Symbolism In The Century Quilt By Marilyn Nelson Waniek

On viewing her work, I am reminded of the traditional art of quilt making, an art once dismissed as “women’s work” but reevaluated by the Pattern and Decoration movement during the second wave of feminism during the 1970’s. Historically quilt makers have used its qualities to communicate political and social messages. For example, the Abolition quilts made during the US Civil war era were inscribed with messages decrying the evils of slavery. However, Gower uses the repetitions of the motifs and tessellations of quilt making practice to draw attention to the excesses of mass

The poem focuses around the author’s childhood memory of his school day. However, there is a much deeper meaning to his typical school day as he remembers vividly the repetition of events surrounding him in the classroom. He remembers the day being dark, gray, and rainy, instantly setting the tone of the poem. With dark images like the gray sky, continuous rainfall, and the continuous children’s choir

Marth E. Keech created her quilt “Baltimore, Maryland, ‘‘Album” quilt” in c. 1861 using wool, silk, and cotton. Just as the title suggests, the painting subject is a quilt. The painting is currently being exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas. It is unusually large at 85 7/8 by 85 ½ by 1 inches. The piece can only be seen from a front view perspective because it is displayed on the wall.

Throughout the poem “The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek, the speaker offers insights into her diverse family by comparing them to her beloved quilt. Through her use of a nostalgic tone, visual imagery, and structure, Waniek is able to convey the importance of the true meaning behind the quilt. Waniek uses a multitude of colors throughout this poem to help her illuminate the real purpose of the quilt. Through this use of visual imagery, Waniek is able to illustrate how the speaker embodies the true meaning of the quilt as it connects to her diverse family.

In the story, a family heirloom becomes a conflict because while Dee wants to take the quilt to decorate her home, Maggie would make better use of the quilts by using them instead of framing them. This quilt that has been passed down from generation to generation, is symbolic of the love that both the older generations and the present generation has for each other. The quilt also symbolizes the strength of the family and the stitching is symbolic of the bonds that hold a family together. Mama ultimately decides that the quilt will go to Maggie because Dee does not understand the practicality of the quilt which is that they were from pieces of clothes that were lived in, which represented their past. Alice Walker was also emphasizing that it is the woman in the family that have held and currently hold families together by depicting closeness of the female relationships.

The quilts are used in the representation of what heritage means to Mama and Maggie versus Dee’s view of them. Mama describes that:

Quilting can also be used for expression of oneself or for social commentary. Back in the 1800’s when there were many wars women would usually make quilts because they were what was needed in those times and the fabric was often hard to come by and it was usually saved for clothes making.” It was a means to escape from the isolation of their lifestyle and it allowed them the artistic freedom to express themselves. The quilts produced by our ancestors told stories about their lifestyles that could not be captured by pen and paper. Every quilt we see today, regardless of when the quilt was made, relates a story. The types of fabrics, the design of the quilt, the signature of the quilter, all reveal an intimate story of the woman or man who made the quilt.” (Meeske,Quilt Me a Story) They used quilting to get out of the bleakness and horrible things that were going on in their lives at the moment and put how they felt in the quilts. Around the mid-1800’s women quilted a lot more to show artistic talent, political views, and even their emotions. “Prior to a woman’s ability to vote, some women used their artistic talents and expressed their political views through a quilt. The issue of slavery in the United States in the mid-1800s led to quilt patterns called Slave Chain

symbolic richness, but at the same time the poem supplies the reader with a wide

Colors are apart of our everyday lives. They help us on dreaming, creating and increasing youthfulness. The author used colors to illustrate an importance behind objects, emotions, and characters. The various colors symbolize location, character traits and appearances.

Colors are used in literature to describe the different emotions of a character. Colorism is a type of symbolism used in literature. Death uses color symbolism in The Book Thief to describe a character's emotion because he is the narrator. Color symbolism in literature is when the author uses a color to symbolize the character's emotion; it occurs throughout The Book Thief. Red, white, and gray or silver are the colors that are used the most frequently and have the biggest meanings throughout the novel.

Culturally, the symbolism of a quilt is understood to be an heirloom piece that is closely guarded and highly prized. The ownership of the quilt and the generational lines it passes down is known before the piecing is begun. Stitching the pieces together is done by groups of women. The tiny bits of cloth each carry a memory, one from grandpa's shirt, one square from an aunt's Christmas dress, a piece from the flannel nightgown a mother wore as she pulled her sick child close to her bosom. The pieces are carefully and artistically pieced together into a collage of

Through his poem “Theme for English B”, Langston Hughes expresses his will to exterminate discrimination by proving that despite different skin colors, Americans all share similarities and learn from each other. Langston wrote the poem in 1900, when black Americans were not considered Americans. He talks about a black student being assigned to write a paper about himself. The audience is thus the student’s professor – the representation of the white Americans. Since the professor said: “let that page come out of you---Then, it will be true.”, the student began wondering “if it’s that simple”. He then describes himself to explain why it isn’t simple: he is “twenty-two”, “the only colored in class”, and lives in the poor community Harlem.

In “The Century Quilt,” Marilyn Nelson Waniek utilizes several literary techniques to represent the speaker’s undying heritage through her family heirloom that binds generations with one another. As an indication of the diversity and complexity within her family, the speaker goes into depth about the immense effect her Meema’s blanket had on her growth into a woman and the etching along her own quilt that represents her Native American pride. With the use of evocative imagery and symbolism of her culture’s oppression, Waniek depicts the speaker’s remorseful tone towards the recurring theme of absence within her family, that forces her to rely on the quilt for a sense of comfort and guidance.

Recently, The National Quilt Museum hosted an exhibit entitled The Chicago School of Fusing. This exhibit had it all, from vibrant landscapes to deep sea creatures to a three-dimensional, electrified quilted Ferris Wheel. The exceptional creativity of these artists truly brings to life these awe-inspiring pieces of textile art. Currently on exhibit, are the exhibits A Sense of Balance and Quilting Reivented: Longarm Quilters of the 21st Century. These exhibits are a perfect complement to one another because they are the extremes of the quilting art form.

Ever wonder how we got quilted bedcovers? We got things like quilts from the Africans. African, Fannie Moore was just a child, when slavery was just abolished. She recalls her mom making quilted bedcovers in the cabins for the “white folks”, however her mother also made them for her own family.