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Symbolism critique of everyday use by alice walker
Why does alice walker use symbolism in everyday use
Why does alice walker use symbolism in everyday use
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Maintaining knowledge of heritage is intrinsic in every culture, regardless of lineage or familial ties. Acknowledging where one comes from remains an important part of the human experience. However, disregarding these aspects of heritage, or attempting to remove oneself from them can produce negative effects. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” the aspects of heritage and history propel the action, allowing the reader a lens with which to view the story. The conflict between the two sisters highlights the importance of staying connected to those in the past and valuing things based on their relevance to cultural and domestic ties, rather than mere aesthetics, reflecting Walker’s challenge to the black community to recognize and support their …show more content…
ties to America while still continuing to appreciate their African culture. Dee’s decision to rename herself Wangero, under the pretense of ridding herself of association with “the people who oppress” her and to also bring herself closer to her African roots, irritates her mother, causing her to tell Dee where her name originated; she received this name from her grandmother and aunt (846). Although one recognizes that Dee’s tenacious attitude toward her black heritage is most likely the reason she excelled at university and has elevated herself to a position of respect, it is her ambivalence towards her immediate family connection that reveals her unwillingness to accept her American heritage, even though she claims preservation of culture is her ultimate goal. By rejecting her ties to her American heritage, Dee ignores the importance of cultivating this culture and puts a barrier between herself and the family. Later in the story, Dee announces she desires Mama’s dasher, stating that she wants to do “something artistic” with it (847). In response, Maggie reminds the family that “Aunt Dee’s first husband” was responsible for constructing the “dash” (847). This scene reaffirms the stark contrast between Dee and Maggie. Maggie prides herself on remembering the connections she has to her past, regardless if it is connected to African culture or American culture. Attempting to unite herself with an imagined ostentatious heritage, Dee ultimately severs ties to her immediate family without ever fully realizing it. In her effort to establish new standards for Black Americans, Dee has also rejected the people who have formed it. Near the end of the short story, Dee discovers two quilts while digging through a chest at the foot of Mama’s bed.
These quilts were contrived with “scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn”, patterned shirts from their grandfather, and one small piece of blue fabric from “Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform” that he wore during the Civil War (847). All of the stitching on the quilts was “done by hand,” an aspect of the quilts that intrigues Dee more than anything, making them unique from the other quilts that “were stitched…by machine” (848). These quilts represent the cultural heritage of this family, symbolizing the feeling of significance in the African American experience. The quilts quite literally, have history on them, making their value intrinsic. Grandma Dee and Big Dee, who are both tied to the family history, saw value in teaching their offspring about familial heritage and culture, something Dee does not appreciate. Dee perceives the quilts value as something “priceless” and that could not be put to daily use, saying that she would “hang them”, reiterating her refusal to accept the immediate heritage of her family, and also points out her superficial attitude towards material objects; they are something that holds aesthetic value, not historical value (848). Dee cannot appreciate that these materials, although pieced together in a different fashion than initially intended, were lived and suffered in by family members of the past. Dee understands heritage to be something that she displays for herself and those around her, appreciating things on merely a surface level. Maggie, however, states that she can “’member Grandma Dee without the quilts,” exemplifying characteristics of honor and gratitude towards those who came before her (848). Maggie enjoys the quilts because they are visual reminders of specific people, not of some conceptual idea of heritage. Maggie understands that cultivation of her heritage is essential to the Black community’s
self-identification, but that for this process to work, it requires use every day, something that Dee fails to understand, or perhaps simply ignores.
She went to college after high school and didn’t return home after she graduated. She got married to a Muslim man and she became so concerned with her family’s history. When she arrived, she became so concerned with taking pictures of the farmhouse she grew up in a soon as she got their she didn’t even greet her mother and sister Maggie right away. When she entered the home she immediately began to scan the room for things that she felt were good enough to go into her apartment in the city, she also wanted included things that she felt were good enough to impress her friends and to show her where they are from. When she reached the home, she mentioned a few things that stood out to her which included a butter churn and 2 quilts. The two quilts in particular stuck out to her because the two were hand sew by her grandmothers and aunt , along with her mother. Maggie her sister states, “She can have them, Mama,” She said, like somebody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. “I can member’ Grandma Dee without the quilts’” (Walker). Maggie her younger sister who still lived at home with her family let her sister know she could have them simply because she knew that it wasn’t the quilts that were going to make her remember she’s remembers the years they spent together unlike her sister who was never really around the house as much as Maggie and this was giving Maggie as sense of pride
... attempts to change the way Mama and Maggie perceive tradition by using the quilts as a wall display. Mama refuses to allow it, Dee was offered the quilts when she was in college and didn’t want them at that time. Mama gives the quilts to Maggie as her wedding gift to be used every day as they were intended, knowing how much Maggie appreciates them. I agree with Mama and Maggie for keeping family memories and objects in daily use. It is important to maintain your family history in your everyday life to preserve those special memories.
In Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use,” symbolism, allegory, and myth stand out when thinking about the characters, setting, and conflict in the story. The conflict is between the mother and her two daughters (Maggie and Dee). There is also the conflict between the family’s heritage (symbolized by the quilt, bench, and butter chum) and their different ways of life. Dee chose a new African name, moved to the city, and adopted a new way of life while Maggie and her mother have stay behind. The quilt (the most important symbol) represents the family’s heritage in that it is made of scraps of clothing worn by generations of family members. The quilt has been sewn by family hands and used on family beds. It has seen history and is history. Maggie and her mother see that that history is alive but Dee thinks it is as dead as her name. Dee does not see that name as part of her heritage. By analyzing these symbols, a number of possibilities for a theme can be seen. Walker could be suggesting that to understand the African-American heritage, readers have to include the present as well as the past. However, the theme could be that poverty and a lack of sophistication and education cannot be equated with ignorance. Lastly, she could be telling her readers that dignity or self-respect rise from and are virtually connected to one’s entire heritage- not just a selected part of it.
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
The main objects of topic throughout the story are the quilts that symbolize the African American Woman’s history. Susan Farrell, a critic of many short stories, describes the everyday lives of African American Women by saying “weaving and sewing has often been mandatory labor, women have historically endowed their work with special meanings and significance” and have now embraced this as a part of their culture. The two quilts that Dee wanted “had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me [Mother] had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them” (par. 55) showing that these quilts were more valuable as memories than they were just blankets. The fabrics in the quilts “were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the piece of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (par. 55) putting forth more evidence that these are not just scraps, but have become pieces of family history. The q...
To begin with a quilt is defined as a “coverlet made of scrapes and fragments stitched together to forming a pattern” (Webster). The quilt in “Everyday Use” was made by Grandma Dee, Big Dee, and Mama from scraps of dresses and shirts and part of Grandpa’s Civil War uniform. It is filled with memories and was hand stitched by the family. Mama suggests that Dee take other ones, but Dee rejects the offer because they were “stitched by machine”(Walker, p.114) and the old ones were done by hand. Mama says that she had promised them to Maggie. Dee then replies that Maggie would “be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker,p.114). Mama says she hope Maggie will use them every day. This begins what is means to use and misuse heritage.
...rn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece . . . that was from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War" (Walker, 65). These quilts, which have become an heirloom, not only represent the family, but are an integral part of the family. A concept in which Dee, could just not possibly understand. Mama then grasps the quilts out of Dee’s clutch and places them on Maggie’s lap, for Maggie knows that the quilts are personal and emotional rather than by any means financial (p.66). These quilts are for “Everyday Use.”
How does the difference between the way Dee (Wangero) and Maggie would use the quilts represent their two different ways of defining and treating their family’s heritage? Does the narrative give approval to Dee’s way or Maggie ’s?
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," is a story about a poor, African-American family and a conflict about the word "heritage." In this short story, the word "heritage" has two meanings. One meaning for the word "heritage" represents family items, thoughts, and traditions passed down through the years. The other meaning for the word "heritage" represents the African-American culture.
In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the message about the preservation of heritage, specifically African-American heritage, is very clear. It is obvious that Walker believes that a person's heritage should be a living, dynamic part of the culture from which it arose and not a frozen timepiece only to be observed from a distance. There are two main approaches to heritage preservation depicted by the characters in this story. The narrator, a middle-aged African-American woman, and her youngest daughter Maggie, are in agreement with Walker. To them, their family heritage is everything around them that is involved in their everyday lives and everything that was involved in the lives of their ancestors. To Dee, the narrator's oldest daughter, heritage is the past - something to frame or hang on the wall, a mere artistic, aesthetic reminder of her family history. Walker depicts Dee's view of family heritage as being one of confusion and lack of understanding.
Quilts symbolize a family’s heritage. Maggie adheres the tradition by learning how to quilt from her grandmother and by sewing her own quilts. Maggie also puts her grandmother’s quilts into everyday use. Therefore, when Dee covets the family’s heirloom, wanting to take her grandmother’s hand-stitched quilts away for decoration, Mama gives the quilts to Maggie. Mama believes that Maggie will continually engage with and build upon the family’s history by using the quilts daily rather than distance herself from
• Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia. She was born into a poor sharecropper family, and the last of eight children.
In the 1970s, many African Americans tried to find their roots in order to understand their families’ background. In her short story, “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker chronicles the expectations of the African American tradition through the uneducated narration of Mrs. Johnson, the mother of Dee and Maggie. Dee and Maggie Johnson are sisters who have been raised separately and have distinctly individual appreciations of their heritage. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” conveys heritage and different points of view about one’s roots through the contrasting sisters, Dee and Maggie. However, Walker most effectively presents the importance of keeping traditional customs to stay true to oneself.
The quilts play an important role in depicting symbolism of heritage because they signify Dee’s family origins. For instance, Dees’ significant family members all have pieces of their fabric sown on to the quilts as a remembrance of who they were and their importance in the family. Nevertheless, Dee is overlooking important facets of her family history because she does not see the quilts her ancestors made as valuable, hand-made, pieces of fabric that should be passed down and taken care of to keep their history alive. As Mama stated, “In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty years and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the civil war.” (1129). Despite her family’s history, Dee continues to misinterpret the...
Dee wants the quilt more than anything, but the quilt isn’t about being a decoration to be hung up like a museum exhibit, it is made to be used daily. Quilting is part of their family heritage. Dee doesn’t realize that the quilt she wants isn’t simply a family heirloom, it means much more than that. “In the African American community, women have been involved with quilting since they were brought to America as slaves” (Martin, 2014, p. 1). They symbol of the quilt in the story is a sisterhood, empowerment, and nature, something that Dee has failed to realize (Martin, 2104). Dee is looking for her family’s heritage and it has been there. The family heirlooms are the true tokens of their origin. Mama finally realizes that she and Maggie have embraced their true heritage through quilting and tells Dee that she cannot have them because Maggie will take it when she gets married. The situational irony in the story at the end, Dee proclaims that Mama and Maggie have no knowledge of their heritage, but it is Dee who does not understand her