Everyday Use by Alice Walker
“Everyday Use” is Alice Walker’s short story that narrates about an African-American woman who is in a dilemma on the person that deserves the quilts between her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. In this short story, the author has used conflict to portray that heritage is more significant than fashion. This claim shows that families find it challenging to preserve culture, especially when things are being passed down from one generation to another. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker uses the quilt as an example to show the different reasons why Maggie deserves the family quilts.
One of the main reasons Maggie deserves the quilts is because her mother knows that she will cherish the inheritance of the quilts. Her mother sees that Maggie has always been around her and truly understands the meaning of the ancestor’s tradition. When Dee argues with her mom about Maggie ruining quilts, her mother tells her, “Maggie knows how to quilt” (Walker 165). According to this claim, Maggie has taken the time and effort to learn the family tradition, and this devotion is essential to the mother. Also, her mother had promised to “give the quilts to Maggie when she marries John Thomas’’ (Walker 160) since she knows that Maggie will appreciate them. In this case, her mother values heritage, and she is confident that Maggie will continue to follow their ancestor’s tradition with the quilts.
Dee does not appreciate the quilts in the same way her sister does. Her mother remembers when she tried to give Dee the quilts before she went to college, she said, “they were old-fashioned, out of style.” (Walker 165). Dee’s response is an indication that Maggie has always valued the quilts, unlike her, who just became interested in them. Their mother knows that Dee has always “wanted nice things,” and she recognized that she likes to be flashy, unlike Maggie, who wants them because of the family tradition.
Most importantly, their mother knows that Maggie had a difficult life, in comparison to her sister and deserves to get her way. In this case, Dee realizes that her mother is going to give Maggie the quilts and, therefore claims that Maggie would “be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker 164). This assertion shows how Dee used to get her way and selfishness, though Maggie had suffered both physically and emotionally, throughout her life. The fact that Dee cannot realize how important the quilts are to Maggie makes her even more undeserving of them.
Furthermore, to avoid a fight, Maggie even tells her mother that Dee can have the quilts “like somebody used to never winning anything or having anything” (Walker 164). Their mother sees the selfishness of Dee and gives all the quilts to Maggie. She stands up to Dee for Maggie, which demonstrates how things have changed in their relationship. The mother finally stands up to her dominant older daughter and defends Maggie so that she can have the quilts, which she had truly wanted.
In conclusion, Maggie always showed how humble she is and how important heritage was to her. After that visit from Dee, her mother realized that Maggie truly deserved the quilts since she did not want them only to show off; instead she wanted to preserve the family’s heritage. Also, the story shows the importance of tradition in a family and how it can be challenging to be able to preserve it for new generations.