Everyday Use Essay

September 22, 2008

Everyday Use

The author of Everyday Use, Alice Walker, clashes two different cultures to portray the importance of knowing and experiencing one's heritage verses wanting to know about and be part of that heritage. In this short story, the flat character Maggie lives at home, is unattractive and excessively shy, but her culture surrounds her and her heritage is seen through her everyday. On the other hand, Dee, the round character, though much prettier and successful is not connected with her culture or proud of her heritage. The quilt that is originally made for Maggie keeps the quilt and therefore is well aware and proud of her identity as an African. Through her characters Walker creates a wall of difference that allows her to develop the characters through tone and diction, juxtaposition, and by comparing Dee and Maggie to convey her message of having an identity in one’s cultures and heritages.

Throughout the short story, Walker uses tone and diction to illustrate the differences between the two main characters. During the first half of the story, Walker describes Dee's arrival with a "nervous," "hopeless," and "ashamed," (91 Walker) tone. Her negative diction towards Dee's arrival allows the audience to expect a woman who feels superior to and no longer cares for her family, all of which Dee is. Though Dee wants to feel pride of her heritage and asks for the quilt that her mother and past generations have put together (representing the generations that it took to strive for and keep an identity), she once thought of the quilts “old-fashioned” (97) and “out of style.” Dee’s decision to reject and bash the quilts signify that she does not want the quilts for her personal use (for her comfort; for her pride in ebing part of that heritage), but wants to impress others. As an angry Dee leaves, Maggie is described as “happy” (97) with a “real smile” and “enjoying” the results of her sister departure. Because Walker uses a livelier tone fonr Maggie, the audience is aware of the culture and heritage pride Maggie takes in the quilts. Though Maggie is not the best looking person, she knows the honor of being part of her culture and never rejects her heritage or insults her culture. By creating an eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere for the arrival of Dee and a tranquil and content environment for her departure, Walker demonstrates

Walker continues to develop the characters of Maggie and Dee by contrasting their personalities and physical appearances. Walker describes Dee as “lighter than Maggie” (92) with even her feet “neat-looking” (93). Dee is dressed to look like she’s part of her culture with a dress that is “loose and flows” (930, the “bracelets” and “earrings… hanging down to her shoulders” and her hair “stands straight up like the wool on a sheep.” On the other hand, Maggie has “burn scar” (91) that covers her “thin body.” Though Dee and Maggie both visibly look like they are part of their culture, Maggie is the only one who really understand and has experience with living within her culture. Maggie was taken from her culture and brought to a school where she learns to be embarrassed of her heritage and her culture. Maggie’s personality, snobby, and self-centered, is the complete opposite of Maggie’s, too friendly, fearful, and shy manners. As Dee throws a tantrum of wanting the quilt Maggie calmly tells Dee that she can have it because she is aware that she does not need the quilt to remember her heritage or for others to know she belongs to her culture.

Lastly, Walker uses juxtaposition to ultimately show the characteristically differences between the two sisters. On page 92, Walker describes the outer figure of both sisters. Dee has the “nice hair and a fuller figure” (96) while Maggie’s hair is “smoking and her falling off her.” Walker goes on to juxtapose the reaction of the sisters towards the decisions about the quilt. Dee with her “temper” insults her sister saying she will have them in “rags”. However, Maggie stays calm and she can


Creating an eery and uncomfortable atmosphere for the arrival of Dee and a tranquil and welcoming environment for her departure, Walker is able to show the characteristic differences between the characters, and how the differences affect Maggie's and Dee's lives.