Character Analysis and Symbolism in Alice Walker's Everyday Use

In Alice Walker's "Everyday Use", the three main characters are necessary in revealing the underlying concepts of the story. The critic Timothy Sexton asserts that the older daughter, Dee, is the "embodiment of the struggle for a unifying identity" (par. 4). In contrast with Dee, the critics Houston A Baker, Jr. and Charlotte Pierce-Baker consider Maggie to be a guardian of history, or "griot" (164). On the other hand, David White describes Mama as having an "inherent understanding of heritage," something less apparent among the two children (par. 3). Dee, Maggie, and Mama serve as artistic representations of the various aspects of African Americans culture and heritage. In addition, they are our creative guide to understanding the identity struggles that African Americans faced during that time period.

Dee is a selfish and egotistical character with a superficial understanding of her inheritance. She characterizes the confusion and misguidance of young African Americans in the late 60s and 70s. This is apparent in her interactions with her mother and sister. As Sexton notes, Dee "considers herself as cultured, and beyond the abased quality of the lives lived by her mother and sister" (par. 3). She makes her feelings clear when she attempts to "take" the quilts Mama had promised to Maggie: "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts... she'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use" (Walker, 103). By using the quilts for purposes other than their original intent she believes that she is respecting her heritage, but this is not the case: her desire to put them on display is "really not quite so different from the white capitalist cashing in on ethnic artworks" (Sexton, par. 4) Not only is she conforming to the worst of American ideals, but she is rejecting and disrespecting her own cultural heritage-- all under the pretenses of preserving it. It is in this sense that she is the "embodiment of the struggle for a unifying identity," because she has not yet come to understand her place in society as both an African and an American.

In great contrast with Dee, Maggie is a simplistic and good-hearted person. These characteristics add dimension to the story, and make her a "more likely bearer of sacredness, tradition, and true value than her "brighter" sister" (163). She understands the true meaning of heritage. Just as her sister asserts, Maggie is "backward enough" to put the quilts to everyday use. But what Dee fails to recognize is that in doing so Maggie is preserving the ancestral importance of the quilts-- that is, utilitarian necessity. Walker reinforces the cultural significance of Maggie's character when Mama refuses to allow Dee to have her way: "I did something that I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragger her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's [Dee's] hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap" (104) This is, as Baker and Pierce-Baker indicated, her mother's "conferral of an ancestral blessing" (164). Maggie wants to maintain a lasting connection with her heritage, and both Mama and the reader recognize this. She represents those among the African-American community that seek to pass on their heritage without diminution between generations.

Mama is an uneducated, yet practical character. As White demonstrates, Mama "takes pride in the practical aspects of her nature and that she has not spent a great deal of time contemplating abstract concepts such as heritage... [but her lack of education] does not prevent her from having an inherent understanding of heritage" (par. 3). Mama loves and respects her ancestors, as is understood in her description and treatment of the quilts: "They had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them... in both of them were Grandpa Jarrell's paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece... that was from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War" (103). The quilts are important to Mama as a direct connection between herself and those before her. Walker also uses the butterchurn as a source for Mama's inherent understanding of heritage: "I took it for a moment in my hands... you could see where thumbs and gingers had sunk into the wood. It was beautiful light yellow wood, from a tree that grew in the yard where Big Dee and Stash had lived" (102, 103). As White explains, "When Mama takes the dasher handle in her hands, she is symbolically touching the hands of all those who used it before her." Her practical nature and appreciation for heritage distinguishes her from her two daughters, and represents the complex, historical importance of the African-American culture.

There are many more things that could be said about Alice Walker's "Everyday Use." It is a compelling story, full of symbolism and meaning. However, it is the unique and contrasting personalities of the three main characters that give the story its power. Without Dee, we would not be able to address the misguidance and identity struggles of the time period-- and without Maggie and Mama, we would not be able to fully comprehend the importance placed upon preserving their culture. As White points out, Walker wrote the story with the intentions of challenging African Americans "to acknowledge and respect their American heritage" (par. 23) Yet she did more than that: she challenged us all to acknowledge and respect the heritage of others, and gave us insight into a few of the unique circumstances that surrounded their lives.

References

Sexton, Timothy. "Identity Confusion in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use."" Nov 12 2007.

Houston A Baker, Jr. and Charlotte Pierce-Baker. "Patches: Quilts and Community in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"". Everyday Use. Alice Walker. Rutgers University Press, 1994. p. 149-165.

White, David. "'Everyday Use': Defining African-American Heritage." 2001.
Anniina's Alice Walker Page. Nov 12 2007.

Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. New Jersey: Prentice, 2007. p. 99-104.