Analysis of the Family in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use&
Analysis of the Family in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"
In this country today, families have its similarities and differences between families in the past. Many family problems and situations are the same, but with a different setting. There are also many things that can be cherished and sacred to almost any family, and one is heritage. Many parents from the past to the future believe that it’s their right, as well as their children, to let them know what kind of family background they come from. The matter of how important heritage is to a family is varied. Some believe their actions are defined by their ancestral traits. For example, some may say they have inherited a trait like being stubborn or witty like a past relative. Though, others have no real interest in their family backgrounds. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, heritage is symbolized differently in both Maggie and Dee’s eyes. Both daughters have contrasting behaviors, as well as their opinions on the quilts. Mama is the connection between Dee and Maggie, but she is closer to Maggie for all her characteristics are similar to herself.
Mama and Maggie symbolize the connection between generations and heritage that passed between them. What happen between them are a tradition as well as a heritage they both learn from past ancestors. Walker also symbolizes Maggie as a type of heritage to Mama herself. Passing down her traditions to Maggie was taught through past generations. As Mama explains to Dee, Maggie knows what her heritage is, “She can always make some more; Maggie knows how to quilt.” (Walker, 49), but Dee chooses not to know or even want to know what Maggie is capable of doing. The characteristic that Maggie has is vulnerability and she becomes very self-conscious of her inward, as well as outward appearance. She shows how insecure she is through her actions; “she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs” (Walker, 43). Maggie kept to herself and did what she is told. Mama and Maggie both live in a run-down home that was out of reach to the present day society. Both were not educated in schools, but were taught by another tradition through their ancestors, which was learning from their surroundings. Mama had...