Alice Walker Everyday Use Conflict
The short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is about an African American mother and her two daughters. When the sisters Maggie and Dee are introduced it is noticeable that they two are complete opposites. Maggie has stayed home and is portrayed as an ignorant woman. While Dee was sent off to Augusta to receive worldly education. When Dee returns home, the two sisters quickly have major conflicts. The conflict that will be discussed in this paper is heritage.
In the story Maggie knows little to nothing about heritage because she has never left home. Maggie is referred to as an animal by her mother. Maggie thinks that Dee has had her life in the palm of her hand. On the other side, Dee has been gone for so long and has conformed to the new
world, that she has truly forgotten her real roots. Her mother describes her as the child who made it out. The outside appearance Dee shows to the world is someone who looks to be proud of their background and culture, but her words and actions tell otherwise. Alice Walker does this to the character Dee to show that one's true roots can not to shown through material objects.
The conflict of heritage in the story begins with Dee coming home from college. When Dee left for college she thought her heritage was old and out of style. When she returned home she was looking for a few of the family artifacts to make herself look fashionable suchs as the quilt. Dee tells Mama and Maggie both that they are the ones who do not understand their heritage. Dee wants to take the quilt back to her home and use it to show everyone her heritage, but Maggie wants to keep it and use it for everyday use. The quilt is an important part of the families heritage. The quilt was sewed together by past members of the family. Heritage is something you either respect and love all the time or something you do not care about. In the story Dee wants to pick and choose when and what she wants from her family. Dee’s interest in the family heritage would be labeled as a passing fad.
The next heritage conflict in the story is the changing of Dee’s name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Mama was okay with Dee changing her name but asked her for the reason she did it. Dee replied with “ I could not bare it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” Mama quickly made sure Dee knew she was not named after the white oppressors, but after the members of her family.
In the story Maggie knows little to nothing about heritage because she has never left home. Maggie is referred to as an animal by her mother. Maggie thinks that Dee has had her life in the palm of her hand. On the other side, Dee has been gone for so long and has conformed to the new
world, that she has truly forgotten her real roots. Her mother describes her as the child who made it out. The outside appearance Dee shows to the world is someone who looks to be proud of their background and culture, but her words and actions tell otherwise. Alice Walker does this to the character Dee to show that one's true roots can not to shown through material objects.
The conflict of heritage in the story begins with Dee coming home from college. When Dee left for college she thought her heritage was old and out of style. When she returned home she was looking for a few of the family artifacts to make herself look fashionable suchs as the quilt. Dee tells Mama and Maggie both that they are the ones who do not understand their heritage. Dee wants to take the quilt back to her home and use it to show everyone her heritage, but Maggie wants to keep it and use it for everyday use. The quilt is an important part of the families heritage. The quilt was sewed together by past members of the family. Heritage is something you either respect and love all the time or something you do not care about. In the story Dee wants to pick and choose when and what she wants from her family. Dee’s interest in the family heritage would be labeled as a passing fad.
The next heritage conflict in the story is the changing of Dee’s name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Mama was okay with Dee changing her name but asked her for the reason she did it. Dee replied with “ I could not bare it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” Mama quickly made sure Dee knew she was not named after the white oppressors, but after the members of her family.