Everyday Use Symbolism

Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” involves a conflict between two sisters and their desire for a family quilt. Each sister has a reason for wanting the quilt but Maggie deserves it more. She needs it because she will use it unlike Dee who will hang it up for others to view. Dee was being conceded when she said, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts,” when really, she is the one who would never appreciate them. Maggie will use the quilts “for when she marries John Thomas” as Mama said.

As she looks at her quilts, Mama remembers that a certain patch came from her grandfather's paisley shirts, that some pieces came from dresses that Grandma Dee wore 50 years earlier, and even that there was a very small piece of her great-grandfather's Civil War uniform. From this, we can all see how and why they mean so much to her. To Dee, the quilts are a quaint "primitive" art. To Mama and Maggie, they represent more than that. They are family memories, very personal and very special mementos of loved ones who are gone.

A sentimental item can allow one to tie their memories to it once a moment comes to an end, letting them continuously cherish that memory. The item can range from anything a person wants, depending on them and their experiences; such as, the quilts in the short story "Everyday Use" and the poem " My Mother Pieced my Quilts". Both Teresa Acosta and Alice Walker use imagery and figurative language to establish the quilt as the love and respect for both of their family's heritage.

“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.

This new outlook on her life caused Dee to place different values on the items with which she had grown up. She wanted to take the items as things to put on display like art hanging on a wall. Dee even wanted the cherished quilts to “hang them” (Walker, 1973) instead of using them as blankets. As she saw it, to use the quilts for their original purpose would destroy them, or as she said, “Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they 'd be in rags” (Walker, 1973).

Quilt Essay Family memories not only hold us together during the tough times but also provide a foundation especially when enhanced by a mother's love. Some people are able to appreciate their family heritage, while others do not recognize or take it for granted. In the poem "My Mother Pieced Quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, both authors use figurative language and imagery to establish the quilt as a symbol for a mother's love and respecting family heritage to illustrate their themes. In her poem Teresa Acosta displays the quilt as a symbol for the mother's love.

Professor Joe Sarnowski’s academic journal criticizes the characters of the story, “Every Day Use”. He examines the conflict between the mother and her oldest daughter, Dee. Sarnowski asserts that Dee is trying to justify her personal gain, since she cherishes the economic value of the quilts more than that of the heritage they represent. The author continues to compare Dee’s ego with that of her sister Maggie. Who in contrast, has true appreciation for her heritage.

In the short story” Everyday Use” by Alice Walker who tells a story about black women who have two daughters Maggie and Dee. She has to have the decision to give the quilts of one of her two daughters. Dee her oldest daughter who has been away at college and comes to visit her family and she wants the quilts as popular fashion and show them as part of their heritage. Maggie, her youngest daughter, who lives with her mother at home and understands the family tradition and heritage.her mother has been promised to give the quilts for her. The quilts mean for Maggie communication with family and culture.

Heritage; is a great value that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is of great value and although it can be worth very little to other people, to your family it is priceless. Alice Walker wrote the story, “Everyday Use”, to show an importance of Mama’s and Maggie’s heritage. There is also Dee who has that heritage too, but she thinks that they of no good use and think they are not important. Also in “Everyday Use “Mama and Maggie have Family Conflicts with Dee.

In the movie Everyday Use by Alice walker Dee comes home and acts like she has a completely different culture than her mother and her sister Maggie. Dee says “No, Mama,” she says “Not Dee, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo”. (Everyday Use 61) . Dee says “Hang them” (Everyday Use). Referring to the quilts she yells at her mom because she think that Maggie will actually use them and ruin them.

In the short stories we have read there have been numerous themes. The impact of tradition, the value of heritage, the importance of family, the divide between social classes, and the presence of love are all ideas that can be found in the stories we have read. Short stories have managed to encapture the importance and true meaning of life in just a few sentences by imposing on the readers themes we can all relate to. A common theme presented in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” is the power of knowledge and education.

Annotated Bibliography Baker, Houston A., and Charlotte Pierce-Baker. " Patches: Quilts and Community in Alice Walker's" Everyday Use". " The Southern Review 21.3 (1985): 706. The two writers use symbolism to convey the message in that it is an indication of fullness to stand as a sign of condemnation or rather the act of judging, the quilter patch is a fragment. A patch may have the capability of a showing off some level poverty.

In many places, respect for the heritage of all people is extremely important. Some say that one's own heritage is essential to understand where one is from and who one is from. In many cases, material objects are a gateway to ignite this sense of enlightenment. In the poem "My Mother Pieced Quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, both authors use imagery and figurative language to establish a quilt as a symbol providing an example to ignite respect for one's own heritage and to encourage one to develop their own traditions.

The intriguing texts, “My Mother Pieced Quilts” by Teresa Palomo Acosta, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker contain two main ideas that explain how everyone’s culture has a direct influence on the way that we view the world. In other words, each of our backgrounds are full of experiences and knowledge, and we use what we know in every aspect in life. Specifically, Acosta expressed in her poem, “... how the thread darted in and out / galloping along the frayed edges, tucking them in / as you did us at night.” This passage is suggesting when the author remembers her mother mother making quilts, she remembers the memories that she associated with the quilts, making the quilts have a special meaning to her and her culture growing up. Additionally, Walker had a similar idea in her narrative about quilts but she includes another example where she writes,”...

Having done so, she goes on to highlight the ‘womanist’ culture. Afro-American tradition, for Mama, is symbolized by churn. It is a tradition of bonding, of mutual nurturance. Similarly, the symbol of quilt for Mama is not just a utilitarian item but a living tradition. Alice Walker, in fact, uses the imagery of the quilt to suggest what womanism is all about.