Everyday Use, by Alice Walker

Everyday Use, written by Alice Walker is a short story narrated from the eyes of the character Mama. The author uses cultural symbolism throughout her work to tell the tale of struggle between a mother and her two daughters. The tale unfolds at Mama’s house during the Civil rights movement in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when African Americans were struggling to define themselves and their heritage, the dialog shows conflicting views of how their culture should be appreciated as Mama and Maggie enjoy a visit from Dee. Clear evidence of cultural and contextual symbolism is displayed through: two quilts, Mama’s yard, a fire, a butter churn, and education. The main characters are Mama, who describes herself as "large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands" (paragraph 5), Maggie who was burned in a house fire and bears scars on a large portion of her body, Mama attributed her to “a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person”(paragraph 9), and Dee was the educated sister that went to a fancy school, who was said to be “lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure”(paragraph 10), education and skin color were both symbolic of finer things in the era this story was written in. In Everyday Use, readers discover through the main characters, Mama, Maggie, and Dee that perception and appreciation of heirlooms and cultural heritage can be as colorful and variant as the contrast in their skin. We discern a struggle between a mother and two daughters, discovering that education does not equal happiness, and proper tribute to things cherished by all should be left to those who possess them.

In the story Mama’s first house burned to the ground a decade earlier. The fire is contextually s...

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...ture and their backwards ways when they live in such a new time.

This story leaves us to wonder exactly what Dee’s motives were; her character was plagued with lots of cognitive dissonance, she wants to preserve her roots yet she hates her past, she is proud of the hard work heirlooms like the churn and dasher but she criticizes her mother and sister for living a simple life. The story encourages us to question how we should preserve and honor our own family and cultural heritage and to respect the idea that not all people show respect and tribute in the same way. Preserving things through everyday use can be seen as a way to keep memories alive or a way to destroy the past, depending on how you view the world.

Works Cited

Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use (1944)." Literature: Craft and Voice. Vol. 1. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 608-13. Print. Fiction.