Quilts Made Of Heritage
The short story “Everyday Use for your grandmama,” by Alice Walker, is about a black mother and her two daughters who are of African American descent. The two sisters are very different with one being uneducated and clinging to her heritage, while the other seeking a better life with getting and an education and leaving it far behind. This leads to the theme of the story, which is the meaning of heritage. Walker uses setting, symbolism, and diction to reinforce the theme that heritage is passed on to the future generations.
This story takes place in the late 1960s or early 1970s in a small house that is located in a pasture. Mama’s description of the house is “A three room house, with no windows, just some holes cut in the sides, like the portholes in a ship, but not round and not square, with rawhide holding the shutters up on the outside” (Walker 428). The way Mama describes the house lets the reader know that they are poor.
Next, the symbolism in this story has a lot to do with the theme. The story opens up with a mom and her two daughters. The youngest daughter Maggie is not the brightest and is uneducated. Dee, which is her older sister, is determined to get an education. In the story the author states, “Dee wanted nice things” (Walker 428). Mama and the church raised enough money to send Dee off to a school in Georgia. When Dee returned to visit Mama and Maggie, she asked if she could have the old quilts. Shocked by the question, Maggie dropped something while standing in the kitchen. Walker states that Dee “Held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them” (431). It is apparent that Dee wanted these quilts badly. But did she want these quilts for actual use or just for decoration and was Dee actually proud of her heritage? Before Dee left for her education she was offered the quilts, but she did not want them then. Walker states that Dee said that the quilts were “old-fashioned, and out of style” (432). All of this leads back to the theme of the story, which is heritage. The quits represent their heritage, because “Scraps of dresses worn by her Grandma Dee fifty plus years ago were in the quilts and one tiny faded blue piece from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (Walker 431).
Finally, the diction the author used in this short story has great significance to the theme of the story. Mama informs the reader that she never had an education and states “Don’t ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer
America. Heritage for the mother is an everyday life thing but for her daughter Dee it is a political thing. In this story Dee seems to be the more difficult one in the family. It is very difficult understanding where which character is coming from though. Throughout the story Mama is figure out who should be the rightful owner of the quilts and in the end she makes the right decision. Heritage is defined as something that is inherited from the past. There are many types of heritages such as natural…
“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 the relationship between Maggie and Dee, sisters who rarely speak and who have nothing…
English 102 February 14th 2015 Heritage "it is not he honor that you take with you but the heritage you leave behind." Branch Richey. Heritage is a huge part of the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. The conflicting views from two sisters is portrayed by pounding on the true importance of ones heritage. Heritage is not just something a person can look at and ponder about, there is meant to be such a deeper meaning in it. Perhaps even a use in the heritage. Momma, the narrator of the story…
Family is Heritage Heritage is something one inherits. Heritage is 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…
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…
Essay 3 RHT 102 July 23rd, 2012 What really heritage is If there is someone in this world, who understands, cares and knows deeply another human being, without judging or ulterior motives, is a mother. Maybe this is because a mother knows her baby even before the baby is born, so that is why a mother has the ability to read the mind of her children, even when the children try to hide what he or she is thinking form their mother. She knows when you are sad or you dislike something. She also knows…
fight 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…
She wants these quilts so badly because they are stitched from old pieces of clothing, and there is even a small piece "from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War" (Walker 93). Dee sees this information as beneficial to her image of coming from a poor oppressed black family and probably imagines herself sharing the story with friends when she is asked about the quilts. Farell states that Walker exposes Dee's superficiality and Mama's…
self behind Making a quilt, keeping a generational name, using a butter churn and dasher, valuing and respecting family’s treasurable gifts. To one soul this may mean a person’s identity, but for another this is nothing less than something you just do on an occasion. To ultimately appreciate your own culture; its critical you need to experience and embrace everything that’s been given rather then display it elsewhere. Walker addresses that a person who truly has heritage and culture makes use of…
educated there are two different analyses of, or approaches to their culture. Walker engagements characterizes and symbols highlight the change between these versions and finally uphold one of them, displaying that culture and heritage are parts of day to day life. This story, made up of a single mom and her two daughters. Maggie the youngest daughter, was burned badly when their house burned down. She tread softly through life ever since and clung to Mama for safekeeping. Walker states that Maggie’s…