Symbolism In Alice Walker's Everyday Use

“she used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.” Mama says the words towards Dee and her past years in the house ever since she left. Dee has come back after many years, and she is coming back for her family’s heritage artifacts, that have been passed down for generations. Instead of coming back to her family, she only wants these items because she believes that this generation of her family is a disgrace. As Dee has come back she has actually started her own heritage and begins it like a tradition. Dee cannot see the family legacy of her name she was given at birth and changed to Wangero, which Dee believes is a more accurate symbol
of her African Heritage. All of these things Dee thinks are right for her family, from Mama’s perspective are wrong. Dee begins to lose the meaning to be a part of her family and is only back for her heritages artifacts and she can’t see that family is more important. Also since Dee has come back she has come back for the quilts. These quilts in this story play a big role in her heritage that has been in her generation for a long time. As Dee has come back for the quilts, she has also some history between her and Mama concerning education. Dee her whole life before the heritage part, she was all about academics. Mama in the story did not agree with Dee’s up session with education.