Essay On Everyday Use By Alice Walker

Titles are very important to all texts. The titles is what grabs the audience's attention. All texts have a title whether it is a movie, book, song, etc. These titles are often a one to three word summary of the text. Other times, the title portrays the theme of the text. Either way, the title is a very important piece to the success of a text. In Alice Walker's short story, Everyday Use, the mom, Maggie, and Dee, discuss the fate of their family quilts. The title of Alice Walker’s Everyday Use, represents many themes portrayed in the story. The title of the short story, Everyday Use, by Alice Walker portrays how African Americans were treated in American history. Black African Americans were used as slaves and forced into hard labor. In Alice Walker’s story, Dee comes home after being at school for a while. She returned with a boyfriend and a new name. After being called ‘Dee’ by her mother, Dee said, “No Mama,.... Not ‘Dee’, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!” When stating why she changed her name, Wangero said, “I

In this story, Dee walks around the house and asks her mom to take certain priceless items that are part of her heritage. One of these items is some quilts that have been sewn with garments worn by relatives dating back to the Civil War. Dee desperately wants these quilts. After asking her mother if she can obtain them, her mother informs her that these quilts were already promised to her sister Maggie. Dee responds, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” Dee does not want Maggie to actually use these quilts because of the value they hold to the family. They are a part of their family's history and Dee does not want them ruined. Dee wants to hang these quilts up in her house to remember her ancestors and to show how far her family has come. She does not want them to be put to everyday