Everyday Use
Personal Views of One's Heritage in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" Alice Walker uses her short story "Everyday Use" to challenge the Black Power movement to respect and acknowledge the American heritage of black people. She wants everyone to realize that one's complete heritage includes painful parts. "Walker argues that an African-American is both African and American, and to deny the American side of one's heritage is disrespectful of one's ancestors and harmful to one's self" (White, 1). Walker shows the reaction of the black people by using Dee as an example of the one's who misunderstand their heritage, Mama as an example of how some are confused as to whom they really are, and Maggie as an example of someone who truly understands her heritage and includes and remembers it in her everyday life. Dee views her heritage as a plaque that should hang on a wall. She does not truly understand her heritage. She feel's that her family heirlooms, such as Grandma Dee's quilts and her mother's churn top (Walker, 2081), should be placed on a shelf for display instead of using them in her everyday life (Everyday, 7). Dee's ideas on her heritage are based on superficial needs and wants. Walker uses Dee to show the misunderstanding
She is proud of whom she is and who Maggie turns out to be. Mama knows she had no control over the fire which damaged Maggie, but she has not realized the fight and struggle Maggie has had to go through just to survive. Dee changes her name to "Wangero" because she believes her name came from the white man, but the name "Dee" can be traced down her family line since before the Civil War. Mama now looks at Maggie and sees her mother and her sister. Because of their new connection, Maggie is able to have "a real smile, not scared" (Walker, 2083). Because of Dee's selfishness, the readers feel pity for Maggie from the beginning. Because of the education she has received, Dee feels she understands her culture. She is not able to feel close to her mother. She does not hate her life nor her sister. She does not comprehend the blood, sweat, and tiers that touched each patch of the quilt, nor does she care to learn about its history. Her wanting Grandma Dee's quilts prove her lack of knowledge about her heritage. "Now Maggie and Mama are allied in their rejection of Dee's attempts to devalue their lifestyle" (Tuten, 2). Walker uses the conflicts between the sisters and mother to show how society has changed in the African-American community and in their beliefs on how to honor their heritage.
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Acceptance Essays
