Essay Example on In the story Everyday Use author Alice Walker tells a story about the Relationship

In the story Everyday Use author Alice Walker tells a story about the relationship an individual chooses to have with their culture through characters Mama Dee and Maggie The story starts off with Mama and her youngest daughter Maggie waiting for Dee her older daughter to visit from college When Dee arrives she shows up with new attire a new name and a man named Asalamalakim also known as Hakim a barber Quilting is used in the story as a symbol For centuries women have been associated with textiles through weaving and sewing Although this has been primarily connected to mandatory labor women have historically made quilts with significant meanings Therefore the quilt symbolizes heritage and culture and the conflict over the quilt was a representation of Dee s perspective of heritage versus Mama and Maggie s perspective When Dee wanted to keep the quilt Mama originally promised Maggie to hang up on her wall the issue about a lack of understanding about culture in heritage is brought up In African culture making quilts is very important because each patch tells a story and in the end Maggie gets to keep the quilt due to these circumstances 

The reason being is because although Dee seemed more persistent to have the quilt she would not have used it for its purpose unlike Maggie Connecting with one's culture is more than changing names or wearing new clothes It is about embracing and viewing yourself within the heritage Walker used Dee as an example of a person who knows little about their heritage and uses material items to make a statement although it is meaningless Dee lacks an understanding of her heritage mainly because she is rejecting the ways of her mother and younger sister but finds value in the quilts that have been passed down from generations Instead of viewing the household items as symbols of oppression she views them as aesthetic items For instance Dee states Maggie can't appreciate these quilts She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use 293 When she says these statements it seems she completely overlooked the true meaning and use behind the quilt It seems as if she was tired of the heritage she had no control of having and constructed her very own She failed to see the importance of her real name Dicie which is her aunt s name and changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo because she feels her new name accurately represents her heritage