a stylish sense of fashion, but when she comes home, she is wearing a floor-length orange and yellow dress and white sandals. She is also wearing earrings that hang down to her shoulders and dangling bracelets. When Dee gets to the steps, she tells Mrs. Johnson to stay seated and she pulls out a polaroid camera to take pictures of the house, Mrs. Johnson, Maggie, and a cow that came into the yard. When Dee puts the camera up and Mrs. Johnson says, “Hi Dee,” Dee responds by saying that her name is no longer Dee; her name is now Wangero. After tracing back the name to their Grandma Dee, Mrs. Johnson accepts the name change and the visit continues. When they are eating dinner, Wangero talks about how lovely the benches they are sitting on are and later Wangero asks Mrs. Johnson if she can have an old butter churn and a dasher that was made by their Uncle Buddy. She wants to use it as a centerpiece for a table, even though it is obvious Mrs. Johnson and Maggie still use it. After dinner,