Thoughts on Everyday Use

I would just like to first point out that I did not write this when it says I did, but rather wrote it earlier and didn't get around to submitting it. So I did not procrastinate and put this off in favor of conversing with the opposite sex. I am not doing this last minute. Are we clear? Good. Now I can get started.

I find it interesting that in "Everyday Use," there is quite a bit of sly irony. Dee comes to visit after a long absence, and Mama recalls how Dee always hated her life at home, to the point that she once set fire to the house, nearly killing her sister and scarring her for life. And then she goes off to school, with the money that Mama raised for her. But you probably already know all this, so I'll stop summarizing.

When Dee returns home, she is educated and appreciative of the family heirlooms, but at the same is incredibly selfish, patronizing, and rude. She claims to have a greater appreciation for the heirlooms than the rest of her family, yet she acts like a tourist, taking pictures of her family and her house, the same house that she once tried to burn to the ground. She is commodifying the objects of her family, valuing them only now that she knows they have value, rather than for their familial history. She represents a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life where culture and heritage are to be valued only for their “trendy-ness” and aesthetic appeal.

To Dee, heritage is the past - something to frame or hang on the wall, a mere artistic, aesthetic reminder of her family history. In contrast, Alice Walker emphasizes that a people's heritage needs to be a living, dynamic part of the culture from which it arose and not a frozen timepiece only to be observed from a distance (I like that sentence). It is ironic that the ones that appreciate and agree with this philosophy are the ones with little education in the ways of history, rather than Dee, who has such an education. The way the story is set, it is very clear that Mama shares Alice Walker's philosophy. To Mama, her culture and history is a way of life, whereas Dee's idea of culture entails mostly material goods.

This also becomes clear when Dee informs Mama that she has changed her name, claiming, "I couldn’t stand it anymore, being named after the people that oppress me.” Mama points out that Dee was named for her aunt, who was named for her grandmother. While the name "Dee" might not be African in origin, as Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo appears to be, it holds with the idea of honoring your ancestors, heritage, and family history, rather than picking and choosing which bits you do or don't want.

When Dee declared her admiration and desire for the quilts, deeming them priceless, Mama recalls offering
Dee a quilt to take to the university, and Dee turning her down, saying the quilts were old fashioned and out of style. But now that they appear to be priceless, Dee can't live without them (clearly an exaggeration, in case you were a little confused).

This story helps to demonstrate a problems that occurs often. People try so hard to show that they're cultured that they take objects of their culture, frame it, and put it on a wall. Alice Walker is trying to show the reader that that's not always the best option. Items have history and meaning because they have been used and appreciated, not just looked at and used as a centerpiece to impress your friends (622).