Essay On Everyday Use

Everyday Use Essay
RR: "Everyday Use"
My Sister, My Enemy
Often siblings are brought up in the same environment and turn out completely different. This is the
case in Alice Walkers, "Everyday Use". Although two sisters, Maggie and Dee, are raised by the
same woman and in the same home, their similarities end here. Both are different in their
appearance, personalities, and ideas about family heritage. Each having opposing views on value
and worth of the various items in their lives. Walker uses this conflict to make the point that the use
of an object and of people, is more important than style.
As the story begins, Walker introduces "Mama". She, the narrator of the story, describes herself as a
"large, big–boned woman with rough, man working hands"...show more content...
Before her name change, she frowned on the items in her home because of their lack of beauty and
style. However, when she becomes Wangero, she now sees the same items, such as a dasher and
butter churn, as part of her family heritage. She insists on taking these items because she plans to
use the churn top as a "centerpiece for the alcove table" (359). Sadly, she fails to consider that she is
taking away her mothers butter churn, a useful item, for selfish use instead.
Unlike Dee, Walker's description of Maggie is seen as an unattractive and awkward girl. Her mother
notes "good looks passed her by" (355). Furthermore, she carries herself with low self–esteem, "chin
on chest, eyes on ground" (355). Besides her appearance, when Maggie is first introduced in the
story, Mama points out that she is nervous about her sister's visit and "will stand hopelessly in
corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a
mixture of envy and awe" (355).
However, the one thing both sisters have in common are the family quilts. These quilts are described
by Mama as being made from family members who have passed, which enhance their value. Maggie
values the quilts because she learned to quilt from her grandmother and aunt. She hints that she sees
the quilt as a reminder of them when she mentions, "I can't 'member Grandma Dee without the
quilts" (360). Dee,
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Everyday Use Opinion Paper
Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use," reflects the intimate struggle within a poor African
American family as they run up against monumental issues of history, heritage, and family values.
Dee in Alice Walker's story, "Everyday Use," is struggling to find her place in the world and who
she is. This story reflects a transitional period in her life where tradition and heritage meet a new
contemporary reality. Dee was raised among the poor and ignorant, and resented it. She believed
that she was cut from a different cloth, and thus her environment wouldn't dictate her place in life.
And so seemingly out of a profound embarrassment Dee was driven to break the mold of history by
tirelessly differentiating herself wherever she...show more content...
The items in the house now become priceless antiques as opposed to worn out utilities. The benches
her father made, complete with rump prints, suddenly bears some higher truth and is now of
personal worth. The churn top is prized as well, for it is a family relic, and as such would make a
beautiful centerpiece. Next, Dee prizes the quilts that are made from various sentimental pieces of
fabric, a literal patchwork of family history. She will hang them, as they are too symbolic to actually
use. Dee believes these pieces tell of the plight of the African American, not of her own upbringing,
which she would happily forget. So it is in the nature of her metamorphosis that is truly telling. The
reader begins to understand that within Dee's transformation there lies an austere disconnect. Indeed,
she is proud of her new found enlightenment and heady liberation; she has found herself, or has she?
Really, the only thing she has found is that which she sought, something different. In detaching from
the old she has lost something very valuable, her true rooted and personal heritage, and gained very
little in return. The irony of course is that the heritage Dee now prizes and extols in the abstract is
the same that she turned her back on in the literal. Education has taught her of her history, but not her
heritage. Dee has come to appreciate her own loftiness, relegating her

Essay on Everyday Use
Everyday Use
When we meet our narrator, the mother of Maggie and Dee, she is waiting in the yard with
Maggie for Dee to visit. The mother takes simple pleasure in such a pleasant place where, "anyone
can come back and look up at the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the
house." (Walker 383) This is her basic attitude, the simple everyday pleasures that have nothing to do
with great ideas, cultural heritage or family or racial histories. She later reveals to us that she is even
more the rough rural woman since she, "can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man." (Walker
383) Hardly a woman one would expect to have much patience with hanging historical quilts on a
wall. Daughter Maggie is very much the...show more content...
One of the quilts has a tiny piece of blue cloth from Great Grandpa Ezra's Civil War uniform.
Mother offers Dee two other quilts instead because the ones Dee wants are promised to Maggie for
when Maggie marries, but Dee won't settle for those since the other quilts are not as old and are not
entirely hand made. Maggie even volunteers to give up her claim on the quilts, but Mother refuses to
allow that.
Just before Dee leaves, she tells her mother, "You just don't understand...your heritage."( Walker 389)
After Dee drives away, Mother and Maggie remained in the yard, "just enjoying, until it was time to
go in the house and go to bed." (Walker 389)
The essential question being explored by Alice Walker is the conflict between someone who has
recently "discovered" her family and racial heritage and wants to preserve its symbols (Dee) and
someone who has lived intimately with those "symbols" in their utilitarian sense (Momma). Dee
has left the old rural homestead and its "backward" ways behind her. Indeed, when she first left
for school, Momma offered Dee one of the old quilts that Dee now covets, but Dee refused
because "they were old fashioned, out of style." (Walker 388) Now, Dee returns home looking for
heritage treasures which she hopes to rescue from being used and worn out or being left in the
bottom of a trunk. This all rings true with her adopting her new African name and her male
companion who sports similar attributes. This story was

Essay on Analysis of Everyday Use by Alice Walker
The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what
kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about
Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of
child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The
crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different
person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected
her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama
defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the...show more content...
Mama could be defined as a round character in the story because of the change she undergoes at the
end. Mama?s goes through a dramatic change in the story when she gets up the nerve to tell her
aggressive, non–hesitant daughter ?No?, and gives her other daughter Maggie, who has often been
on the bad end of things, the household items for her marriage.
Dee could probably be considered a main character in the story, but her change was too simple,
because she changed on the outside only, and because she didn?t change on the day that the story
occured. Mama stated ?When I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and
ran down to the souls of my feet. Just like when I?m in church and the spirit of God touches me
and I get happy and shout? (94). Maggie did not have a lot of input in the story although she did
change a little, both were flat characters. Mama is a more in–depth character than Dee and Maggie
because the reader is given very descriptive attributes of her physically and mentally. Dee did not
want to quilt to remember her heritage by, but instead to hang it up on the wall like some sort of
trophy to show others where she has come from. She loves her family very much, but is ashamed
of the surroundings she grew up in. Overall, Mama?s change had a big impact on the story due to
the fact that she went from a woman who had low self esteem and was scared to

Everyday Use By Alice Walker: Summary
Walker entertains African Americans and Americans about the relationship between these two
sisters and their mother. One daughter is named Maggie and she stays at home with her mother
and help her with the chores around the house. She was also burnt in a house fire so she does not
het out much. "Mamma", has another daughter, Dee. Dee is very beautiful, and outgoing and
really completely opposite of Maggie. Dee leaves home and experience life for her own, and
becomes a pro black person. When Dee comes back she wants things from here house to treat them
as artifacts at her own home. Especially this quilt. Dee wanted it, but the mother wouldn't allow it.
She wanted Maggie to have it. Maggie kept this quilt and Dee left, but not without talking

Alice Walker's Everyday Use Essay
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"
In the story "Everyday Use" the narrator is telling a story about her life and two daughters, who are
named Dee and Maggie. The narrator is very strong willed, honest, compassionate and very
concerned with the lives of her two daughters. Her daughter Dee is not content with her lifestyle and
makes it hard on Maggie and the narrator. The narrator is trying to provide for her family the best
way she can. The narrator is alone in raising the two daughters and later sends her daughter Dee to
college. The longer the story goes on the more the narrator shows how intelligent and how much she
loves her two daughters.
Mama who is the narrator is a woman who can do any chore that a man can, because of...show more
content...
Mama is also very observant because when her daughter Dee comes and visits, Dee tells Mama
that she changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. This makes Mama feel that her
daughter is running from her heritage. So when Dee asks for some quilts that have been in the
family for years, Mama tells her, "No, they are for Maggie". This says to me that Mama is very
quick to draw as far as the actions of her daughter. She notices that Dee changed her name and
abandoned her heritage. Mama tells Dee that her name came from her grandmamma. Mama is very
understanding also, because she isn't mad at Dee for changing her name, and just tells her that she
can't have the quilts.
Mama was a very interesting to me in this story, because she is so manly in the story. "I can kill
and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man", she says in the story. Mama is also aware that she is not
the brightest woman, because she says that she didn't go any further then the second grade. I love
how honest she is with herself. Like when she talks about never being able to hold a tune. Most
people would lie to their self and make it sound like they could sing if they wanted to. Mama is
also a dreamer, at times because she refers to things the way that they were. Like when she refers to
her education and the house that they use to have. They had a house before but there was a fire.
Mama also has some humor to her, "Why don't

The Meaning of "Everyday Use" with Characterization Analyzing characterization is the key to find
fiction's controlling idea and central insight––theme. Direct presentation––one character description
technique––usually directly shows what characters are like by exposition, analysis, or another
character's description. The other way to shape characters is to use the indirect presentation by
describing their actions and leaving room for readers to develop their own ideas about the
characters. "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker is a short story that expresses the conflicts between
people's different attitudes and values of heritage. This story is a dramatic story, but one that uses
first–person point of view to narrate the story, which gives...show more content...
This process is about abstracting the heritage objectively. Only with this process can Dee
understand that the essences of all the heritages are all about the spirits and behaviors of specific
group in a certain era, without attaching any differences between high and low. Therefore, Dee's
character and behavior also reflect that her thinking of heritage is objective– oriented. Maggie's view
of heritage, on the contrary, can be known as subjective–oriented in this story by both indirect and
direct presentations. Readers can analyze Maggie's behaviors and Mama's descriptions about her to
understand that she attempts to consider heritage as emotional sustenance and value, and can be
passed on by putting it into everyday use with self–experiencing. When Maggie tries to give the quilt
to Dee, she says that "'I can remember Grandma Dee without the quilts'" (115). This narration of
Maggie should be regarded as an indirect presentation because readers need to judge her by
thinking of her action of speaking. This indirect presentation clearly shows Maggie's view of
heritage. As the view of Maggie, the function of the quilt is to remind her about her grandmother.
Maggie places her missing of Grandma into the quilt specifically, and keeps it to be her emotional
sustenance. Many pieces of memory will be reminded when she sees this emotional sustenance, thus
she will get spiritual solaces. In

Essay On Everyday Use By Alice Walker
"Everyday Use" is a timeless short story told my Alice Walker. There are three main characters
that are apparent throughout the story; these characters are Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Dee is the
character that Walker uses to portray the real world at the time that the story was set. Right from
the start, the audience gets the sense of the selfish and condescending nature that Dee holds. The
second paragraph sets the perfect upfront picture of Dee by saying "She thinks her sister has held
life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her." (1)
Dee represents the role that race plays in shaping identity through the idea of black pride, the
physical description, and through the selfish attitude that Dee has. The story takes place in the
1970's which happens to be when a momental piece of time when it comes to African American
rights. The Black Power movement was occurring during this time and Dee perfectly depicts the
persona of "black pride." Dee thinks that she is better than Maggie and her Mama, this mindset
started once she learned to read and would read to them "without pity." (2) This idea that Dee
embraced when she came home to visit was the idea that blacks were not inferior to whites anymore,
...show more content...
This was an idea that many in the "Black Panther Party" for example held as a true statement. Dee
believed that she was entitled to a lot of the things in the household. Walker uses this characteristic
to show more in depth the mindset Dee had of black entitlement. Towards the end of the story, the
narrator describes Dee as putting "on sunglasses that hid everything above the tip of her nose and
chin." (10) This one statement sums up how stuck up Dee really is. It shows how she thinks she is
superior to everyone around, especially Maggie and Mama. Dee is so focused on making sure her
African American heritage gets respected that she fails to respect the people closest to

Everyday Use Literary Analysis Essay
Mother vs. Daughter In the short story called "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, the mother daughter
conflict theme is portrayed throughout the whole story. The oldest daughter Dee constantly believes
that she is better than the rest of the family causing a family feud about who gets the cherished
quilt. Dee has always been on a pedestal over her family and she soon finds out that it is no longer
the case. Once she finds this out conflict arises. The biggest conflict lies between Mama and Dee.
This is clearly illustrated by Dee's high standards, selfish behavior, and lack of knowledge about her
family's heritage. Dee sets impossible standards for her mother, causing Mama to feel inferior. Dee
forces Mama to be the way Dee would...show more content...
In Dee's eyes the pasture that her Mama lives in is not comparable to her fast pace high style
world. This caused her to not even bring her friends over to their house (Walker 290). Her friends
even put her on a pedestal, just like Mama. "They were nervous girls who never laughed. They were
impressed with Dee they worshiped the well–turned phrase, the cute shape, and scalding humor that
erupted like bubbles in lye" (Walker 290). This description of how Dee's friends view her is told by
Mama. This is another example of how Mama puts Dee on an unneeded pedestal. She describes her
as some kind of God that her friends worship. In reality, it is Mama worshipping Dee. Dee's
selfishness is also portrayed by her cultured verbal skills. Dee can talk her way through anything.
Dee often manipulates others with her verbal skills. This is shown when she reads to her mother
and sister "without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us, sitting
trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (Walker 289). This statement further demonstrates the
fact that Dee's family feels inferior to her. Mama describes the situation as if Dee has some kind
of power over her family because she is scholarly and her family is not. Dee uses her education to
make Mama and Maggie feel less important without, necessarily meaning to. Critic, Nancy Tuten
believes that Mama does not like the fact that Dee bosses her and Maggie around.

Dee really happy with her family and their heritage. As I read this story, it reminded me of one of
my close friends. She has more of a bond with my family, than what she has with her's. She is into
sports, loves to dance, listen to all music, and talks until your ears fall off. While her family is
timid and not really into anything but themselves. She always think of herself as the black sheep,
but I remind her that there is nothing wrong with her being different. No one will love you less if
you are just yourself, and if they do they aren't suppose to be in your life. In the story "Everyday
Use", everyone waits for Dee's arrival to home, but gets this rude awakening that she is has come
back different. Dee changes her name to Wangero. while she is there she acts the...show more
content...
Most people don't like to hear or read anything from people on the outside looking in or should i
say from people who are not going through it. It is a much stronger meaning when you hear or
read something from the person the situation actually happened to. Mama stated, "When I looked
at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet."
This feeling can only come from a person going through the situation. Mama was so upset with
Dee at this moment. She really just wants to make sure that Maggie is ok. Walker has the symbol
of a quilt to explain the heritage. Symbols can be multiple things. They can also mean different
things. A symbol is something you may think is a token. Mama stated, "They had been pieced by
Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and
quilted them." This shows that the quilt was something very important to mama. So, she definitely
did not want to give it to Dee who she knew would not appreciate it. she would rather give them to
Maggie because she know they would be will taken care of and

Use
(Literary analysis on Everyday Use by Alice Walker) Everyday many people use the same things
such as phones, cars, sinks, washer, refrigerators, and etc. In 100 years would you can future
ancestors still have those things but only use them as decoration or use them still no matter how
old they are because that is what they are made for? Everyday Use by Alice walker is a story of an
African Americanfamily that had two daughter that live a very different reality. Maggie being
scarred from a house fire when she was just a little girl, made here really shy and lost a lot of
confidence. Dee the old sister was considered very pretty and tried to escape anything the related
her back to her poor family, she was ashamed to be poor. Mowe...show more content...
Sibling rivalry isn't just conflict between each other but also stability in adult life. Competition to
see who has a better life and position in the world. Undoubtedly, sibling rivalry is a message in
the story between Maggie and Dee. Another message in Everyday Use is the acceptance of
culture and family history. Maggie lives still in poverty and her life very much displays her
culture and she is proud of where she came from. Dee on the other hand refuses to claim her
culture and instead looks down upon anyone who supports it. The story states, "No Mama, she
says, Not Dee,' Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (Page 1316). Dee denied her culture and decide to
change her name to Wangero because she didn't want to be name after the oppressors. Her mom
respond with says she was name after them, but was name after her aunt Dicie. Still she refused the
name wanting to be called Wangero. While on the other hand er younger sister Maggie didn't
understand why Dee would change her name to such a weird Eastern name. Maggie saw this as
degrading to the culture her ancestors lived through. An online article by Behreandt says, "
Confederate history, specifically, the notion that the "traitorous" South rebelled to protect the odious
institution of slavery". Slavery in the history of their family is a big reason why Dee doesn't want
to accept any part of it. Obviously, the acceptance of culture plays a huge message in the story.
Equally important is the

Essay On Everyday Use By Alice Walker
Ana Suastegui
Julie Newton
07 July 7, 2015
Composition II
Everyday Use By Alice Walker
The short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker seems that Alice is presenting Dee as this attractive
young, light skinned woman but in reality she is as bitter as can be. Dee comes home out of
random with an unknown man and has a new identity of some sort for her culture of African
Americans, and for the mom and other daughter it seems to be quite odd. By showing this Alice
Walker is showing the tension between Africans who have left the village to "become" something
and those that are still old fashion and continue to live in the southern areas.
The day Dee comes home her little sister seems afraid and shy of her. Maggie is always with her
mother so she feels a sense of bondage with mama but yet seems to look at Dee with such
jealousy and awe. In the story Mama recalled a moment where Maggie had said Dee was gifted
with an easy life, and she was rarely frustrated. Although Maggie doesn't quite find the words to
ever talk about how she truly feels and finds things unfair, she feels she has taken all the difficulties
onto her shoulders. When Maggie tries to show her true feelings is the moment Dee tries to snatch
the quilts that Mama had promised to Maggie. She becomes enraged....show more content...
When Dee arrives with no knowledge about her heritage, it shows that the bond amongst the family
can be easily broken. Dee clearly doesn't understand that the quilts are pieces of living history and
she just wants to use it for house dГ©cor. The quilts serve as living history and proof of how the
war and poverty effected their family had faced. Mama values these items and instead of her
receiving financial compensation she received the quilts and for her she believes that Dee wouldn't
be able to understand the value of them as much as Maggie

Everyday Use Summary Chapter 8
It was a bright sunny day the sky was a soft shade of blue and there was a slight breeze in the air.
Ma and Maggie say their farewells to Dee (Wangero).Dee enters the old aqua 1950 crest liner, the
car's engine revved to life and whirred past and sped down the road. Ordinarily, in the
background, Maggie paints a ray of sunshine all over her face, at last, she feels validated."Come
on, let's go inside. "says Ma. "Huhhhh... okay Mama," replied Maggie. As soon as they entered the
house, the silence in the house was as pure as the wintry blanket outside; it caressed Maggie's skin
like a cool summer breeze, smoothing her soul, taking away her jagged edges. Ma went back to her
room to find it in shambles, the clothes strewn all over the floor. Dee

Essay on Everyday Use, by Alice Walker
In the short story, Everyday Use, the author, Alice Walker, develops and transforms the attitude of
the protagonist, Mama, adjusting the way she views her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. As one
of the most significant characters in the story, Mama sets the perspective and point of view for
the readers because of her important role as the narrator. The plot line of the story revolves
around the return of Mama's eldest daughter, Dee, as she is coming home from college in the city.
In the beginning of the story, Walker gives the readers the strong impression that Mama harbors a
special partiality for her eldest daughter, and a feeling of shame for her youngest, Maggie. But as
the story works its way to the peak, and eventually comes to its...show more content...
Mama even has a fantasy about being reunited with her eldest daughter on the Johnny Ross Show,
as they embrace and weep in each other's arms because Dee is a girl who has finally "made it"
(Walker par 3). Through–out the beginning of the story, Mama sings her daughters praises, speaking
of her education and her beauty. She compares Dee against her younger sister Maggie, "Dee is
lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure" (Walker par 10), but her praises remain only
on superficial good qualities that Dee possesses. Although Mama speaks highly of her daughter, the
tone that Walker writes Mama's attitude gives the reader an understanding that Mama was slightly
resentful toward her daughter, and had hard feelings for Dee's materialistic love for the finer things
in life. "Dee wanted nice things... Often I fought off the temptation to shake her" (Walker par 12).
Mama also mentions Dee's hatefulness toward the family home, and even had her suspicions of
Dee's hatred for Maggie (Walker par 11), which hints to the readers that Dee's deeper character
flaws do not go unnoticed by Mama. Through Mama's voice, Walker describes Maggie to be the
complete opposite in everything that her older sister is. In contrast to the confident personality that
her older sister attains, Mama says, "[Maggie] has been like this, chin

Everyday Use Thesis Statement
General statement:
Mama understands the past and the significance of a family heritage. Her heritage including her
memories of her mother and grandma making quilts together by hands.
Topic sentence:
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" introduces a clash between generations. Now and then, Maggie and
Dee.
Thesis Statement:
Alice Walker carefully portrays the three characters: The mother, Dee. And Maggie
Body A, Mama:
The character of Mama in the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker endures through intense
times and takes advantage of what she has. She is a lady that tells things how they are, only plain
truth. She can be entertaining now and again and intense at others. She is self–portrayed as "a large,
huge boned, women with rough, man–working...show more content...
The way the burning house, her stuck–up sister, and society influenced Maggie make her unique in
relation to others. Maggie was so damaged from her home burning down that she turned into a
meek and undervalued young lady. Maggie is so unsure that her mother says she walks like a dog
run over by a car: "chin on chest eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the
other house on the ground." This demonstrates that Maggie absence of self–confidence make her
frightened to look. She imagines that on the off chance that she can't see the individuals around
her, then they can't see her. What's more, Maggie's discernible scars have impacted on the way
she conducts herself. As indicated by Mama, when she was pulling Maggie out of the fire, her
arms were adhering, "her hair was smoking, and her dress was tumbling off her in minimal dark
papery pieces." This is huge light of the fact that indicates how much the flame really physically
scarred her. This additionally clarifies why she is so apprehensive about individuals seeing her.
Maggie's apparent compressed version of confirmation in herself is created basically by the fire.
The barbaric way Maggie's sister, Dee, presents herself awful impact on Maggie's certainly. At this
point when Dee inquired as to whether she can have some unique quilts and Mama says no on the
grounds that she

Essay On Everyday Use
Name juan mejia
Date 12/15
Period2
Essay 1 "Everyday Use": Explain the meaning of the title in the context of the story. In other words,
you'll be explaining the theme.
In the story ''Everyday use'' we are brought to understand that there are two sisters named Maggie
and Dee along with their mother as the narrator. In the story the narrator describes each character
in depth throughout the story for example in the beginning maggie is shown to us as a shy girl
with burns on her arm and that always stays in the corner of room away from everyone else and
dee her sister is shown to us as a person who doesn't know what no is and that has always been the
better daughter and that she look down on her family for living the way they did and looked

Essay on Everyday Use by Alice Walker
Sarah Benesh
Dr. Susan Dauer
English 1102
2 Febuary 2011 Analyzation of "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker In 1972, Alice Walker published
"Everyday Use" in a collection of short stories In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black women. As
better known "Everyday Use" stood out of the collection, it has become one of few short stories
about the conflict black Americans faced after the Civil Rights Movement; The struggle to maintain
traditions, whilst embracing new–found freedom, and where the two worlds collided. Discussing the
reoccurring themes, symbols and motifs through the narrator's perception, and actions will reveal if
the character, and ultimately the reader himself has grown or remained static in affect of the conflict.
As...show more content...
This upsets the Narrator, Mama, she makes reference to Maggie being able to put them to
everyday use, and she can always quilt more; while Dee adamantly protests. Mama makes a move
to recover the quilts and Dee pulls them away and Mama thinks to herself "They already belonged
to her" (Walker 456). In Mama's perspective, the point of the quilts was the tradition of quilting, not
the quilts themselves. She views Dee as someone to wants to act out the movements of appreciation
of their culture, instead of passing it on. In the act of retrieving the quilts from Dee's grip, and
returning them to Maggie, Mama reveals herself as an unknowing, round character that can re–act
differently than what is expected of her. Mama stands up for the true traditions in the face of her
daughter, although her daughter believes herself to be the all knowing one. As well as the theme of
old black world verses new, we come across the motif of names and re–naming within the short story
. Just as Dee comes home dressed in African styled clothing, she re–names herself "Wangero
Leewanika Kemanjo" to represent her full transformation into a true African woman. Her
boyfriend's name "Hakim.a.barber" also hints to the fact that he also took up the Muslim faith in an
attempt of reform. Mama makes an effort to educate Dee on her name; how it was passed through
generations and holds value in itself. Dee dismisses this fact, and it reveals Dees ignorance of the
lineage of strong women she was born

Theme Of Everyday Use
The story "Everyday Uses" begins with a Mother talking about her daughters, Maggie and Dee.
Dee is outgoing, beautiful, and judgmental; she searches for things that may give her life purpose.
Family values are of very little importance to Dee. She finds her significance more in her
appearance than in endearment to the people of with whom she has shared her life, due to her
insecurities. Then, there is her little sister Maggie, a small, shy girl, who has large insecurities due
to her appearance. She also walks with a limp, due to a fire that occurred at her old house when she
was younger. Maggie may lack external beauty but, she has internal beauty; a caring heart and she
loves her Mother. The love that Maggie has for her mom is in sharp...show more content...
In every way shape and form, you would think that they were nothing alike unless you looked at
their hearts. By appearance, they are different. Dee is beautiful and very much into fashion,
unlike her sister who is said to be unattractive. Their level of education levels are different. Dee
was able to go to the Augusta school after her mother raised the money, whereas Maggie has very
little education. Their personalities are a world apart. Dee is outgoing, spunky, and not afraid to
say what she is thinking. Maggie is shy and jealous of her sister, but she has a generous heart. All
though the sisters are different, their insecurities link them together in a unique way. In conclusion I
can say in Alice Walker's story "Everyday Uses," the two sisters Dee and Maggie differ in
appearance, education, and attitude, but they both have deep down

Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay
Everyday Use by Alice Walker
In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker stresses the importance of heritage. She employs various ways to
reveal many aspects of heritage that are otherwise hard to be noticed.
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.
The two sisters in the contrast of Alice Walker's "Everyday...show more content...
As the two sisters have different appearance and personalities, they have different perspectives on
heritage that contrast each other. Walker uses quilts to symbolize the heritage and describes the two
girls' view on quilts to show their perspectives on heritage. Maggie thinks of heritage as an
attachment to her ancestors. She believes the everyday use of the inherited materials, how much ever
value they may retain, will keep her connected to her ancestors. She values the attachment to the
ancestors more than the inherited material itself. When she gives up the quilts to Dee, she states,
"I can 'member Grandma Dee with the quilts." Dee, on the other hand, thinks of heritage as
something that has an extrinsic value, for example its aesthetic value as an antique. She believes
that the proper way to accept and preserve her heritage is to not put it into her everyday use but to
cherish it only as an accessory. Such an idea is revealed when Dee says, "Maggie can't appreciate
these quilts! She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use." When the mother
asks Dee what she would do with the quilts, she says, "Hang them" (1177), which shows that Dee
thinks of the quilts only as tangible antiques.
While the two sisters perspectives on heritage contrast each other, Walker employs a case of
dramatic irony to prove that Dee's perspective is wrong, which automatically proves that Maggie is
right, considering their opposite characteristics. Dee

How To Write An Essay On Everyday Use
Dee has a very negative attitude towards her past way of living and embraces her new life. She is
also very outspoken while, Maggie is shy and reserved. The difference that stuck out the most
was how each child planned on using the quilts. Dee wanted to hang them up and use them for
decorative purposes, while it is assumed that Maggie will use them practically as a blanket. "No is
a word the world never learned to say to [Dee]," therefore Dee feels entitled to the quilts. Having
lived in Ohio for quite some time, I learned a bit about Amish culture and this has some elements of
when the Amish leave to try out the American way of life. In this case, Dee would have chosen the
American way of life, and would then be exiled from the Amish community....show more content...
At times it seems that Maggie resents her sister. One quote in particular expresses how Maggie
feels around her sister, "Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand
hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her
sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one
hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her." I would say that Maggie has
developed an inferiority complex that she continues to struggle with. However, their mother
asserting herself and giving the quilts to Maggie, lessens the burden that Maggie carries and ends
up smiling at Dee at the end of the story. Dee tries to encourage Maggie by saying "You ought to
try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you
and Mama still live you'd never know it."
From beginning to end, both Maggie and Dee make huge changes in their demeanors. Dee goes
from being bitter and self– centered to being caring and understanding. The revelation for Maggie is
when her mother chooses to give the quilts to her instead of her sister. After that she goes from
being shy to cracking smile by the

Essay On Everyday Use

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