Everyday Use By Alice Walker's View On Heritage
“Everyday Use” is a short story by Alice Walker that tells the story of a mother and two sisters who are finally together after being apart for a long time. Walker describes two characters who were both born and raised together, but they go separate ways and therefore manifest a different understanding of heritage. One of the sisters, Dee, is described as a very selfish and materialistic woman who allows other people’s opinions and her “understanding” affect her views on heritage. On the contrary, Maggie is a traditional woman who has a robust understanding of what heritage really is. Though these characters were born and raised the same, there is a disparity between their views on whether or not material items are a necessity to recollect
…show more content…
Foremost, after Dee stops for a visit, Mama and Maggie can see that she is a different woman. She changes her name and believes that her understanding of heritage is what heritage is truly about. She enters the house and tries to take the quilts that are very important to Mama and Maggie, seeing that she believes she has to have it to support her “culture.” The text reads, “‘But they’re priceless!’ she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper” (Walker 59). Here, Dee’s character getting furious because she is not receiving the quilts shows how much she has culture misunderstood. She believes in her immature mind that she has to obtain the quilts to support her with her heritage when she does not. As a result of her selfishness and corrupted views, it is clear to see that she does not understand what tradition is truly about. Later in the story, it is evident that Maggie has a full understanding of what heritage actually is because of what she so selflessly does. After Mama tells Dee she cannot have the quilts, maturely, Maggie allows Dee have the quilts. The story reads,”’She can have them, Mama,’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. ‘I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts’”(Walker 59). This event portrayed here by Walker surely shows how mature and wise Maggie is. She understands that the quilts do not mean anything about heritage and that she can hold on to her grandmother without them. This event surely portrays the theme of a person does not have to possess worldly items to remember where they came
Foremost, after Dee stops for a visit, Mama and Maggie can see that she is a different woman. She changes her name and believes that her understanding of heritage is what heritage is truly about. She enters the house and tries to take the quilts that are very important to Mama and Maggie, seeing that she believes she has to have it to support her “culture.” The text reads, “‘But they’re priceless!’ she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper” (Walker 59). Here, Dee’s character getting furious because she is not receiving the quilts shows how much she has culture misunderstood. She believes in her immature mind that she has to obtain the quilts to support her with her heritage when she does not. As a result of her selfishness and corrupted views, it is clear to see that she does not understand what tradition is truly about. Later in the story, it is evident that Maggie has a full understanding of what heritage actually is because of what she so selflessly does. After Mama tells Dee she cannot have the quilts, maturely, Maggie allows Dee have the quilts. The story reads,”’She can have them, Mama,’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. ‘I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts’”(Walker 59). This event portrayed here by Walker surely shows how mature and wise Maggie is. She understands that the quilts do not mean anything about heritage and that she can hold on to her grandmother without them. This event surely portrays the theme of a person does not have to possess worldly items to remember where they came