Symbolic Meanings Of Characters In Everyday Use ( Alice Walker )

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is a story of a black family composed of a mother and her two daughters: Maggie and Dee. Walker does an excellent job illustrating her characters. There are all types of characters in this short story from round to static. Dee is a flat character, yet Walker uses Dee’s character to warn people of what might happen if they do not live properly. Walker describes Dee’s character as arrogant and selfish, and through Dee’s character one is allowed to perceive the wicked effect of an egotistical world.

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

The bench was passed on to Mama from many generations. The rump prints on the bench shows the history of their ancestors. Mama and Maggie still use this same bench at their table because they could not afford chairs. The butter dish that was Grandma Dees' is also being used at the table. Also the churn top that was whittled out of a tree by Uncle Buddy still plays a large role in Mama and Maggie's daily life. The main family item that Walker uses to symbolize heritage are the two quilts. These quilts are sewed from pasted ancestors and the meanings of these quilts are filled with history. The churn top, the bench with her ancestor's rump prints, the butter dish, and the quilts are all symbols of their heritage.

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

Because, the quilts had been made by the grandmother’s hands, the work that went into the quilts is the reason for importance of saving or preserving them as a family heirloom. “Maggie”, knows the true value of the quilts, “Dee” seems to view them as any other common blanket. Alice Walker stated in the story that Maggie felt like the world never learned to tell Dee no. That is a direct reference to the mother never standing up to Dee and asserting her rightful place.

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.”

The story “Everyday Use” is set in the southern part of the US in the early 1970’s, a time when many african americans were still being mistreated and were adapting to the changing times just after a civil rights period. Alice Walker presents two of the main characters in the story, Mama and Dee, as culturally opposite and having different views towards the role of their shared heritage. The style dialogue between them and the structure of the story highlight these conflicting values and send a message to the reader that black southern culture and one based on African roots can’t coexist. Rather, they will attempt to cut each other out and end up hurting their overall culture.

The African heritage plays a major role in the story, “Everyday Use”. Alice Walker emphasizes the meaning of heritage by having Dee come visit her family and contradicting her heritage. As Dee go off to college, she meets new people and finds her a boyfriend, Asalamalakim. Alice Walker adds attention onto Dee’s new name, Wangero, because Dee changes her name, not understanding the true root of her original name. “No, mama,’ she says. ‘Not Dee, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’ ‘What happened to ‘Dee’?’ I wanted to know. ‘She’s dead…” (160). However, Dee truly believes that her heritage lies way back to Africa. The African clothes and name gives an understanding that Dee thinks that she is from Africa and that is where her heritage originally lies. In addition, Mama and Dee have different point of views on what heritage truly is. Mama tells Wangero (Dee) that her name comes from a line of ancestors, yet Wangero believes that her new name has more roots in it. “You know as well as me you were named after your aunt Dicie,’ I said. Dicie is my sister. She named Dee. We

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

In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker summarizes the representation of the beauty, the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. “Everyday Use” focuses mainly between members of the Johnson family, consisting of a mother and her two daughters. One of the daughters Maggie, who was injured in a house fire and has living a shy life clinging to her mother for security. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with a grace and natural beauty. “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure… (716) She also grew up determined to have a better life than her mother and sister. This takes place when Dee (the only family member to receive a formal education) returns to visit Dee’s mother and younger sister Maggie. Again this portrays a slight issue between two different views of the African-American culture. Alice uses symbolism to empathize the difference between these interpretations, showing that culture and heritage are parts of daily life. The title of the story, Everyday Use, symbolizes the living heritage of the Johnson family, a heritage that is still in “everyday use”.

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.

Dee is already claiming the quilts to herself, even though Mama has never said "yes" that she could have them. Dee challenges Mama's authority by grasping the quilts and moving back as her mother tries to touch them. By doing this, she also disregards Mama's free will to give the quilts to whomever she would like. Mama observes that if Dee cannot preserve the unity of the family by honoring her mother, then how will she be able to appreciate the quilts in a respectable way. Dee has nothing but put-downs for Maggie, implying that she is more deserving to receive the quilts. She is using

As far as the narrator is concerned, Dee was named after her aunt Dicie, who was

Mama realizes that Dee doesn’t deserve the quilts when Dee explodes on her family and looks at her mother with hatred. Dee doesn’t see the people behind the quilts just like how she doesn’t see the people behind her name. Maggie was a part of the quilt. She could continue the art of quilting. That is a part of her family’s inheritance and heritage. The things Maggie learned from her family created who she was as a woman. Mama takes the quilts from her and

“Everyday Use” is a short story written by a 1940’s black writer, Alice Walker. She did a fantastic job illustrating her characters. There are different types of character in her story from round to static. Her use of clear-cut symbolism prompts the reader to be able to take a deeper look into the characters of the story. When reading this story I felt anger for Dee, while for the narrator and Maggie I felt sympathy.