Everyday Use By Alice Walker: Literary Analysis

Traditions have been a part of human life since the beginning of time. Over the course of thousands of years, traditions have changed and reformed to fit the times. Sometimes, though, traditions remain the same and can become a harmful way of thinking for society. Although some traditions can be good, for they can bring a culture closer together, they can also have a negative impact on. Traditions often alienate people from others and result in unnecessary conflicts, that were otherwise avoidable. In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, as well as in her short story “Everyday Use”, Walker’s recurring theme of familial customs shows how certain traditions can cause conflict in families and communities, highlighting the idea that not all traditions

In this tale, Dee brings up tension between her mother and sister when she comes to their farm asking for old family possessions. Dee says, “This churn top is what I need, [...] Didn’t Uncle Buddy whittle it out of a tree you all used to have?” ( Walker, 1973). After Mama agrees to let Dee have the churn top, Dee then asks for dasher. When Asalamalakim asks what relative made the dasher, Dee looks up at Mama because she does not know the answer. This shows that she is not attached to items because of the memories of family, but she wants them because they fit her aesthetic. The family’s tradition is using their older relatives tools for use they meant for. This caused a conflict between Dee and her family because of her new style. Her new style is to put the old relatives tools up as decoration and show them off instead of using them for what they were made for. This is emphasized when Dee argues with Mama about her taking the hand stitched quilts instead of Maggie taking them, even though Dee refused to take one of the quilts before leaving for college. Dee says, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!”, and ‘[s]he’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” “I reckon she would, [...] God knows I been saving ’em for long enough with nobody using ‘em. I hope she will!” (Walker, 1973). Mama had offered Dee a quilt before she went off to college, but Dee did not want one because she believed that they were too old fashioned (Walker, 1973). This further shows that the items are of no sentimental value to Dee, and she only wants them for decorative purposes. Her disconnection from her family’s tradition created a rift between her and her