Everyday Use By Alice Walker Analysis

Dee pulls out two quilts and this is what the mother has to say about them:

Alice Walkers “Everyday Use”, is a story about a family of African Americans that are faced with moral issues involving what true inheritance is and who deserves it. Two sisters and two hand stitched quilts become the center of focus for this short story. Walker paints for us the most vivid representation through a third person perspective of family values and how people from the same environment and upbringing can become different types of people.

The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the

Jacques Derrida had once said that culture is something in which "everything is arranged so that it is this way." I believe that culture is the opposite as it creates the way in which you perceive external forces rather then it being the external forces arranged in a specific way. Culture therefore allows one to become informed about foreign cultures to which one is then to perceive the culture a specific way. Culture is the multitude of many factors in which it consistently informs one 's perception of the world surrounding them as well as the individuals.

The final straw that broke the camel’s back for Mama was when Dee wanted to possess the one quilt that has been passed down from generation to generation. It wasn’t that she wanted it so much as she had no clue of the simple value of those quilts. Dee claims to want them to hang on the wall and to keep safe the heritage and the history of those quilts rather than for Mama to give them to Maggie because she thinks Maggie will just put them to “everyday use” and ruin them. Dee didn’t know the history of those quilts as much as she claimed that she did. To Mama, that quilt was the bits and pieces of memories and history passed on from her great grandma’s time. In the beginning, Mama was planning to give them to Dee and actually had offered it to her but Dee didn’t want them back then. Dee said the quilt was pieces of her grandma’s dresses but in fact, they were bits and pieces of all the past generations clothes

After reading “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, you can understand how great this story is. There is a great lesson that is being taught in this story. The way Dee looks at her house as if it is only a collection of artifacts, and how disgusting and horrible it is, shows how she undervalues the worth of family. The way Dee wanted nice things, showed how she thought how being rich was important. After all, she was wrong, family and being love is more important. It was great to see Mama stand up to Dee, over Maggie’s quilt. I was shocked that Wangnero never really wanted to have the same culture has her family. It is disappointed that kids would leave their family tradition just to have materialistic things.

Maggie is mostly saying "Uhnnnh" if anything at all throughout the whole story. Mama portrays Maggie as a girl who “will stand hopelessly... homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs” from the fire, and who feels inferior to Dee (Walker 86). These burns and scars that Maggie has may be the reason of her lack of knowledge simply because she was ashamed to be in the learning atmosphere. Dee, unlike Maggie, is very brilliant. There seems to be some tension and or jealousy of how smart Dee is. Mama and Maggie used to listen to Dee read to them while they where trapped sitting there ignorantly. Mama said it was knowledge they didn't need to know. She also said that she often fought off the urge to shake her. Since Mama didn't get a chance to go to school, she feels inferior to Dee's skill of knowledge. Mama's tension is because she didn't get a chance to learn as much as Dee has (Walker 87-88).

Dee is the afro-centric, ego- centric and eccentric pseudo-intellect. She values her culture in a more materialistic aspect. She respects the artifacts of her history rather than the usefulness. Dee’s earthly-mindedness sets the stage for conflict throughout the entire story, from her arrival until the central conflict when there is a battle amongst the other two main characters Mama and Maggie, about who is truly entitled to the hand-stitched quilts. The quilts were works of art that have been passed down throughout

Mama decided to keep her word and give the quilts to Maggie because she understood what these quilts meant, “ You will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts!” The representation of the quilts is the symbol of the family and Dee couldn’t understand it, even with her education. Mama had more life experience and understanding of her culture then Dee would ever learn in a

Mama becomes extremely discontented with Dee’s behavior as she tries to calmly explain that some heritage has already been promised to her younger sister Maggie. Dee refuses to listen and continues to argue by stating “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She’d probably be backward

That Dee comes off as so distasteful, is mostly due to her attitude. As for the rest of her character, she was a product of her generation. She was also fortunate enough to be educated. Her mother obviously had very little, but with the help of the church, was able to send her off to school. This opened doors for her, but it was door after door after door. Behind none of which were gratitude or anything substantial, but rather, misguided and confused attempts to find her

Ultimately, if Dee would have treasured her family as a piece of her heritage, instead of the material things, the story might have ended in reconciliation with her family instead of a screaming match about who understands heritage the most. Dee would have a better and happier life with

Mama is mightily confused and thrown off. Dee has taken on a new heritage for herself and practically has thrown her old heritage to the side, being unused.

As the two sisters have different appearance and personalities, they have different perspectives on heritage that contrast each other. Walker uses quilts to symbolize the heritage and describes the two girls' view on quilts to show their perspectives on heritage. Maggie thinks of heritage as an attachment to her ancestors. She believes the everyday use of the inherited materials, how much ever value they may retain, will keep her connected to her ancestors. She values the attachment to the ancestors more than the inherited material itself. When she gives up the quilts to Dee, she states, "I can 'member Grandma Dee with the quilts." Dee, on the other hand, thinks of heritage as something that has an extrinsic value, for example its aesthetic value as an antique. She believes that the proper way to accept and preserve her heritage is to not put it into her everyday use but to cherish it only as an accessory. Such an idea is revealed when Dee says, "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts! She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use." When the mother asks Dee what she would do with the quilts, she says, "Hang them" (1177), which shows that Dee thinks of the quilts only as tangible antiques.

Dee is a controlling person who always wanted everything to herself only and don't want anybody to take something more than her. And that appeared when mama said that the quilts which were handmade by their grandma Dee, that she would give it to Maggie, Dee was very angry for that and she wanted to take the quilts herself not because she wanted, just because she don't like anybody to take something more than her and wants everything for herself only. Dee was well educated and didn't liked her mother's and sister's way of living so she traveled and when