Overview of Everyday Use Essay

At the first time we read this story we didnt get what Alice Walker means with Everyday Use and what it has to do with the story. But then we made a conclusion that the author refers to the quilt which both Dee and Maggie wanted. Dee planned to hang them, but not to know the history that comes with it, so that she could show them off to her friends what her heritage was and be proud because the quilts were "all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand." (Walker, ) which symbolize an important part of heritage to Dee-while back when she was growing up, she said they were old-fashioned, out of style. Besides, Dee thought that Maggie can always make some more; Maggie knows how to quilt." (Walker, ) and that made her more unwillingly to give the quilts to Maggie.

But Maggie-who would use them everyday-said to her Mama to give the blankets to Dee, because she can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts."(Walker, ). And at that time, Mrs. Johnson realized that Maggie carries the tradition of quilting as well as the quilts itself. For her and Maggie quilting is more of an important tradition to pass on than to just know how priceless it is. And in the end of the story, the mother chose to give the quilts to Maggie, instead of Dee, because by giving them to Maggie, Mrs. Johnson knows the connection of heritage of her family will continue to exist in the future.

From the explanation above we could conclude that Dee is someone that wants to preserve heritage and believes that they are objects to be observed and looked upon. But she doesnt realize that her own name is a heritage that has great importance in her family. Her mother could trace the name back to the civil war and connect it with specific people in her family. But Dee doesnt care about that fact, instead she changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo because it sounds more African. And it is ironic that Dee changed her name to a meaningless African name in order to honor her heritage, when her name is a large part of her own family heritage and culture.

In the opposite side, we meet Mrs. Johnson who is a large, big, boned woman with rough, man working hands. (Walker, ). Mrs. Johnson loves Dee, and always tries to please her, though she and Maggie know that Dee is different from them. Though in the end of the story, she stopped trying to fulfill anything that Dee wants by refuse giving the quilts to her. To Mrs. Johnson, tradition is a very important part to learning ones heritage. Dee has not yet experienced that in the outside world, but Maggie has come in full contact with it at home. And thats why she knows that giving the quilts to Maggie is something that is right to do. And in addition, one of the source that we read stated that Mrs. Johnson can be compared to justice in the world. Like justice, she may not be beautiful or kind but she is certainly fair.

However, the character Maggie in this story, is a girl who is very self-conscious of her inward, as well as outward appearance. Maggie was burned very badly when there was a fire a long time ago. She shows how insecure she is through her actions; she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs (Walker, ). Maggie keeps her feelings to herself and does what she is told. Even when Dee threatened to take away the quilts that her mama had promised to her to be her wedding present, she just told her mama to give them away. But she couldnt hide that she felt she had lost out again, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. (Walker, ). Yes, she said she didn't need the quilts to remember her Grandmother, but she also knew, deep down inside, that something was being taken away from her. But when she knew that her mama chose to give the quilts to her, she was so surprised that she just sat there on my bed with her mouth open. (Walker, ).

Thus, the theme of Alice Walkers short story, Everyday Use, is humans behavior toward heritage and culture. And its main idea is to honor your heritage not by only hanging them around to show them to people, but by living with it, and as the title indicates by using it everyday.