The mother in the short story “everyday use” is a simple woman. She is also very strong and loving. Mama is really not into all of the glitz and glam that Dee is into. She is saddened by the relationship that Dee has with her and Maggie. She hopes one day that Dee will appreciate her for all she has done.
I trust the narrator in this story because she is the mama. She knows firsthand about all the characters in the story. She is able to give detail and she has knowledge about her daughters that others don’t.
The narrator has the assumption that Dee is a high maintenance. She went out and changed her name to change who she was. She cares nothing about heritage. Dee would just like to be defined as herself and not by her family ties. Dee is not easily intimidated and she stands for what she want. Maggie on the other hand is much like mama. She appreciates mama and appreciates her heritage. Maggie was burned badly in a house fire so she has low self-esteem. She is envy’s Dee for her looks and who she has become. She is very shy and has a lack of education. I do agree with the narrator and her assumptions of her daughters. In the short story Dee is described as uppity just as the narrator describes her and Maggie is shy and envious of her sister, the narrator describes her the same way.
If the story were told from Dee point of view it would be different because she would talk about herself more. She would barely mention her family, and when she did it would be in a rude manner. She would talk about all of her accomplishments and talk down on how her family has done nothing. She would also talk about how she came to get the name Wangero.
Dee’s idea about personal development is that of an activist who chooses to ignore their heritage. They choose to focus on the motherland known as Africa rather than the things she goes through in America. Dee chooses to looks down on her family and dismisses them instead of embracing her roots. Mamas personal development is different because she believes in the physical labor, stay true to your roots lifestyle.
I agree with mama’s choice to give Maggie the quilt because she wanted it for a good reason. Dee just wanted the quilt to just hang it up, it had no true meaning to her. Maggie appreciated the quilt because it was a part of her heritage. Heritage has not crossed Dees mind when she asked for the quilt. She wanted it for decoration purposes only.
Walker defines heritage by showing the relationship that mama has with her daughters. It presents the point that heritage makes you who you are. You can choose to embrace it and be a part of it, or you can run away from it and become your own person.
Walker’s purpose is to address the problem of people not embracing their heritage. They are ashamed of who they are and where they come from. Many are ashamed of their family because they may be less educated and not as appealing with looks. They choose to go out and define themselves separately. They bury their heritage with no remorse. It causes problems in the long run because your relationship with your family is destroyed due to self -identity.
The theme of the story is to define the meaning of heritage. It shows Dee throwing away her heritage to build her own by changing her name. She chooses a name which she believes will show her African heritage but she does not see the symbolic meaning of her name. Maggie and mama know the true meaning of heritage. They choose to embrace the people who made them who they are. They are not ashamed of who they are or who they came from.