(Walker, ) which symbolize an important part of heritage to Dee-while back when she was growing up, she said they were “old-fashioned, out of style”. Besides, Dee thought that Maggie “can always make some more; Maggie knows how to quilt." (Walker, ) and that made her more unwillingly to give the quilts to Maggie. But Maggie-who would use them everyday-said to her Mama to give the blankets to Dee, because she “can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts. "(Walker, ).
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.
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.
Maggie deserves the quilts because they were hers to begin with. “I [Mama] promised to give them to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” (202) As demonstrated on page 202, Maggie clearly already considered them her own. On this page, Walker implies that Maggie overheard Dee asking for the quilts. Her reaction: “I [Mama] heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute later the kitchen door slammed.” Shortly after, Maggie was standing in the door, scraping her feet over each other while listening to the argument (203). It is implied that Maggie is worried Dee will take the quilts away from her, after all, “‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her [Dee].” (196) As Dee “held the quilts securely in her arms,” (202) she probably didn’t expect to have to let them go.
Dee on the other hand says she will appreciate them as a piece of family history, but in reality she wants to hang them on the walls like a piece of art. Dee lives in a demanding, sophisticated way of life as to where Maggie and Mama are still simple and humble and appreciate things for what they are and what they mean to the family. Mama finally stands up to Dee and instead of giving her the quilts like she has always given her everything she’s ever wanted, she tells her she promised the quilts to Maggie and she is not breaking that
Now stop and think about how you should treat your heritage. Do you simply think your heritage is something to just remember, or do you believe you should apply the things inherited from heritage to everyday use? In Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use,” Mama, Maggie, and Dee, three very different characters, have controversy over this topic. Mama is a tough and robust woman, who has worked all her life to provide for her family. Mama’s always had a soft spot for her daughter, Dee, but when Mama finally stands up to her, she sends the message that the things you inherit from your heritage should be applied to everyday use.
They leave again to try and find the grandmother they have never known who lives in Crisfield, Maryland. During this time Dicey must take on the role of “mother” providing for her siblings, making all the decisions, and bearing all of the responsibility and pressure of trying to get them to their grandmother’s without the police finding them. Dicey knows they will be separated if they are taken in by the state. Dicey has to take on the responsibility of providing food and shelter for her siblings. She also has to keep them all safe and make sure they all get to their grandmother’s house.
Appointing a character with so much interest and involvement to her family heritage as a narrator of the story, Walker’s hints on the theme of the story is obvious. Without Mama telling us the true value of the items, Maggie and Dee’s conflict on the quilts might become a meaningless fight between sisters. If the focus of the story is
She finds August, May, and June. Once they find them Lily changes and finds out some shocking news after she uncovers all the lies that she's told. The lack of mothers, the search for mothers, and the importance of mothers appear throughout the novel and demonstrate the significance of mothers to a child's development Everyone, regardless of circumstance or color, needs a mother. As Lily discovers, a person does not need to share a biological connection with a mother figure. Ever since her mother died, she has longed for a maternal touch.
Maggie is also intimidated by Dee, as shown when Maggie is unable to confront Dee about the quilts. Maggie gives in and says that Dee may have the quilts because she is not Lach 2 used to "winning" (91). Unlike Maggie, Dee is a bold young woman (88). As a young girl, Dee has never been afraid to express herself. Her mother remembers that "she would always look anyone in the eye.