Everyday Use: Dee Vs. Maggie

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Kristen Boeing Everyday Use March 9, 2014 Dee Vs. Maggie The Short story Everyday Use is about a mother and her two daughters: Momma, Dee and Maggie. The two daughters are very different from one another. For most families, heritage means a lot, but it also depends on how they see their heritage. In this story, a quilt represents their family’s heritage. The two daughters see the quilt either as something you can put on display, or something you can put to everyday use. Meaning, to put family first and talk to them everyday and be proud of where they came from or to think of family as people who are only there when wanted to show them off or a fun story to tell. The story starts off as Maggie and Momma live together and Dee comes to visit with her boyfriend for dinner. Momma is the narrator of the story. She describes herself as a strong woman who is poor and uneducated. She is a loving mother, but brutally honest. She has two daughters who are complete opposites. Her first daughter, named Dee, is materialistic, educated, worldly, and deeply determined to always getting what s...

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