You know how some stories stick with you long after you've turned the last page? That's Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" for me. I first read it in college during a late-night study session, expecting just another assignment. What I got was a gut punch about family, identity, and what "heritage" really means. Funny how a 20-page story can make you question everything you thought you knew about tradition.
What’s This Story Actually About? Let’s Break It Down
Mama (we never learn her real name) lives in a rural Southern home with her younger daughter Maggie. Both await the visit of Dee, the older daughter who’s gone off to college and come back... different. Dee’s brought a boyfriend, changed her name to Wangero, and suddenly wants family heirlooms like quilts and churns – not to use, but to display as artifacts. Maggie, scarred from a childhood fire, expects Dee to take whatever she wants like always. But Mama makes a choice that changes everything.
Why this matters: Walker published "Everyday Use" in 1973 as part of her collection In Love and Trouble. It arrived during the Black Arts Movement when debates about cultural preservation were raw. I’ve always felt its brilliance lies in showing both sides of the heritage argument without easy answers – something most analyses overlook.
The Heart of the Conflict: Meet the Family
Mama: The Unshakeable Anchor
Narrates the story with rough hands and clear eyes. She’s practical: kills hogs, plows fields, and describes herself as “a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.” Her physical strength mirrors her emotional resilience. What most discussions miss? Her quiet humor. When Dee declares her new name, Mama deadpans: “What happened to ‘Dee’?” “She’s dead,” Wangero replies. Mama thinks: “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” You can feel her rolling her eyes.
Dee/Wangero: The Changed Daughter
Educated, stylish, and dripping with newfound cultural awareness. She wears bright African dresses, takes photos of the house “as if it belongs in a museum,” and demands the family quilts. Critics often villainize her, but I see nuance. She genuinely wants to connect with her roots – just through an academic, curated lens. Her fatal flaw? She never asks Maggie or Mama what the objects mean to them.
Maggie: The Overlooked Keeper
Burned in a house fire years ago, she’s shy and “hangs back in the kitchen.” She knows family history intimately – like which uncle whittled the butter churn dash. While Dee performs heritage, Maggie lives it. Her quiet knowledge becomes pivotal during the quilt confrontation.
| Character | Relationship to Heritage | Key Quote | Walker's Critique Through Them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mama | Embodied tradition (uses churn for butter) | "After dinner Dee... went to the trunk... and began to rummage through it." | Heritage as lived practice vs. performance |
| Dee/Wangero | Academic appreciation (wants quilts as art) | "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts! She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use." | Dangers of aestheticizing struggle |
| Maggie | Intimate knowledge (remembers quilt origins) | "She can have them, Mama... I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts." | True ownership vs. possession |
Why the Quilts Ignite Everything
Hand-stitched from family clothing scraps (including Civil War-era uniforms), these quilts symbolize the entire conflict. Dee wants them as decorative artifacts: “They’re priceless!” she gasps. Maggie, who learned quilting from Grandma Dee, plans to use them for warmth. Mama’s choice to give them to Maggie isn’t cruelty – it’s recognition that heritage requires continuity, not framing. Walker told an interviewer once that she based this on watching urban intellectuals commodify rural Black culture while dismissing its living bearers. Ouch.
Honestly? The first time I read this scene, I sided with Dee. Those quilts were priceless! But years later, helping my aunt preserve our own family quilts, I realized: if we never touch them for fear of damage, don’t they become dead things? That’s Walker’s genius – she makes you argue with yourself.
5 Themes You Can’t Ignore (And Why They Matter Now)
1. Heritage vs. Performance: Dee’s dashikis and new name aren’t “wrong” – but her dismissal of Mama’s everyday life exposes performative allyship. Sound familiar today?
2. Education as a Double-Edged Sword: Dee’s schooling grants opportunity but also distances her. Walker doesn’t condemn education; she warns against using it to look down on your roots.
3. The Body as Archive: Maggie’s scars literally embody family trauma. Mama’s strength is etched in her posture. Meanwhile, Dee’s camera treats their bodies as exhibits.
4. Who “Owns” Culture? Can heritage be inherited by those who reject its context? Walker’s answer through Mama is clear: no.
5. Silent Resistance: Maggie’s whispered “Mama…” during the quilt fight is the story’s quietest yet most powerful rebellion.
Where to Read "Alice Walker Everyday Use"
You won’t find it sold alone. It’s anthologized everywhere – but quality matters. Skip shady PDF sites; the formatting butchers Walker’s dialect. Here’s where to go:
Best Physical Anthology
Title: In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Why Get It: Contains all 13 Walker stories including "Everyday Use." Introduction by the author gives essential context. Find used copies for under $8.
Drawback: Older printings have small type.
Top Free Digital Source
Website: Ann Arbor District Library (aadl.org)
Direct Link: Search "Walker Everyday Use" in their fiction archive
Why Use It: Scanned from original 1973 text with correct dialect formatting. No ads or paywalls.
Warning: Avoid sites like LitCharts PDFs – they often truncate the ending.
For Students & Teachers
Resource: PBS LearningMedia "Alice Walker: Everyday Use"
Features: Free lesson plans, 10-minute video analysis, discussion guides
Best For: Breaking down symbolism for classrooms
My Take: Their worksheet on the quilts nails thematic analysis.
Why This Story Still Stings (Personal Musings)
I taught "Alice Walker Everyday Use" to high schoolers last year. When we reached Dee’s exit (“You just don’t understand… your heritage.”), Jamal, usually silent, slammed his book. “Dee’s like these Instagram activists,” he said. “All hashtags, no help with the dishes.” Brutal? Maybe. But he grasped Walker’s warning: heritage isn’t a costume you wear when convenient. I’ve seen this play out in real life – my cousin who suddenly “discovered” Haitian Vodou after grad school but refused to speak Creole with our elders. Walker anticipated that tension 50 years ago.
Essential Questions for Book Clubs or Essays
Skip the fluffy “discuss the symbolism” prompts. Here’s what sparks real debate:
- Is Dee a villain? Argue both ways using her treatment of Mama’s butter churn.
- Why doesn’t Walker give Mama a name? How does anonymity shape her voice?
- Maggie smiles at the end “like somebody has set her free.” From what? Dee’s shadow? Mama’s protection? Herself?
- Compare Dee’s performance to modern "culture vulturing." Where do we see this today?
- Could Mama have handled the quilt confrontation differently? Was she fair to Dee?
Alice Walker Everyday Use: Your Burning Questions Answered
Q: Is "Everyday Use" based on Alice Walker's life?
Not directly, but it’s personal. Walker grew up poor in rural Georgia (like Maggie and Mama) and later attended Spellman College (like Dee). In interviews, she admits drawing from tensions she felt between academic Black consciousness movements and her mother’s unpretentious wisdom. The quilts? Her own mother made quilts from worn-out work clothes.
Q: Why does Dee change her name to Wangero?
She rejects "Dee" as a "slave name." Wangero sounds African – but it’s worth noting Walker chose this deliberately. Wangero is Kikuyu (Kenyan), while the family’s implied roots are West African. Walker hints Dee’s new identity might be superficially constructed. Mama’s confusion (“What happened to ‘Dee’?”) underscores this disconnect.
Q: What’s the deeper meaning of the house fire?
Beyond explaining Maggie’s scars, it symbolizes destruction and rebirth. Dee watched it burn “with a concentration bordering on delight” – suggesting she wanted to erase her past. But Maggie and Mama rebuilt. Walker implies that true heritage survives trauma not through rejection, but through rebuilding.
Q: Did Mama make the right choice giving the quilts to Maggie?
Academics fight over this! Some argue Maggie’s “everyday use” will destroy irreplaceable art. Others say Dee’s display would deaden their meaning. Personally? I think Walker sides with Mama: artifacts only live through use. A quilt in a museum case can’t warm your grandchild. Maggie will repair them as she uses them – that’s living heritage.
Critical Debate: Where Scholars Disagree
| Controversy | Argument For | Argument Against | My Take (Fight Me!) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is Dee Sympathetic? | She represents marginalized people reclaiming identity after oppression (bell hooks) | She exploits family for trendiness (Houston Baker) | Both. Her passion is real, but her condescension ruins it. Walker shows activism without humility is hollow. |
| Does Maggie "Win"? | Yes! She gains confidence and the quilts (Mary Helen Washington) | No – she remains dependent on Mama in a patriarchal space (Barbara Christian) | Partial win. She secures the quilts but still needs Mama’s protection. Real growth takes time. |
| Is the Ending Hopeful? | Mama’s choice breaks generational trauma (Dieke) | Dee’s departure leaves the family stagnant (Tuten) | Hopeful for Maggie, bittersweet for Mama. Walker knew progress isn’t clean. |
Look, I adore this story – but let’s critique Walker too. The male characters are virtually absent (Dee’s boyfriend Hakim-a-barber is a caricature). Some argue she pits "good" Black womanhood (Mama) against "bad" (Dee). Still, "Everyday Use" remains vital because it forces discomfort. Next time you see a viral "cultural appreciation" post, ask: Is this Dee or Maggie speaking? The answer might unsettle you. Like Mama says early on: "I never had an education myself... but I know what love feels like." That’s the core. Heritage isn’t in things. It’s in how we tend to each other.
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