The Meaning Of Heritage In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

In the story, a dispute comes about, which was who should receive the grandma’s quilts even though they were already promised to Maggie. Dee argued her sister wouldn’t appreciate the quilts; she would put them to everyday use rather than hang them. Mama explained that was the purpose of the quilts to be used; it held no sentimental value because it was a materialistic thing. At this part of the story, Mama conformed to Maggie’s needs by giving her the quilts instead of obeying Dee’s (Wangero’s) demands as usual.

Dee does not truly value the heritage, and her interest in the quilts seem to reflect a cultural trend. This cultural trend becomes evident when the mother says, “I had offered Dee a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style”(Walker 96). We learned early in the story that Dee acquired a style at a young age, and she allowed the world around her to alter and manipulate that style.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the story of a poor black woman living in the south between World War 1 and World War 2. This was at a time when, although slavery had ended,many women were still virtually in bondage, and had to put up with many conditions that was reminiscent of the days of slavery. The problem was that they had to endure being treated like an inferior being by their own families sometimes, as well as from the white people that lived there. It was a life that was filled with misery for many black women, and they felt helpless to do anything about their situations.

They had been pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and . . . hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them. One was in the Lone Star pattern. The other was Walk Around the Mountain. In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jerrell?s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the piece of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra?s uniform that he wore in the Civil War. (Walker 1153)

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

In the story, she introduces two sisters with almost opposite personalities and different views on heritage: Maggie and Dee. She uses the contrast between the two sisters to show how one should accept and preserve one's heritage. Beyond the contrast between two sisters there exist the judge figure mom, the narrator and the Dee's irony. The irony on Dee's opinion is the key to understand the story and why the mother let Maggie keep the quilts, which symbolize the heritage.

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 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

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

During an evening after dinner, while Wangero rummages through Walker's trunk, she finds two quilts. The quilts that Wangero holds were sewn by Grandma Dee. The quilts each symbolize Maggie's heritage. For instance, "One quilt is the Lone Star Pattern. The other is Walk Around the Mountain. In both of them are scraps of dresses Grandma Dee wore fifty and more years ago. Another one has bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that is from Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War" (125).

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

The Color Purple not only brought to light controversial relations between women but also the struggle that African American women faced in society due to the oppression they faced in a predominantly patriarchal society. Its reception was an ultimate success because of the intriguing characters and format. In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple she uses her unique narrative style and complex relationships to emphasize how toxic relationships in the early twentieth century were dealt with.

on and don’t want to break it: “I…snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap…” (page 9). The quilts itself used to wear and as a piece of uniforms that Dee’s grandfather wore during the civil war, it could be a symbolizes about Black-American suffering experiences.

At one point Dee started pointing out things that she was going to take back with her to decorate her house with. One of the items was a butter churn that had been passed along many generations and had imprints of the people who had used it. Mama said, “You didn't even have to look close to see where hands pushing the dasher up and down to make butter had left a kind of sink in the wood. In fact, there were a lot of small sinks; you could see where thumbs and fingers had sunk into the wood.” Dee wasn’t aware of how long this churn had been the family which shows how much she wanted to run away from her heritage. One of the most important symbols used in “Everyday Use” was the quilts, which to Dee had no significant value before she had gone off to college; however, towards the end of the story Dee requested to have the quilts after leaving them behind when going off to college, saying that she was the only one who could “appreciate” them. Maggie being as kind-hearted and shy as she was said that Dee could have the quilts, Mama refused saying that she had already promised Maggie the quilts. The quilts symbolize the family heritage and what the family went through during slavery. Mama says, “In both of [the quilts] were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years