Everyday Use is a short story by Alice Walker, an African American activist. Everyday Use is bluntly about family and the value and importance of heritage. A mother and her two daughters, set in their home depict this lesson. I will be analyzing the title in relation with the story.
The story begins with “Mama”, describing how comfortable her backyard is. She quickly moves on to describing her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. Immediately you are presented to Maggie, the girl with the burn scars, envious of her sister, “she thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her”. Mama than goes on to explaining how she wishes that her and Dee could meet on the Johnny Carson show, “where the child who has “made it” is confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father”.
A show where they would embrace and smile to each other, only mama adds that the surprise would be them cursing and insulting each other. None the less, it still remains Mama’s dream. Dee on that day was on her way to visit mama and Maggie from Augusta school. When Dee arrived, she came out wearing a long flowing dress, even though it was a hot summer day. She quickly took pictures of her mother and Maggie before anything, like they were a display in a museum, of mama sitting in front of the house and Maggie cowering over her. As soon as mama called out her name, Dee immediately responded, by telling her that her name is now Wangero. Dee continued with, “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me”.
Dee questioned mama who her name was after, although she knew very well that it was after her aunt Dicie. With this mama went tracing the name back until she felt like it really didn’t matter to Dee anyway. Mama gave in to Dee and ended it with asking her, “how do you pronounce this name?” This is a prime example of mama never being able to say no to Dee. Also shows how Dee has already neglected her heritage.
Dee looked over and saw the churn with milk in it; she asked mama if she could have it and the dasher. She wanted the churn on her table as a centerpiece and, “I’ll think of something artistic to do with the dasher”. Than Dee went rifling through mama’s trunk and found two very old quilts made by family members. Dee quickly asked mama if she could have them to hang on her wall and from this their quarrel is the deep meaning of the title of this story. Mama responds to Dee’s request by telling her she had promised Maggie she could have the two quilts.
Dee was shocked at that by responding with, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” Those two lines sums up the meaning of the title, and mama retorting to Dee with “I hope she will.” Maggie is the only one who would appreciate the quilts to fullest by using them in her daily life. The churn and dasher are two items used every day by Maggie and mama. Those two items are part of their life, their everyday use. As it was a part of Dee’s but she treats her family and home as a past, something for to display with her new trend.
Heritage isn’t something to display on your table, heritage is something that is kept on the inside that we feel and carry with us in our daily lives. Dee leave’s mama’s house by telling her she doesn’t understand her heritage because she gives the quilts to Maggie, whom would use them sufficiently, in her “everyday use”. Maggie carries her heritage with her using it positively in her life. That is what the title Everyday Use means.
