Everyday

Bobby Bales

5/11/06

4th period

Solomon

My opinion on “Everyday Use.”

People try to claim there heritage in many ways. Some times those ways are Based upon cultural artifacts such as items in museums and important historical artifacts. And some people claim heritage through their personal history. In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, both of these ways are expressed.

"Everyday Use" was published early in Alice Walker's writing career,

appearing in her collection In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women in 1973.

The work was reviewed upon publication, and ever since "Everyday Use" has

been called by some critics the best of Alice Walker's short stories.

In letting a county black woman with little education tell a story that greatly

explains the value of heritage.

The older sister Dee chooses the artifact way, while the younger daughter Maggie realizes the actual meaning and value of the quilts. One could say that Maggie can see the big picture. Dee, or Wangero, came back from college and had just about everything about her changed to fit her African heritage. She changed her looks, attitude, and even changed her name. She completely changed to represent a country she read about and was taught about.

But Maggie is very different. When Dee looks at the quilts she sees a piece of African culture. Maggie sees the quilt as a piece of love made from the clothes her ancestors wore through rough times. In the story, Mama tells Dee that she cannot

have the quilts because she already promised them to Maggie. But she can see that Dee wants them to hang on the wall as art when Maggie will actually use it. When Dee tells Mama that the quilts are priceless, she is right.. But she’s right for the wrong reasons. They are priceless but not the same way Mama and Maggie sees.

Mama won’t