Doe 1
Patsy Cline
Mrs. Lee
ELA 1
August 18, 2099
Identity and Inheritance in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
Family traditions, names, and everyday objects…these qualities create a person’s identity.
Individual and family identities are explored in Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use.” In the story,
the reader meets a family comprised of Mama and sisters, Maggie and Dee, who could not be more
different. Mama and Maggie live a simple life, but they seem to have everything they need. Dee has left
the home, attended college, and changed herself. Mama and Maggie prepare for Dee to visit, and they
struggle to understand Dee’s new name, personality and way of life. When Dee requests heirloom quilts
that are being saved for Maggie, Mama has to make a choice between old and new, truth and lies, and
Maggie and Dee. The theme of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is the importance of identity and
inheritance, and Walker explores her theme through her characters, conflict, and symbolism.
Mama, Maggie, and Dee are the main characters in the story. Mama, the narrator of the story, is a
strong but sensitive woman. She is described as, “a large big-boned woman with rough, man-working
hands” (57). Mama worked hard to send Dee to college and give her the things she wanted, and she
dreams of being appreciated by Dee. The reader knows of her feelings because she imagines being on a
television show where a child tells her parents how “she would not have made it without their help” (56).
Maggie lives with Mama, and she nervously awaits her sister’s visit because she is aware of how different
she is from her sister. Maggie has burn scars down her arms and legs, and Walker writes, “like good looks
and money, quickness passed her by” (59). Mama compares Maggie’s walk to a lame animal, “perhaps a
dog run over by some careless person” (58). This metaphor shows the reader that Maggie is vulnerable,
perhaps physically and emotionally. Maggie will marry John Thomas, and most likely live a life very
similar to her mother. This life will be very different from her sister’s. Dee is the complete opposite of
Mama and Maggie. Physically, she is “lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair, and a fuller figure” (58). She
has a strong, confident personality. She looks everyone in the eye, knows no hesitation, and always
wanted nice things (59). She is able to attend school in Augusta on money raised by the church and
Mama, and when she returns home for a visit, she has changed her name, dress, and ideas. She wears a
bright dress, strange hair do, and tinkling jewelry (60). Dee has gone through life getting what she wants,
and it shows. Maggie believes, “that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her” (56). The
differences between the characters, physically and emotionally, set up much of the conflict in the story.
The main conflict of the story is evident in the relationship between the three family members.
They are so different, and they do not understand each other’s personalities and lifestyles. Dee wants and
thinks different things from her mother and sister. Mama and Maggie live a life similar to that of their
ancestors. They cook, work with animals, quilt, and go to church. Dee leaves home to attend school, and
she tries to share her knowledge with her family and friends. In Mama’s words, “she washed us in a river
of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know” (58-59). This
quote proves that Mama and Maggie are happy with the life they have. They don’t want Dee to change
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them. Dee seems to experience internal conflict as she changes throughout the story. Before she leaves
home, Dee seems to despise her background. She hates the house she grew up in, she refuses the quilts
her mother offers her when she packs for college, and she says she will never bring her friends home.
Upon her return, Dee is different. She declares that Dee is dead, and her new name is “Wangero” (61).
Instead of hating the house, she now takes pictures of it, and she expresses delight over the food and
everyday objects like benches, butter churns, and quilts. She wants the quilts most of all, and there is a
conflict over who will get them. Dee wants two ancient quilts because they are stylish or “priceless” (65).
She does not value these things because they are a part of her family and identity. Instead, she wants to
put them on display and condescendingly use them as proof of a simple, ignorant way of life. Mama ends
the conflict over the quilts when she declares they have been promised to Maggie, and eventually
snatches the quilts from “Miss Wangero” and dumps them into Maggie’s lap (65). With this action,
Mama chooses Maggie over Dee, and the reader realizes the conflict was more about the two daughters
than the quilts. The quilts were simply symbolic of the family’s complicated history.
In “Everyday Use”, Walker uses everyday objects to symbolize a deeper meaning. The house, the
kitchen items, and the quilts exist as themselves, but they also represent the family’s history. Dee hated
the old house that burned (58), and the new house is almost identical to the old one (59). It would make
sense for Dee to hate this house as well, but she doesn’t. Before Dee left home, the house represented
poverty and a backwards way of life. When Dee returns, she takes photographs and Mama notices, “she
never takes a shot without making sure the house is included” (61). It seems the house has changed to
represent a history to ogle, mock, and marvel at. Dee also gawks at the benches, the butter dish, butter
churn parts, and of course, the quilts; however, her fascination with the items do not stem from a
connection with her family. She sees the pieces as artwork, and she offends her family by ignoring the
sentimental connections they have with the pieces. For Maggie and Mama, these items are symbolic of
the family members that created and used them. Every groove, every scrap of fabric is connected to a
memory, but Dee is only concerned with how to best show them off. When Mama refuses to give Dee the
quilts, the action is symbolic. By denying Dee what she wants, she publically recognizes Maggie as the
true daughter who deserves the inheritance of these family heirlooms.
In this short story, Alice Walker explores the meaning of self, family, and heritage. The reader
sees that identity exists in the names people choose, the clothes they wear, and the things they use. The
younger Dee is embarrassed of her roots, and the older Dee seeks to put them on display in an attempt to
look worldly and educated. Her disrespectful behavior further alienates her from her family, as evidenced
by her Mama calling her “Miss Wangero” (65). Dee searches for a deeper connection to her African roots,
but she fails to realize her real roots exist in Mama, Maggie, and the house and things they use. For all of
her education and style, Dee is the character most out of touch with her true heritage. In her farewell to
her family, Dee says, “It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live, you’d never
know it” (66). After that speech, Maggie smiles a real smile, Mama gets a dip of snuff, and the two sit
there “enjoying” (66). They are not sad, remorseful, or even thoughtful. They enjoy their life, filled with
objects designed for everyday use, and the reader realizes they are the characters truest to their own
identities and inheritance.