Cultural Influences

An African American single mother raises two daughters that have different meanings of life and heritage. Maggie is the youngest daughter, the girl who is shy who is not attractive and is pleased with her culture and life. Then there is Dee the girl who is attractive, sophisticated and knows what she wants in life and wants to be something more than her family. Even though Dee is sophisticated she does not know the true importance of heritage. This is what starts struggle between mother and Dee, because Dee desires the quilt for decoration which her mother would not give it to her for that reason. The mother believes the quilt is not for ornamenting it is more meaningful and signifies the heritage of her family. Only Maggie can transmit

Standing up for what is right is not an easy task, but it is necessary to protect those who can not defend themselves. “Everyday Use” is about Mama and her decision to choose sentimental values over materialism. Dee is the educated yet selfish sister of Maggie, who is self conscious and withdrawn because she had been scarred by a house fire. After a very long time, Dee returns to her home in search of materialistic goods so that she can preserve her family’s heritage by turning their culture into a commodity. Dee believes that possessing items with traditional value will allow her to understand her cultural heritage, and this symbolizes her misconception of viewing heritage as a material entity. However, Mama and Maggie clearly defines family and cultural heritage through their knowledge of everyday traditional practices, such as churning butter and quilting. Maggie and Dee are sisters, but they are like the two ends of a stick. Although they have been brought up in the same home and raised by the same mother, this is as far as their similarities

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 has is not-so-well-educated, but can still read. The entire story centers around Dee’s visit back home and is told through their mother. The story’s climax is when Dee wants to take two special quilts back home, but those quilts are for Maggie. These quilts are gigantic representation of their culture. Dee does not deserve to take the quilts with her because she has decided to take on a culture that varies significantly from hers and it she is very ungrateful toward her mother and sister.

Culture is very important to many individuals in this world. It plays key parts in a vast amount of people’s lives. While some may follow everything to do with their culture, your culture doesn’t have to affect your life. You can still choose to have your own personal views, or to follow your accustomed culture. People will all view everything differently depending on who they are, what cultural background they have, and what scenario they’re in.

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.

Wind-Wolf is full Indian so his culture and beliefs are different than everybody elses in his class. His teacher put his son into the slow learners class and the father was very offended. The father tries to describe to the teacher that their culture is different than everybody elses in many ways. One way they are different is that Wind-Wolf was taught that there are 13 months instead of 12 months. “Normal” kids are taught that there are 12 months, but in the Indian culture they believe that there are 13 moons, so there are 13 months in a year.

In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the narrator, who just goes by Mama, is telling the story of her two children. Mama is the patriarch of the Johnson family. In this story, she compares Maggie, the youngest and more naïve daughter, to Dee, the oldest and ‘smartest’ daughter, and reminisces on when Dee came home to visit (402-408). Walker brings about a story that is significant to African American heritage and how one should appreciate and have knowledge of it. This story, which takes places in the Deep South, has various symbols that represent aspects of the African-American culture and/or heritage and the mentality of the Johnson family.

“I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts” is what Maggie says to her sister, which shows Maggie’s value of family. Both critics believe the ongoing tradition of quilting must be represented through the generations of quilting and the background history or it all. Where the quilt came from is the most important value. The quilts contains passed down stories whereas they form a link between the generations (Weidmann 260).

Overall the story “Everyday Use” is based off who know the most about their heritage. The quilt is the problem in the story. Both Maggie and Dee wanted the quilt. Maggie is ashamed of herself because of her skin. Dee is the one who think she is on top of the world. Mama tries to keep both of her kids happy, but it does not work out in the

Christian was reviewing many stories about African-American cultures that focused on women and she happened to stumble on an article called “Everyday Use. “Although she’s reviewing several stories at a time, Christian primary focuses on the story by Alice Walker “Everyday Use”. As she discusses Walkers story, she starts to understand the mother’s heritage of the quilts, which had played an important role in the black power movement during that era. In the end, Christian explains the importance of “Everyday Use”, including mentioning other articles to explain how it dealt with black power as well as the African-American culture. This article is useful for the ones who want to understand why Dee’s mother see’s the quilts as an important history

Mrs. Johnson does not allow her eldest daughter to have the quilt. Through careful analysis of the short story’s characters and symbols we are able to gain a better understanding of the theme of appreciating one’s heritage. The basis of the story is that Dee comes to visit her mom and sister after having lived in the city after moving out. Dee asks the mom if she can have the quilt that her great grandmother handmade.

She knew the scraps of fabric came from clothing her grandparents and great-grandparents had worn. One very small bit of fabric had actually been saved from “Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (476). To Dee’s credit, she did recognize Mama and Maggie’s sentimental attachment to the quilts and the significance of displaying hand stitched instead of machine-sewn quilts. However, Dee’s lack of understanding Mama’s underlying argument that the importance of quilts is their “everyday” traditional function becomes clear when Dee remarks that Maggie would “be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (477). Mama’s

Throughout Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” the view of the events taken place is from the mother’s point of view. Maggie and Dee have very different personalities and the reader can see that once Dee tries to take the quilts back home with her. Dee is a worldly educated woman, with a sense of style. While Maggie is a farm girl who has only known working on the farm, she has no education and is self-conscious due to the scares she got from a house fire. Although Maggie does have a sentimental connection to the quilts, Dee is trying to take home to make a fashion statement. It can be seen the emotional connection Maggie has to the quilts when she comes running out of the house in tears once she hears Dee talking about taking the quilts.

These quilts are the most important pieces of heritage that Walker describes throughout the entire passage. When Dee brings out the quilts, Walker immediately gives information about the quilts and just exactly what they represent. Walker says that both of the quilts had pieces of Grandma Dee’s dresses that show wore over fifty years ago, bits and pieces of Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform he wore during the Civil War. The quilts has family history that dated back all the way to the Civil War. The does not only represent the family history but the work the women put into creating these quilts. Quilting is a custom that women would do to pass time, but when the quilts were ready they were used to keep family members warm during the winter. Dee did not want any of the family furniture for “everyday use,” but wanted them for decoration. Walker did not see these items as decorations but saw them as symbols of appreciation towards African-American culture. In “Everyday Use” the quilts are the most important part that Alice Walker is trying to portray the significance of African-American