Heritage And Materialism In Alice Walker's Everyday Use

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Maggie, the uneasy, younger sister who “will stand hopelessly in the corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs,” is astoundingly revealed as the person who takes home the prize at the end of Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use.” The author uses Maggie’s character to highlight the themes of heritage, materialism and community versus isolation as she conveys the story of a mother and her two daughters living in the early 1970’s. Maggie, scarred both emotional and physically as a child in a house fire, lacks the confidence to be assertive when dealing with her beautiful, successful sister Dee. Walking with “chin on chest, eyes on ground,” her mother compares Maggie’s posture and gait to that of a dog which has been run over by a car. However, beneath Maggie’s mutilated, hideous appearance, a compassionate and sympathetic nature survives. The adage “Don’t judge a book by its …show more content…

Education affords the beautiful Dee, who was unscathed in the house fire, the opportunity to leave their poverty stricken existence and to rise above her poor relations. Maggie feels as if Dee takes for granted the life she's been given. Even though Maggie never explicitly states that she is angry or jealous of her sister, it becomes evident in the story. Attempting to take some quilts, Dee realizes Maggie’s anger when she drops the plates in the kitchen and slams the door in outrage. Although she is overcome with anger, her kind heart still shines through as she unselfishly agrees to give the treasured quilts to her sister. Maggie did not want the quilts for their material value and beauty, but for the connection they gave her to her grandmother. This bond is revealed as she states “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts.” Being taught the art of quilting by her grandmother gave Maggie a connection with her grandmother that Dee could never take

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