Relationships In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Mothers …some say, “You can’t live with them!” Our society cannot live without them. We would not be here without our mothers. However, many mothers have forgotten they were daughters first. Mothers and daughters have an interesting relationship. Throughout the years and in many cultures, mothers and daughters have had a symbiotic, co-dependency. Some are close relationships; others have a love/hate relationship .

In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, the mother narrates this story about a conflict between her two daughters, Dee and Maggie, and herself . Mama describes herself as a hard worker that was able to do the work of men. She works all day outside. Mama mentions that she only went to 2nd grade in school. However her oldest daughter Dee was able to go to college. When Dee returns home, she has a new appearance and beliefs that are contradictory to Mama’s way of life. The conflict between Mama, Dee, and Maggie is manifested in a fight over who gets to keep the family quilts.
The backstory involves Lorelai being from a prominent Hartford, Connecticut family who finds herself at odds with the expectations of her parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore. Lorelai was quite rebellious and becomes pregnant at the age of 16. The television series begins 15 years later when Lorelai needs her parents to help pay for Rory’s tuition to Chilton, a private school in Hartford. Emily agrees to pay for Rory’s tuition only if Lorelai and Rory agree to weekly Friday night