The character Dee feels that the quilts are not for everyday use. “You will just not understand the point of these quilts, these quilts!” (Walker 64) She feels that the quilts were made for memories. Maggie on the other hand feels that the quilts are for everyday use, and that they are made to be laid with, “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.”…
Dee can only see her family through external objects and artifacts. During the argument between Mama and Dee, Maggie gives the ok to take the quilts and stated that she can remember her Grandma Dee, the maker of the quilts, without the quilts. Maggie being different than Dee in how they view she has viewed her life, carries the family heritage and history within herself. While Dee looks at physical history, Maggie has the learned skills of quilt making. Maggie remembers her family and the time they shared because she wasn’t focused on the outside world.…
and she's had enough. So the mom ends up giving Maggie the quilts, knowing that she will use them and treasure them so much more than Dee ever would of. In Everyday Use, by Alice Walker, Dee says, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” (1319). Dee wasn’t even going to use the quilts, she would’ve just took them and kept them in a closet or something.…
It is impossible to be considered a family without having been in an argument or disagreed about something before. So naturally, a disagreement takes place within the family in Everyday Use; however, this argument reveals much more than the average family squabble. Everyday Use is a short story written by Alice Cooper and published in her collection of short stories titled In Love and Trouble. Everyday Use focuses on quilts that have been handcrafted by several generations of the family and how these quilts should be used. One of the sisters in the family, Dee, argues that she should get the quilts so she can hang them up and admire them, while the narrator argues that Dee’s sister, Maggie, should receive the quilts so she can put them to use.…
Reading Everyday Use, the reader is able to understand precisely why Mama wants so badly for Maggie to have the quilts. Mama seems to have favored Dee a bit more since Maggie is shyer and more reserved than Dee is. After reuniting and seeing how much her daughter has changed, she snaps out of it and realizes Maggie is the one who can truly appreciate and honor their…
Dee the daughter believes that she understands the history about the quilt, when in fact she is actually clueless. Dee wanted to display the quilt as a piece of history on the wall. During that time, the mother believes that Maggie ought to have the quilt as opposed to Dee. Maggie, the other daughter stayed at home and that she has a better understanding of the quilt, which was, more than a piece of art to the mother. Dee believes that her mother and Maggie are clueless about family heritage, when in fact that is it Dee herself who is inform about…
For instance, Dee would only consider the quilts of value and show them off if they fit her requirements of attractiveness while Maggie would treasure the memories of her ancestors culture seemed between the quilt regardless of the way they looked. The timid and homely Maggie also finds comfort and encouragement in the quilts which leads one to believe that this, along with every other striking difference, their mother chose Maggie as the rightful receiver of the…
The quilt can be seen as making a whole out of pieces. The patterns are handed down, which is a part of someone’s heritage and they are passed down from generation to generation. In “Everyday Use”, the quilts were a representation of creations (59). Dee’s interest in the quilts is not to protect her heritage, but they show how far she has come. They also have a special meaning to Ms. Johnson.…
In the story Everyday Use, the main female character who has the biggest revelation is Dee. However, in this story Dee’s revelation is not necessarily a good one. Dee reveals herself as having a change of attitude in regards to her heritage and what it truly means. Instead of viewing her heritage like her sister, Maggie, who views her heritage as something precious and priceless, Dee view her heritage as a distant tourist attraction. Dee left her family to pursue education, but the main thing she comprehended from her education was the oppression of her people, and has stripped her heritage of what it truly means.…
The point of view in the story “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker plays a big part. Throughout the story, one of Mama’s daughters came to visit. The way Mama and Maggie see her is not in a very pleasant way. In fact, they are scared to tell her no when it comes to anything. From Mama’s perspective Dee seems like this rude, stuck up, spoiled child because she had the opportunity to go out and expand her education, while Mama and Maggie continued to live their lives on the farm.…
Every household has a tradition whether you know it or not. From the way you make rice, all the way down to the way you clean and mop. Carrying on a tradition is like carrying on your name or legacy, by keeping it alive. In “Everyday use “there was a conflict over a quilt, even though it might sound like nothing much, it actually holds a lot of sentimental value in it. The character Dee was fighting to keep the quilt when in fact she has no idea what it really means (Walker 15).…
When siblings grow up together and are raised in the same family, people tend to think they will grow up to have common traits and similarities, however, this is not the case in the story “Everyday Use” as Maggie and Dee end up being very different. By using the Psychoanalytic Theory the following conclusions were made. Sisters, Maggie and Dee, were raised by the same mother, but end up having two very different personalities and actions. Their adult personality is the result of the emotional experiences they had while growing up. Maggie is very quiet and shy and Dee is outgoing and outspoken.…
Feminism fought for suffrage rights for white women, but never got involved in the civil rights movement to help guarantee black women social equality. So womanism looks out not only for women but also for the rights of women of color, who are sometimes a step behind white woman when it comes to social equality. Alice Walker in her first collection of non-fiction “In Search of our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist prose”, referred primarily to African-American women, but also for women in general. In her own words, she says: “A womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.”…
Surprisingly, Dee does not seem overly upset about not obtaining the quilts but believes Mama is making the wrong choice. For once, Mama witnesses Maggie give a real smile and it has to do with the knowledge Mama shows Maggie’s feelings hold value and she cares about Maggie 's happiness as…
When the mother characterizes Maggie’s reaction toward her sister wanting to have the quilts for herself “Maggie by now was standing in the door. I could almost hear the sound of her feet made as they scraped over each other. ”(99)These quilts were Maggie’s portion, however Dee insists on wanting them. Maggie offers Dee the quilts .This shows how Maggie is better than Dee, as she has much stronger sense of family connection and kinship than Dee can experience as she does not need the quilts to remember her family’s heritage. Maggie is basically like her mother who believes in the traditions of family and seeking to pass on her family 's heritage without getting affected by the white people and what they think of…