The quilt is the center of the problem In Everyday Use By: Alice Walker
Everyone who has siblings eventually ends up fighting over things with them. In Everyday Use, Dee finds herself lost in her family culture. On other hand, Maggie, Dee’s sister, embraces her culture. Cultural traditions are passed down from parents’ generations to children’s. In Everyday Use, Mama gives the tradition of the quilts to her daughters. The quilt is used as a symbol of heritage and at the same time as a blanket for warmth. Dee struggles to accept her culture and history while Maggie embraces them, and the blanket is the symbol of the struggle.
Mama, Dee and Maggie, are described thought mama eyes. Mama describe herself as being “A large, big-boned woman with rough, man working hands in the winter I wear flannel nigh gowns to bed and overalls.’’(2367), but at the same time she is not an educated person which she said “I never had an education myself after second grade the school was closed down.” (pg2368). Dee is the only person in the family, who ends up having an education, and she it’s describe as a, “Lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and fuller figure.” (pg2367) even though she is pretty she has the opportunity to get an education base on the effort of her mom and the community, “we raised the money, the church and me, to send her to Augusta to school.”(pg2368) Maggie being the shy person she is also humble, mama describe her as, “A dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way Maggie walks, chin on chest eyes on the ground, feet in the shuffle.” (Walker).
Mama, who it’s a good mother to her kids, tries to be fair to both of them. She ends up having to deal more with Dee which is only one that ends up going to college. Maggie, on the other hand is more understanding of Mamas’ way of life, and she just wants to leave the same simple life of Mama. Dee in the other hand she wants more out of life but struggles to accept where she comes from, and in understanding her family history, and the way of life. She has a conflict in accepting where she came from because of her change of name. She rejects Dee and end up calling her self Wangero. Wangero being an African name and knowing she had never being to Africa. Mama ask “what happened to Dee?” simply Wangero respond that “She’s dead” and “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me” (2370) this was slap on the face toward her Mom and Maggi, Mom felt that Wangero is a strange name other than Dee was family related, “Dicie is my sister. She named Dee. We called her “Big Dee” After Dee was born.” (2370) Mom was explaining Wangero that her name came from her ancestors as far as Mama can remember. Wangero didn’t want to accept it and ends up changing her name. Maggie in other hand takes her culture through Mama which she ends up learning from her. Maggie ends up learning how to quilt and the meaning of what the quilt represents that mama has. Wangero is not interest in learning about her culture. She has struggle taking her heritage and her mom custom instead she wanted nice things. “A yellow organdy dress o wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she’d made” (2368).
The quilts, which it’s used every day as a blanket of warm has a lot of meaning to mama, and Maggie. Thought Wangero eyes they are priceless quilts. Mama said that the quilts “had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them” (walker). This quilt has some history background into their family culture and where they came from, “scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and blue piece of a penny matchbox from Great Grandpa Ezra Uniform that he wore in the
cultural importance of the valuable date, rather than celebrating for its music and liquor. Such as Dee wanting to redo her heritage and focus on the cultural heirlooms and fashionable, rather than on what really matters about it. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” Dee deeply fails to know her true identity, rejecting her family name, culture style and heritage. When Dee comes home to visit her family she rejects the name Dee and changes her name to Wangero ,because she understand that the name has no…
What is the true meaning of heritage? Heritage is family traditions that are passed on from generation to generation. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” Walker seems to display the importance of heritage between two sisters in which one is successful and the other is younger and less fortunate. When growing up we all fantasized about leaving the nest. We envisioned a successful life for ourselves; going to college, getting our dream job and building a family with someone just as…
Cory Cresswell John Michael Moran ENG 2 1302-073 28 July 2013 The Horrible Dee In the story “Everyday Use” there is a young daughter, of a caring mother, named Dee. Dee is the sister to a sweet girl named Maggie. However, the sweetness and caringly characteristics of the two ladies did not transfer over to Dee. Dee is a very hurtful, spiteful, unsocial, and insensitive woman not only to her mother but to her sister as well. Dee grew up with only her mother and sister in a small wooden house…
important because many people receive things of both emotional and historical value. It could either be an item or a tradition passed down from generation to generation. It teaches the person inheriting that something a little bit of family history. In Everyday Use by Alice Walker, mother’s daughters Maggie and Dee fight over who gets to keep two quilts. Momma, Dee, and Maggie know the quilts are important because heritage is important to them. Mama the narrator is a loving mother who is strong and hardworking…
the African American culture since it was stripped from our ancestors decades ago. It has and still is common for African Americans to delve back into the past to gain understanding about their history, heritage, and culture. In Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use” utilizes the accounts of the protagonist Dee while she searches for personal meaning and a stronger sense of self. In contrast to her sister Maggie, a round character that transforms from a shy and timid girl to a confident and comfortable young…
Chris Sladic English 1302 Dr. Hasell Word Count: Everyday Use Final “Everyday Use” is a focus on the bonds between women of separate generations and their legacies, as symbolized by the quilts they fashion together. The connection between these women is strong, but the bonds are proven to be vulnerable as shown by the arrival of Dee, who shows a lack of understanding of her heritage. The relationship between the Mother and Aunt Dicie, the makers of the quilt, is completely different from…
David Zhang Pre-IB English 9B Ms. Brown February 2, 2013 Dee, the Outer Shell of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo “Be careful of Maggie” I had told Hakim in the car. “She completely detests me.” He assured me that it was alright, as he always did. Oh Hakim, he always understood. He was one of the few that did. Hakim with his hair flowing over his head like the proud mane of a lion. Hakim reminded me of Africa. Of our proud, ancient heritage. It was a shame that my…
I look at it this way, no human should treat an animal being tested for the latest drug, medicine or cosmetic, how they wouldn’t want their little dog Rufus or cat Sophia treated at home. There are some up sides to testing animals for our personal uses. For one what if one of your loved ones was sick and needed some new form of medicine that needed to be tested, and tested efficiently. The safer route I feel would be to test a vaccine out on a monkey, rat or a dog and not a human. It may just be…
Ellen Johnson Mr. Roberts AP English 4 13 Apr 2010 Dee: the Sister Who Lost Her Identity Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" is a short story about the clash between a mother and daughter. Dee is the child returning home to visit. The visit is not exactly pleasant and ends after a stand-off between her and Mama. Many readers see Mama as finally standing up for her own ideals while also refusing to conform to the rules Dee wishes her to follow. Dee follows different rules of society and religion than…
Jade Brylon Dipple Everyday Use Essay English Quinn 4th September 3, 2014 In the story everyday use there are two sisters that both want the quilts that there mother has kept for many years. In the story we learn that the oldest sister Dee is very fashionable. For example, when Dee steps out of the car she is described wearing a dress down to the ground. “There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. Earrings gold to, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling…