Critical Research Essay on Everyday Use by Alice Walker It is argued that Dee Johnson is a shallow, insensitive, self- absorbed daughter and sister. Critics say she passed up her right to her true heritage for a false African heritage all because she has adopted an African name and she has failed to learn how to quilt, a skill that critics will have you believe is vital to Dee’s understanding of her true identity. Her hair and style of dress are called into question as though they are a deliberate slap in the face to her family. Dee is lambasted for wanting to protect and display everyday household items that were handmade by her now deceased relatives. She cannot even take a picture of her family’s house without critics attacking this act as her need to prove where she came from.
Huy Dinh English 28 Prof. Gray Summary “Everyday use” "Everyday Use" by Walker is told in first-person point of view. Mrs. Johnson (Mama), an uneducated woman, tells the story herself. The reader learns what she thinks about her two daughters, and her observations reveal her astute observations about life. The story begins as Mama and her younger daughter, Maggie, are waiting for her older daughter, Dee, to come and visit them. Mama imagines being reunited with her daughter on a television show where the celebrity guest is confronted with her family, and she is greatly tearful and thankful for her origins.
When Mrs. Johnson tells Dee that she cannot have them because she has already given them to Maggie; Dee gets furious that Maggie could come before her. Dee tries to argue that Maggie will ruin the quilts by using them everyday. Maggie tells Dee that she can just have the quilts, but Mrs. Johnson won’t have it. Dee gets mad that she did not get her way, and says hateful things to her sister and mother as she is leaving. You see, one person’s glamour, may be another’s misery; just as what someone may display, someone else could put to personal everyday use.
These things recognize the bonding that happens between family members as an heirloom, such as the quilts, is passed down through generations. It's too bad Dee doesn't figure out this deeper meaning of the quilts. She obviously understands that the quilts symbolize heritage, as she scolds her mother for failing to make that connection. She seems to miss the part about how they also represent bonds and connections between family members and she has no problem jeopardizing her connection with her mother and sister by starting a nasty fight over who should get the quilts. Animal references are used to describe Maggie throughout the story.
Coree Williams Dr. Clay ENGL 1302-40305 3 November 2013 The Quilts “Everyday Use,” by Alice walker is a story of a mother and her two daughters, named Maggie and Dee. Alice Walker presents to us the different personalities, qualities, and goals in their lives. Dee, the eldest daughter, seems to reject her past, and seems to be caught up in the materialistic things. To her, it seems that her heritage and culture are only acceptable for their artistic appeal. “This character has changed her given name.
Mama can’t help but feel ignorant compared to her daughter Dee. Mama describes her feelings and states, “She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know” (Walker 477). Mama states this because she and Maggie know what is truly important and that is the real understanding of how their heritage should be viewed. Maggie and mama have a similar understanding of their heritage. Dee mistakes her family background for material and desires racial heritage because she went to school with other people and friends with popular ideas.
The quilt is described as,” They are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear.”(75). Dee perspective was she think Maggie could not appreciate them as she does, but she wants it to use to decorate and display in her home as a piece of her loss heritage. While Mama said,” I promised to give the quilts to Maggie for when she marries John Thomas.” (75). Mama’s perspective is she knows Maggie is going to use them every day not like Dee. Another symbol is the churn use for the butter.
She had help from the church raising money to send Dee away to school; only to have Dee return and belittle her educational status. Dee’s dislike of her upbringing becomes more apparent as the story continues. You learn the younger daughter Maggie is “ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs” (Barnet, Cain, & Burto, 2011, pp. 1087-1093). Maggie received these burns when their house burned down.
Imagine!" She held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them… Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!" She said. "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use."' (423-424) Mama decides to give them to Maggie because she thinks she will use them as they were intended.
Both Maggie and Dee want to keep the handmade quilts to remind them of their grandmother who passed away and of the family heritage. This causes controversy between the two, because they argue about who should be the sister to keep the quilts. Dee feels like Maggie is incapable of appreciating the quilts. “ ‘Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!’ she said, ‘She’s probably be backward