Everyday Use in Alice Walker's Term Paper

Dee is not interested in family history; she is interested in making an artistic statement.

The discussion of the butter churn is merely a prelude to the big event over the quilts. The quilts are sewn together of fabrics from ancestors' clothing. This association makes them important reminders of family to Maggie and Mama. However, these two see the practical or everyday value of the items as well. Mama intends to give them to Maggie upon her wedding. Dee is aghast at the suggestion. "But they're priceless!' she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper. 'Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they'd be in rags'" (Walker 94). Mama and Maggie see these heirlooms as items that should be used as well as important reminders of the past. Dee only sees their monetary and artistic value.Near the end of the story, Dee declares these items "your heritage" to Mama. However, their definitions of heritage differ. Dee sees the items as museum type pieces, almost as trophies of where she came from and where she is now. Mama and Maggie see the heirlooms as practical items that are made more valuable by their associations with family members. These ancestors are celebrated and remembered every time one of these heirlooms is put into….....