Everyday Use

4 Pages 988 Words

Everyday Use
by Alice Walker
“Everyday Use” is a story of a black woman and her two very different daughters. It takes place in the late 1960’s, during the civil rights’ movement, in a small, rural, Georgia farming town. The story is told through the perceptive eyes of Mama, who clearly loves both girls and accepts each as she is. As the story begins, Mama and her younger daughter, Maggie, are awaiting the arrival of Dee, the older daughter, who is coming to visit after being away at college. Mama points out how much Dee hated their lifestyle and always wanted more from the very beginning. But today Dee is snapping pictures of the house and farm and even a cow, as though it is suddenly important to her. The story revolves around some handmade quilts that were promised to Maggie, but Dee now wants them to hang on the wall and appreciate them for their handmade and aesthetic value. Mama is in a dilemma as to which daughter to give them to. Although it could be argued that Dee might have taken better care of the quilts, I feel Mama is making an important statement to both girls by giving them to Maggie. Because she is teaching them integrity by keeping her word, as she had promised the quilts to Maggie as a wedding present for her marriage to John Thomas, and she wants to improve her relationship with both girls.
From the time she was young, Dee wanted and demanded more and better things for herself. She was forceful and assertive to the point of suffering great personal loss. Mama points out that Dee had few friends and even her only boyfriend dumped her after, “Dee turned her faultfinding on him.” Dee seems to learn everything the hard way, and in the past, Mama let her do what she needed to do, but this time she decided to put her foot down and take a stand on Maggie’s behalf. Both Mama...