Growing up in the same environment does not always mean that siblings will grow to be the same person with the same values and beliefs. Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" is about the conflict that multi-generational families have with understanding the importance of identity and ancestry. The story focuses on the relationship between a mother and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie, over their grandmothers quilts. Unlike Mama, Dee is educated and is envied, Maggie, who was scarred in a house fire when she was little. Dee has returned from a long trip away from home and now determines her culture by the things she gathers from the house like the quilts and butter churn but in the end Maggie is the one with the right idea about her heritage.
Her mother on the other hand, means so much to her, she doesn't want her to be alone. She decides to desert her dream, she still lives with Grandma, much like a dependant child, yet she knows Grandma would suffer from great loneliness without her” (Bloom, Harold. “List of characters in Lost in Yonkers. p67-68). Bella’s guilt caused by her mother’s fear of loneliness has left her short of any male relations.
They feel it is necessary for them to continue their customs and will not do anything differently. In the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, two sisters portray their contrasting family views on what they perceive to be heritage. The idea that a quilt is a part of a family's history is what the narrator is trying to point out. They are not just parts of cloth put together to make a blanket. The quilt represents
Dee is attractive, stylish, & well educated – with some apparently portrayed traits of selfishness, brashness and excessive confidence. Her sister Maggie on the other hand is a relatively timid, and quiet young woman. She hasn’t received any formal education like her sister but has learned a few traditional skills, like quilting, from the family. Dee believes the quilts shouldn’t be used for warmth, but for the preservation of her African-American cultural ideals. This way, she could display them in her home; much akin to museum pieces.
She shows resentment towards Maggie and insults her intelligence. Dee has no respect for her culture nor understands the worth of family heirlooms that Mama cherishes as “Everyday Use.” Both Dee and Maggie cherish the quilt that represents a piece of family history but only one truly values the quilt for its worth. While waiting for Dee to arrive, Mama speaks of her yard as clean and like an extended living room. This indicates she takes pride in her yard and home. Upon her arrival home for a visit, Dee informs Mama and Maggie she now goes by the name Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.
Alice's parents tell her who she is permitted to see. They also instruct her how to dress, and of course how not to. It is through experiences such as Alice's younger sister falling off the bed, under her watch, that Alice's parents have a crucial influence on her self-discovery. Specifically, Alice's relatives influence her self-discovery journey by not being supportive. As Alice had to grow up basically looking after her self and her younger siblings she learned that even if you do not have support you still need to follow your dreams and live you life.
Karen Robinson Mrs. Barbara Allen English 100 22 September 2013 Everyday Use In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker creates a graphic setting that draws the reader into the feelings of two sisters Maggie and Dee who have different values for the family quilts. Dee states “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” (181). One would say that Dee meant that Maggie wasn’t as smart as she was to see the true meaning of the quilts and the heritage that was behind them, but in reality Maggie appreciation for the quilts stemmed deeper than Dee could ever imagine. Maggie appreciated the quilts, because it was part of their mother Mrs. Johnson, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee. The quilts for Maggie represented all the hard work, labor, fabrics that was used,
The mother starts weaving with gray, brown and neutral shades, “all the shades of her life”, to express her depression. To further emphasize the mothers’ sadness, the mother uses “the subdued, muted colours she liked”. Diction in “muted” is interesting, as throughout the extract, the mother never says anything, which seems to suggest that the mother expresses her emotions through weaving. The colors the mother weaves with symbolizes the mothers’ life, and the use of these monotonous colors depicts that it is dull without her daughters, and without her daughters, she has no purpose in life as they no longer need her anymore. However, later throughout the passage, the narrator mentions that the mother could weave “a flash of color” that would not be “picked up” until the fabric was turned over.
She just trying to improve herself on a new day for black American. The conflict between the two daughter over who should rightfully own the quilts and how they should use them. They should appreciate for the dasher and quilts is based on love for people who made them and used them. It is clear from her ability to associate pieces of fabric in two quilts with the people whose clothes they had been cut from. These things are reality to Maggie and the mother, the part of some fantasy to Dee.
However, Jane’s search for love sometimes ends up challenging her autonomy. While Jane is longing for love, she is not willing to give up her independence for it. Yet as Jane becomes older and her independence grows, she realizes that, while one needs to be independent, she also needs love in her life. In the early years of Jane’s life, she was a very autonomous girl. She grew up with her aunt – Mrs. Reed, along with her 3 cousins – John, Eliza, and Georgina.