Generation gap and heritage In the short story “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker has tried to show us the gap between our generations and the importance of our heritage. The story focuses on a small family consists of Mama, sister Maggie, and sister Dee. They all grew up together in the same house and was raised by their mother who was the father and the mother for them. There are conflicts and struggles that clearly shows the gap between different generations, the importance of our heritage, and the educational status. One of the main important symbols that represents the whole story is the quilt which I will take about later and explain what it symbolizes exactly. In this essay, I will be discussing all the 3 characters Mama, Maggie, and Dee. I will talk about their character, knowledge, and heritage. First of all, I would like to start with Mama as she is somehow an important character in this essay as well as being the narrator of the story. Mama is the one who narrate the story. As per Mama, “In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man working hands” (Everyday Use 491). Mama describes herself as the father and the mother in the house and the person who is taking care of everything. As per Mama, “I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed down” (492). Mama is just like any women in a man dominant community she is uneducated and stays home to take care of her children’s and house chores. Describing herself of having a man