Alice Walker's Heritage

How well do you know and cherish your family heritage? Do you respect your heritage? In this short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker there are two sisters who have different opinions on their heritage. One sister does not respect her heritage. This proves just because you are family does not mean you think the same.
For one thing, the two daughters are Maggie and Dee. This family lives on a farm and takes care of themselves. The mama proves she is just as strong as a man when she says,”I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man… I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledgehammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall.” Traditionally old fashion is the best way to put their life in words.

Cleaning, cooking, killing and growing their own food is a way of life. Later, the two daughter’s opinion about their lifestyle will be revealed.
First, the youngest, Maggie. Maggie stays and lives with her mama. Reserved and held back would be the best way to describe her. She is not too fond of the way she looks because of the house fire she was in.”I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes.” Maggie was never the same after the house fire. Being home and helping her mama is something Maggie cherishes. Quilting is even a hobby her and her grandmother came to love. Maggie is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she knows how to work, care, and love.
Second is Dee,the eldest. She was never real focused on living with mama. She wanted to go to the city, as she did, and live a more pronounced life. She had bigger and better plans for her life. Dee was never proud of where she came from. Her mother puts it best when she says,”She washed us in a river of make-believe…” Not being home in 4 years, Dee walks up showing that she has adopted another heritage. For example, Dee changed her name to Wangero. She does not want to be apart of what she was born into.
Although Dee and maggie do not have the same outlook on life they are still family. Dee disowns her past, but Maggie will cherish it forever. This shows heritage does not have the same emotional impact on everyone.