The Two Sisters In Everyday Use By Alice Walker
“Everyday Use” is a story written by Alice Walker about two sisters named Dee and Maggie. The story deals with the argument between the mother and daughter Dee about a pair of quilts Dee wants but can’t have because they were already promised to Maggie. The sisters are different in so many ways: their personalities, physical appearance, and different point of views of their heritage. As family values are so important to both Maggie and her mother than it is to Dee there is a lot confrontation. I will discuss the differences of the two sisters that drive Dee to act out.
The sister’s personalities are extremely different. Maggie has no education, is extremely shy, and is a generous person. Maggie probably felt like the black sheep of the family,
always hiding herself from reality. She possesses no education, all she has ever known is to what her mama has taught her. Never being social has made her into a shy person always hiding from the world like a scared puppy. One thing for sure is that she is very generous towards her snotty sister. “‘She can have them, Mama,’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her” (pg. 116). Dee, on the other hand, has an education, is a confident person, and very selfish towards Maggie. The family’s church raised money to send Dee to school away from home. Being confident was kind of Dee’s thing, her attitude, the way she spoke with such knowledge, and thinking she’s better than her family. “‘Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts,’ she said” (pg. 116). She is selfish in the way that she doesn’t want her sister to have the quilts. The physical appearance of Maggie and Dee are not similar at all. Maggie has burned skin, she’s skinny, and has no style. Her skin was burned in their house that was caught in flames. “Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling of her in little black papery flakes” (pg. 111). However, Dee smooth skin, a fuller figure, and is very up to date on fashion sense. Dee is always wanted the nice thing in life. “A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she’d made from an old suit…” (pg. 111). Both sister have different points of view when I comes to their heritage. Maggie wants to embrace her heritage by using the quilts that have been passed down to her every day. “She’d probably be on the backward enough to put them to everyday use” (pg. 116). She also knows her family history as well as she can remember her Grandma Dee without any materialistic objects. Maggie learned how to quilt as a family tradition. On the contrary, Dee shows off her heritage instead of embracing it like Maggie. She wants to take the quilts and hang them on display for her friends to see back home. “‘Hang them,’ she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with these quilts.” (pg. 116). Dee also doesn’t know her family history as Maggie does and doesn’t know how to quilt as it was passed down generation to generation. The only thing they would have in common would be that they come from the same culture. I personally think Alice Walker wrote this story to make a point that even though you change your name and study your culture doesn’t mean you know your culture or heritage. Also that just because you think you’re better than your family doesn’t mean you can take advantage of them by taking away their belongings. Dee and Maggie are an example on how you can be related and be different at the same time because not all siblings have the same traits or points of view.
The sister’s personalities are extremely different. Maggie has no education, is extremely shy, and is a generous person. Maggie probably felt like the black sheep of the family,
always hiding herself from reality. She possesses no education, all she has ever known is to what her mama has taught her. Never being social has made her into a shy person always hiding from the world like a scared puppy. One thing for sure is that she is very generous towards her snotty sister. “‘She can have them, Mama,’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her” (pg. 116). Dee, on the other hand, has an education, is a confident person, and very selfish towards Maggie. The family’s church raised money to send Dee to school away from home. Being confident was kind of Dee’s thing, her attitude, the way she spoke with such knowledge, and thinking she’s better than her family. “‘Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts,’ she said” (pg. 116). She is selfish in the way that she doesn’t want her sister to have the quilts. The physical appearance of Maggie and Dee are not similar at all. Maggie has burned skin, she’s skinny, and has no style. Her skin was burned in their house that was caught in flames. “Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling of her in little black papery flakes” (pg. 111). However, Dee smooth skin, a fuller figure, and is very up to date on fashion sense. Dee is always wanted the nice thing in life. “A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she’d made from an old suit…” (pg. 111). Both sister have different points of view when I comes to their heritage. Maggie wants to embrace her heritage by using the quilts that have been passed down to her every day. “She’d probably be on the backward enough to put them to everyday use” (pg. 116). She also knows her family history as well as she can remember her Grandma Dee without any materialistic objects. Maggie learned how to quilt as a family tradition. On the contrary, Dee shows off her heritage instead of embracing it like Maggie. She wants to take the quilts and hang them on display for her friends to see back home. “‘Hang them,’ she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with these quilts.” (pg. 116). Dee also doesn’t know her family history as Maggie does and doesn’t know how to quilt as it was passed down generation to generation. The only thing they would have in common would be that they come from the same culture. I personally think Alice Walker wrote this story to make a point that even though you change your name and study your culture doesn’t mean you know your culture or heritage. Also that just because you think you’re better than your family doesn’t mean you can take advantage of them by taking away their belongings. Dee and Maggie are an example on how you can be related and be different at the same time because not all siblings have the same traits or points of view.