Everyday Use By Alice Walker Summary

The Truth about Heritage The short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker reflects on the heritage of a family of African Americans. The majority of the African American population has forgotten where they came from. The Webster dictionary defines heritage as “ the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation.” Maggie, Dee or Wangero, and their mother, who is also the narrator, are the basic characters for this short story. As the story begins, Maggie and her mother are extremely proud of who they are and where they come from. Dee, on the other hand, seems somewhat embarrassed to have the background of an African American. Maggie’s mother refers to her as “a large, big boned woman with rough,
man-working hands” (52). Maggie, as horrible as her mother describes her, never loses sight of her heritage and where she comes from. Throughout the story Maggie and her mother stay true to their heritage, unlike Dee. After Dee leaves home, she changes her name to Wangero and dresses in African tribal dress with gold earrings and bracelets. Dee tries desperately to recapture the heritage she once threw away. With her attitude I highly doubt that she will be welcome back.
“In Walker's writing, redemption will take one away and bring one back, in a perhaps humbling but empowering way, to something close to home.
This form of redemption takes place as an epiphany: You realize that what can save you isn't out there, but has been nearby all along, beside you, even in you, but never noticed, never heard, or never given a second thought” (Whitsitt 43). One instance of Dee’s attitude and loss of heritage is when they are all about to eat and she notices the hand-stitched quilts, which belong to Maggie, and demands that they be given to her. The attitude she has about wanting the quilts shows that she is a selfish person, and she obviously has no respect for her sister or mother or she wouldn’t have caused such an altercation. The quilts can symbolize many different events, but the true meaning of the quilts can only be decided from the readers’ past experiences. “The story shifts abruptly to the past tense immediately after Dee declares that she has changed her name. Up until now, Mama has been caught in the tension between her annoyance with Dee and her instinctive desire to be "the way my daughter would want me to be." Yet when Dee goes so far as to disown her family identity, Mama reaches a watershed”(Tuten
12).
Dee really isn’t a bad person. She is just confused about where she came from and is caught up in the modern world. Dee claims to be educated about her African background, which causes her to rebel and try this “new” way of life that is shameful to her mother’s old way of life. Rather than Dee asking momma for the quilts, she demands them as though she is entitled to whatever she wants. Because Dee is educated, she looks down at her mother and sister. Maggie knows more about her heritage than her educated sister could ever possible learn.
Maggie and her mother are the perfect mother-daughter role model. The love they show for one another truly shows that they care and respect each other, not just as parents and children, but also on a more personal level. With that being said, Maggie, Dee, and their mother are all family. Whether they like each other or even respect one another or not, family cannot be chosen. They are all related and must deal with whatever the other is going through. Family is the most important thing in the world. If you can’t love and respect your own family, who can you love?