Jacob B.
September 23, 1999
English 1
Quilts of Heritage
An essay on "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
In many cases, siblings who are brought up in same environment have very different outlooks on integral parts of their lives such as heritage. Such is the case with Maggie and Dee, two very crucial characters in "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. They both look at their heritage in very different ways. Maggie realizes her role in her heritage while Dee has set her role aside. The fight of Maggie and Dee over the quilts symbolizes their difference in opinion over their American heritage.
Dee does not feel as if she is part of her heritage. When Dee first gets out of the car, the very first words out of her mouth are,"'Wa-su-zo-Tean-o.'"(p.54) These words are obviously not English, the language she was raised with. Dee has now placed the American aspect of her heritage behind her. While some may argue that she is accepting her African heritage, this cannot be possible due to her wanting the quilts. When Dee arrives and her mother calls her Dee she says, "'Not 'Dee' Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!'"(p.54) Dee/Wangero no longer feels as if she is a part of her family's heritage. Heritage, to Wangero, is a thing that belongs in the past, not the present. That is why she has taken an extremely new, Muslim outlook on her heritage and taken a Muslim name. Although she values her heritage, as symbolized by her wanting the quilts, she does not want to put the quilts, or her heritage, to everyday use.
Maggie realizes that her heritage is important. When the family is eating dinner, Wangero starts to ask if she can have the dash when Maggie says, "'Aunt Dee's first husband whittled the dash. His name was Henry but they called him Stash.'"(p.55) By knowing these details of her heritage Maggie shows that she cares about her heritage and knows it has practical uses in the present. She realizes that her heritage is a part of who she is. At the end of the story when Wangero and her mother are arguing the mother tells her that, "'Maggie knows how to quilt.'"(p.56) This quote is very important because it symbolizes that Maggie cares about her heritage enough to learn the skills related to it. Wangero does not know how to quilt.
Wangero feels that her heritage is something that belongs in a museum that is hung up on the wall to look at. When Wangero is asking about the churn she says, "'I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table.'"(p.55) Wangero looks at her heritage like a decoration that can't be used. One doesn't use a churn as a centerpiece, one makes butter with it. Wangero just does not understand that one doesn't need a churn top to remember one's heritage. Toward the end of the story when Wangero asks about taking the quilts and starts to argue with her mom about it she says, "'Maggie can't appreciate these quilts! She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.'"(p.56) This quote shows that Wangero feels that her heritage is a museum piece to be put up on the wall and look and to be "oohed" and "aahed" at.
Maggie understands that although the quilts mean a lot to her she can still remember her heritage without something physical. At the end of the story when Wangero is arguing with her mom about taking the quilts Maggie hears them and says, "'She can have them mama . . . I can remember Grandma Dee without the quilts.'"(p.56) Maggie realizes that the quilts aren't her heritage. The quilts are a representation of her heritage but not part of it. She knows that she doesn't need the quilts to remember her heritage but that her sister does.
The fight of Maggie and Wangero over the quilts symbolizes their differences in opinion over their heritage. To Wangero, heritage is a museum piece to be hung up on one's wall and looked at. Maggie realizes that it is what is behind the quilts that counts, it's the heritage and one doesn't need quilts to remember her heritage. Maggie also knows that she is a part of her heritage and that her heritage actually does matter. Wangero does not realize this, she thinks that heritage is just part of the past.
