Family Heritage In Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'

In the story “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, the story is told from the perspective of the Mama and the story involves two daughters.The oldest daughter changes her name and doesn't appreciate her culture, Dee and Maggie both want the family quilt. Dee wants the quilt, but the mom doesn't want to give the quilt to her, she wants to give the quilt to Maggie. Maggie wants to hold on to her heritage and Dee doesn't understand her heritage, her mom knows that Dee won't hold on to the family heritage.In the poem “My Mother Pieced Quilts” memories revolve around the poem.The poem is mainly about the mother's talent of weaving and how she weaves memories out of old fabric she finds that doesn't work anymore.In both of these stories,

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’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

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.

In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Maggie demonstrates when one appreciates her past and family, it leads to a meaningful life. Maggie has been demonstrated to show you need to know about your family. Maggie’s love for past down traditions have made her act more considerate and her mother quotes, “‘ She can always make some more’ I said. ‘ Maggie knows how to quilt’”(Walker 7). Maggie’s knowledge and understanding of her heritage are illustrated in this quote. Her mother and she have a special relationship because she’s more into knowing her family and is curious about it. In addition to, when you appreciate your family, most likely you can comprehend how to make certain items/know what your family history is. Additionally, Walker uses Maggie

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.

Most families share similar issue. Regardless of race, wealth, or even religion, all families, at some point, hardships or even joys to share. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” a family is force to face issues caused by poverty, misunderstandings, and separations. Momma, Maggie, and Dee all seems to appreciate their heritage, but the problem is that they do not view the same way. This lack of understanding is universal. In “Everyday Use” the family shares similarities and differences with my family concerning the disrespect, sibling relationships, and hard working parents.

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.

In the short story Everyday Use, by Alice Walker, the short story is narrated by a black woman in the South who is faced with the decision to give away two quilts to one of her two daughters. Dee, her oldest daughter who is visiting from college, perceives the quilts as popular fashion and believes they should undoubtedly be given to her. Maggie, her youngest daughter, who still lives at home and understands the family heritage, has been promised the quilts. Dee is insistent to possess these heirlooms of family heritage, while Maggie is forbearing in allowing Mama to make her own decision as to who should receive the quilts. Dee shows a lack of appreciation, disrespect, and a distancing behavior towards her mother and sister. Mama

When the mother snatched the quilt out of Dee's hands and gave them to Maggie, (Walker, 255) the author's argument became clear. The author wants heritage to be defined as how Maggie defines it: to live the heritage and put the quilt to everyday use. The author's definition of the word heritage is necessary in order to see the theme behind the short story which is to live and immerse in heritage, and this could not have been understood without the difference in definitions of heritage between Maggie and

“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.

In “Everyday Uses” Alice Walker used the idea of Maggie and Dee, who had different experiences in their life. In the story the Mama decides to give one of her daughters the quilts, but the other daughter believes she is more deserving of the quilts. The Mama understood that Maggie would understand the true value of what the quilts mean to their family. Dee does not listen to her mother who tried to tell her the garments used to make the quilt. Dee still left with one of the quilts, but left telling her mother she does not understand her own heritage and needs improvement. Both daughters showed what family means to each of them.