My Mother Pieced Quilts Poem Analysis

In many places, respect for the heritage of all people is extremely important. Some say that one's own heritage is essential to understand where one is from and who one is from. In many cases, material objects are a gateway to ignite this sense of enlightenment. In the poem "My Mother Pieced Quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, both authors use imagery and figurative language to establish a quilt as a symbol providing an example to ignite respect for one's own heritage and to encourage one to develop their own traditions.

In her poem, Acosta demonstrates the quilt as a symbol for a doorway for the memories of the mother and her children. As the narrator describes how her mother makes quilts, she explains, "how you shaped patterns then cemented them/ with your

As the mother is telling Dee that she cannot have the quilts, she shows her surprise when Dee "gasps like a bee had stung her" (64). By using this simile, the mother shows her revulsion at the new and artificial personality her daughter has adopted. As the family talks over dinner, the mother states about Dee that "she talked a blue streak over the sweet potatoes" (62). Dee is complimenting her mother's food, yet immediately afterwards, she asks for a churn top, a dasher, and some old quilts that she had not wanted recently before. This metaphor tells the reader that the compliments Dee gave her were empty and fake. While the narrator is describing herself as she actually is rather than Dee's expectations, she mentions, "I am a big-boned woman with rough man-working hands" (59). The mother's explanation of herself shows that she accepts herself and her heritage, while Dee believes her heritage is from making objects ornamental. This discloses that the mother is proud of who she is and where she comes