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Maggie's Quilt In Everyday Use

213 Words1 Pages
In the story Everyday Use, there is conflict between the two main characters Maggie and Dee. The two sisters are arguing over their Grandma 's quilt. Maggie feels that she deserves the quilt because she will cherish it and make great use out of it, unlike her sister who only wants to frame it in order to remember her heritage. Dee is not used to being told "no" and she has always got everything she has ever asked for, which is why she puts up a fight for the quilt. Dee then goes on to explain to her family on page 172, how she is changing her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. She tells them that she is changing it because she "couldn 't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me." (Walker) Dee comes across as very
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Dee and Maggie’s behavior did not change throughout the story, but Mama’s attitude proves to be drastically transformed by the end. As Dee is introduced towards the beginning, the author implies that Maggie thinks “her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that ‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her”. However, while Dee and Mama argue over the quilts, Mama claims, “I did something I never had done before: hugged maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands”. This action from Mama distinctly epitomizes her denial towards Dee. Mama’s rejection perfectly exemplifies her change, because in retrospect, Dee is portrayed as a girl who never had to think twice about

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She felt that her original name, Dee, came from people that oppress her (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). Her mother felt the name Dee was special because it represented her family heritage that was passed down through generations. The dasher was symbolic to both but in a different way. Dee felt it symbolizes artistry.

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Dee is also really selfish which makes her have tension between her family since she only cares about herself. Throughout the story, there were a lot of conflicts between Dee and her family which shows with the quilt incident, butter churn controversy and lastly different views on heritage. One of the main conflicts in Everyday Use is the quilt incident. The conflict started when Wangero (Dee) came out with two quilts that had been pieced by Grandma Dee and big Dee.

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Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo [Dee] is a fascinating character in “Everyday Use” written by Alice Walker. The story is over an African American mother and her two daughters. The story focuses on one daughter, Dee that is coming home to visit her family. She grew up wanting to become a different a person, and she hated how she lived when she was with her mom and sister. Dee is spoiled, tenacious, and ignorant in this short story.

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In "Everyday Use," the interaction between Dee and Maggie helps develop the story's theme of heritage. Dee’s and Maggie are both characterized in an opposite fashion. Dee, on one hand, is characterized by her assertive, confident, and educated personality, while Maggie is characterized by her shy, insecure, and uneducated personality. Their interactions help develop the story's theme about heritage by giving readers two contrasting characters. Such as how Dee desires to possess her heritage and the deep connection and understanding that Maggie possesses.

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First, growing up the sisters were very different. In the story, Mama said that Dee “washed us in a river of make-believe.” Always getting what she wants, Dee never really appreciated the hard work that Mama did to raise her and Maggie. On the other hand, Maggie is shy and knowledges and enjoys

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946 Words | 4 Pages

During the time she is there, she asks her mom to lend her some of the old, generational quilts that her mother kept. While the mom is making her decision, Dee demands for her to give her the quilts, saying that Maggie would ruin them if mother let her keep them. The quilt symbolizes the heritage created by many past generations and how it should never be forgotten, carried on into the future. The change of names that Dee did symbolizes how generational history slowly begins to deteriorate as time passes. Dee is a great example of someone who doesn't really appreciate heritage and isn't true to herself.

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In the short story, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, their are two distinct characters who are very different from each other. These characters have many different motivations, personalities, and points of views with respect to preserving their heritage. The narrator, Mama, looks at them both with different views. Dee and Maggie are two completely different people. Dee has different motivations than Maggie.

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Dee doesn’t want to carry a part of white people’s identity, which is her name, even this name is a family tradition that goes back until the Civil War. Therefore she changes her name to something that represents her own cultural background. She is the only one in the family who refuses her birthname and the only one who wants to name herself on her own. This characterization displays Dee’s contumacious nature. Dee’s self-governing attitudes can be seen through her actions while the previous house of them was burning

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Wangero says that she changed her name because she didn’t want the name given to her because of its poor origin. “Wangero said. ‘I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.’” When wangero says this she refers to the slave owners that owned her family and gave the name Dee to one of the women when they were freed. The name was then passed down through generations.

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Everyday Use and Sula are coming of age stories. They both illustrate times in people’s lives when they have to decide to how they are going to live with their past and themselves. The short story "Everyday Use", Alice Walker emphasizes the aspect of individuality. The story focuses on the lives of two sisters, Maggie and Dee.

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She deliberately avoids her and her new sense of self-righteousness. Maggie's lack of exposure to society makes her weak in her sister's eyes and vulnerable to her sister's pretentious attitude toward what is owed to Maggie. Dee disturbs the peace by proclaiming, "Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!” It is clear that Dee believes that she deserves to receive whatever she wants, yet Maggie never fights for what she is already entitled

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The character Dee represented in Walker 's story shows how easily one can completely depersonalize heritage while showing mannerisms of condescending nature. Dee’s name was in fact passed down from her grandmother and given to her as a symbol of respect for family and fondness for their grandmother. Dee completely oblivious to the nature of her given name simply changes it to what she believes is her authentic African name. “No, Mama,” she says, “Not Dee; Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”(492). Displaying the name in boastful temperament and parading it in front of her mother and sister.

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Maggie has a very bad relationship with her bigger sister Dee with jealousy and hatred. Mama always thinks that Maggie lives an unfair life but Maggie never said that. “Maggie asked me mama when Dee ever had friends” (Walker, 317, 14), this quote shows how Maggie is jalousie from Dee, actually dee has friends. When Maggie sees stuff she doesn’t like she hides it and doesn’t talk but when she knew that Dee wanted to take the quilt that mama promised to give her she dropped the plates and smashes the kitchen door very hard.

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

Maggie did not go to school, does not dress in colorful attention-getting African garb, and does not have a fancy boyfriend, but she does slam a door which indicates her feelings about the quilts and butter churn her sister has come to claim out from under her feet. The temper has flared, and Maggie gets her quilts. In conclusion, the story seems to tell how different Maggie and Dee were from each other; with few comparisons between the two girls to suggest that they had anything in

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