Alice Walker's "Everyday Use": a Study of Heritage and Identity

Introduction

Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" dives deep into the ideas of cultural heritage and personal identity. Written back in 1973, it tells the story of an African American family living in the rural South. The story zeros in on the different views of two sisters, Dee and Maggie, and their mom, known as Mama. Walker explores the different ways people value and keep their heritage alive, along with the tricky side of figuring out one's identity in a changing world. In this essay, I'll look at the themes of heritage and identity in "Everyday Use," showing how Walker uses character growth and symbolism to get her point across.
Heritage is a big deal in "Everyday Use," and Walker uses Dee and Maggie's different attitudes to show two ways of preserving culture. Dee, who now goes by Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, is all about a modern and somewhat shallow take on heritage. She's educated, bold, and sure of herself, but she wants to distance herself from her past. Dee's new name and her desire to grab family items like the hand-stitched quilts show her wish to link up with a larger African heritage while pushing away her direct roots. She sees the quilts not for their sentimental value or practical history but as cool cultural artifacts.
On the other hand, Maggie is all about an authentic, lived connection to her heritage. She's shy and scarred from a house fire, lacking Dee's boldness, but she has a deep bond with her family's traditions. Maggie gets the personal history in the family heirlooms. She knows all about the quilts' origins because her grandma taught her to sew. This shows she's the true keeper of her family's heritage. Maggie's embrace of her heritage is real and part of her daily life, unlike Dee's more showy approach.
Mama is the story's anchor, giving us a look into her daughters' different paths. Her view is practical, seeing heritage as a blend of past and present. Mama's choice to give the quilts to Maggie instead of Dee is a key moment. It shows she sees Maggie's real appreciation for their legacy. This act also shows Mama's disapproval of Dee's shallow take on heritage. Through Mama, Walker criticizes turning culture into a commodity and stresses the importance of real, lived experiences in keeping heritage alive.
The quilts are a strong symbol in the story, showing the link between past, present, and future. Made from scraps of ancestors' clothes, each piece has its own story and memories. The quilts' everyday use contrasts with Dee's plan to hang them as art. This difference shows Walker's point that heritage isn't something to just look at but something to use and live with every day. The quilts are a metaphor for cultural identity, stitched from the past and used in daily life.

Conclusion

In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker brilliantly explores heritage and identity through one family's story. By comparing Dee and Maggie, Walker shows different ways of seeing and valuing cultural heritage. Dee's shallow approach is very different from Maggie's real and practical connection to her family's past. The quilts, as a key symbol, capture this idea, showing the threads that connect generations. Walker's story reminds us of the complexities of identity and the lasting importance of heritage in shaping who we are. Through her detailed depiction of these themes, Walker makes us think about our own ties to our cultural past and how we honor and keep our heritage alive in everyday life.