Maggie starts off in the story as having very low self-esteem, Walker describes her as, “Walking with chin on her chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the house to the ground.” This has caused her to feel unattractive and not as confident compared to her sister. Being the younger sister, I feel she is looked down upon and not respected for who she really is. Maggie has not experienced as much of life as Dee, Yet, she seems to value it more. Maggie does not have any wishes to change her way of life, she has simply remained uneducated like her mother, but remains proud of who she is and what she stands for. Maggie has a close relationship with her mom; they seem to share a lot of the same views.
Mama's relationship with Maggies is a simple mother – daughter relationship. Maggies lives with Mama, they keep a very simple life. They live in a small house on a pasture that they tend daily. Maggie is shy and timid, she was in a fire when there first house burned. Maggie was injured in the fire and now bears the burns all over her body, Mama rescued Maggie from the buring house and since, Maggie has followed Mama like a lost puppy.
Heather Skinner-Lucas English 1302.09 Mrs. Heinzelman 24 April 2012 Being Educated does not imply one knows his/her Heritage “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker that was published in the collection In Love and Trouble in the year 1973. The narrator of the short story is "Mama"; Mama is an African American young woman who lives with one of her daughters within the Deep South. Everyday Use humorously shows the distinctions between Maggie, her introverted younger daughter Maggie and Dee, her educated daughter. Dee returns from college after a long time away; there is a disagreement between Mama, Dee and Maggie over heirloom family belongings. Dee prefers to be referred to as Wangero and ridicules her present ancestry for a pretentious "native African" personality (Walker, 445).
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.
The Irony in “Everyday Use” “Everyday Use” concerns a mother’s depiction of herself and her two daughters: Maggie and Dee. Mama is the narrator in this short story, which takes place in and small town in or around the mid nineteen hundreds. Full of life and not timid at all is her oldest daughter Dee. Maggie who was burned in a fire at their previous home stays in the shadows. In a Sense Dee sees herself as better than her family, and believes they are ignorant and do not know their own heritage.
In Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use”, the mother of two daughters undergoes a very significant change. The book starts out depicting her as a push over to her oldest daughter, Dee, giving her anything and everything Dee wanted. However, Mama’s attitude towards Dee changes as she begins to see what a cruel and spoiled child Dee really is. Mama’s changes throughout this story make her a perfect example of a dynamic character. Mama is an uneducated, yet practical character.
Mama is a single parent raising two daughters. Mama describes herself as a large, big boned woman with rough, man working hands. She proudly tells of her ability to kill and clean hogs as viciously as any man. She tells us, “One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall.” I believe these skills were developed out of sheer survival and necessity. There’s no doubt about it our narrator is one tough lady.
Literary Analysis “Everyday Use” In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, there are three main characters. The mother, youngest daughter Maggie, and Dee, the oldest daughter who is trying to leave her past behind while attempting to find herself and her African heritage as she thinks it should be. There has always been an unspoken jealousy between Mama and the oldest daughter. Dee is seeking a way out of the poverty and oppression of the times, so much, that while she was away at school she had changed her name to one that has an African meaning while omitting any trace of her current true history. Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo is Dee’s new name.
The person in my house has told me," he said, "of your interest in my worthless oldest slave creature […] She should be married. She is fifteen years old and for these three or four years could have given birth. I am terrified constantly lest she conceive by some wild dog and bring shame to me and to our nameThe person in my house has told me," he said, "of your interest in my worthless oldest slave creature […] She should be married. She is fifteen years old and for these three or four years could have given birth. I am terrified constantly lest she conceive by some wild dog and bring shame to me and to our nameThe person in my house has told me," he said, "of your interest in my worthless oldest slave creature […] She should be married.
Walker uses symbolism, and imagery to convey that heritage is what defines you. Walker uses quilts, burned house, and scars as symbols to show the audience the theme is, heritage defines who you are. The quilt represents that heritage defines you every day. No matter what your heritage is with you every day. In the text Dee, Maggi’s sister comes back to the house and wants Maggie’s two quilts.