Skip to main content

What makes the quilts valuable to Dee? What makes the quilts valuable to Maggie?

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the quilts represent a static art for Dee, one that can be framed like a museum piece. For Maggie, the quilts have a functional and sentimental beauty, and they are meant to be used.


The family quilts have become valuable to Dee only because she wishes to gather some artifacts from her former home. It has now become fashionable for her to have things on display that relate to African heritage, so she has become interested in cultural history. On the other hand,...

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," the quilts represent a static art for Dee, one that can be framed like a museum piece. For Maggie, the quilts have a functional and sentimental beauty, and they are meant to be used.


The family quilts have become valuable to Dee only because she wishes to gather some artifacts from her former home. It has now become fashionable for her to have things on display that relate to African heritage, so she has become interested in cultural history. On the other hand, Maggie finds worth in the quilts because of their functionality and sentimental value. She likes the quilts because they are warm and because they have been made by hand throughout generations of her family. In fact, it was her grandmother and aunt who taught her how to quilt.


The mother, too, finds sentimental value in these quilts. Also, she recognizes that Maggie treasures them and looks at the squares made from old clothes with fond memories. So, when Dee grabs the quilts made by her grandmother, the mother tells Dee that she has promised Maggie that the quilts are hers. The mother narrates,



I didn't want to bring up how I had offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style.



Dee argues that these quilts are priceless, and if Maggie puts them on her bed for "everyday use," they will be ruined and "just be in rags." Still, the mother refuses to give them to Dee because Dee tells her she would "hang them" like some static artifact. Reacting to these words about the quilts that she helped to make as a girl, the mother grabs the quilts from Dee and immediately drops them into Maggie's lap. She tells Dee to "[T]ake one or two of the others."


An angry Dee just turns and walks out to her boyfriend who waits by the car. She tells Maggie and her mother as they come out to the car, "You just don't understand....[Y]our heritage." Shortly after the dust of the car settles, Maggie and her mother sit outside, enjoying the evening, not in the least interested in the new world of Dee.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where did Atticus take the light and extension cord in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with... Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with Jim if that’s what it takes to protect him.  Atticus tells the men that he will make sure his client gets his fair shake at the law.  “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till ...
Post a Comment
Read more