How does the conversation between Dee and Mama about the quilts develop the theme?
Tradition, heritage, and ownership
: Dee believes that her education gives her rightful ownership of the family quilts, but Mama bestows the quilts on Maggie, who retains a more authentic connection to the family’s cultural heritage.
In her short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker takes up what is a recurrent theme in her work:
the representation of the harmony as well as the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture
. “Everyday Use” focuses on an encounter between members of the rural Johnson family.
What is the main message of Everyday Use?
The main idea of “Everyday Use” is
that culture is best celebrated and appreciated by living it rather than by holding it at a distance
. Dee, one of the narrator’s daughters, has long been embarrassed by her African American mother’s country ways.
What evidence in Everyday Use shows Mama may admire Dee more than Maggie?
What evidence in “Everyday Use” shows Mama may admire Dee more than Maggie?
Mama focuses on Maggie’s negative, or unattractive qualities in her descriptions during most of the story
, calling her “homely,” and comparing her with “a lame animal.” Mama says matter-of-factly, “She knows she is not bright.
What is the message in Everyday Use by Alice Walker?
Through Dee, “Everyday Use”
explores how education affects the lives of people who come from uneducated communities, considering the benefits of an education as well as the tradeoffs
. Alice Walker clearly believes that education can be, in certain ways, helpful to individuals.
Why does Maggie cherish the quilts?
Unlike her sister, Dee, Maggie loves the family
quilts because she knows the people whose lives and stories are represented by them
. She even knows how to quilt herself. Her mother has promised Maggie the quilts, which Dee has already once refused, when she gets married because they are meaningful to her.
Why does Dee think Mama and Maggie don’t understand their heritage?
Dee thinks Mama and Maggie don’t understand their heritage
because they don’t change from it
. In Dee’s mind, Maggie and Mama lack the “Ethnic Pride” to leave the historical borders and live a prosperous life. In saying ‘”You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie.
What is causing tension between Dee and Mama?
Another cause of the tension between Mama and Dee is
the vast difference in their lifestyles
. While Mama has always admired Dee’s sense of style, it has also been a point from which Dee, who later renames herself “Wangero,” looks down upon her mother and her sister, Maggie.
What does this was Maggie’s portion mean?
She looked at her sister with something like fear but she wasn’t mad at her. This was Maggie’s portion.
This was the way she knew God to work
. ( 75) The narrator sees that Maggie has basically resigned to accepting the injustices of the world, even relatively small injustices like her sister always getting everything.
What is the significance of Mama remembering having been hooked in the side by a cow in 49?
What is the significance of Mama remembering having been “hooked in the side by a cow in ’49”? –
Like a cow, Mama has a strong spirit and is always ready for a fight. – Like a cow is mild mannered, Mama is mild mannered and will always give in to Dee.
Why does the narrator want Maggie to have the quilts instead of Dee?
Mama, the narrator, ultimately gives the family quilts to Maggie instead of Dee (Wangero)
because she recognizes that Dee gets everything she wants, that she’s even already claimed the quilts as her own
, because they were promised to Maggie, and because Maggie is the daughter who wants them for the right reasons.
What is the climax of the story Everyday Use?
The climax of “Everyday Use” occurs
when the mother abruptly decides to give the quilts to Maggie and not Dee (Miss Wangero)
. … With this moment as the climax, the mother decides that the quilts should go to Maggie and not Dee.
How does Maggie change in Everyday Use?
In “Everyday Use,” Maggie
becomes more confident after her sister Dee comes to visit
because her mother stands up for Maggie’s best interests. … Maggie now knows that she has her mother’s support, and she grows more confident as a result.
Does Mama regret giving Maggie the quilts?
By giving the quilts to Maggie, Mama in a sense
merely fulfills her promise
. Mama had previously offered Dee a quilt, years earlier, but the offer had been rejected since quilts at that time were out of style. Maggie’s appreciation of the quilts has been long and consistent and will remain so.
Why does Dee think Maggie should not have the quilts?
Dee thinks the quilts should be preserved as art objects; not used up. Why does Dee think that Maggie should not have the quilts? Dee says
her mother doesn’t understand that the hand-stitched quilts are important and should be preserved
.
How does Maggie respond when Dee demands the quilts?
When Dee insists that she get to keep the quilts that she holds just out of Mama’s reach, Maggie actually agrees to let her keep them, saying “‘I can ‘
member Grandma Dee without the quilts
.
