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Quilts Symbolize Heritage

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In the short story, “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, one can say that the quilts mentioned in the story symbolize heritage because the quilts were made by different generations of the family. Because of this, the reader can see that Dee views her heritage as something to be put up for display so people can admire her past, where as Maggie, views her heritage as something that is learned and teach to others. For example, when Mama tells Dee that she can’t have them, Dee says, “Well … What will you do with them? … ‘Hang them’ she said, like somebody used to never winning anything …”. As a general rule,
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Fabrics are the point of the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, in which Dee (Wangero) attempts to persuade her mother that she, and not her sister Maggie, should have the quilts made by her grandmother, aunt, and mother. Two strategies Wangero uses for persuasion are repetition and diction to convince her mother that the quilts Grandma Dee had stitched should belong to Wangero, and not Maggie. These strategies

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In the essay “An Overview of Everyday Use” the author Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton explains in detail the significance of quilting in the short essay “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. She discusses how walker uses quilt making in many other stories and essays that she creates. Marton goes on to talk about the characters in the story Maggie and Dee comparing them to one another when it comes to the quilt. Marton Explains that Dee returned home trying to take the quilt for fashion that she before thought of as “out of style” and doesn’t appreciate nor see the heritage behind the quilt. Being that she is ashamed of her past she tells Maggie that she won’t ever be anything if she continues to stay around in what kept them oppression,

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Family heritage plays a very important role in one’s life. One way families keep their heritage alive is through heirlooms. One example of an heirloom could be a quilt passed down from generation to generation. In the short stories, “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “The Keeping Quilt” by Patricia Polacco, quilts play an important part in their family heritage. The quilt in both stories is used to document their past and how far they have came.

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Because I didn't go down to the local fabric store to buy material to make her quilts. I pieced together bits of old clothing from loved ones. There are pieces from my grandmother's grandmother's clothing. Her quilts are her family remembrance. Dee, although educated in the "book sense," is not in touch with what the word "heritage" truly means.

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664 Words | 3 Pages

"She 'd probably be backwards enough to put them to everyday use" (320). Dee thinks Maggie would be dumb to keep the quilts for “everyday use”. Also, she figured her family did not know their own heritage. Dee feels as though her sister should “make something of” herself. She states, “It’s really a new day for us” to show that Maggie needs to see a greater amount of the world.

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The short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker communicates that someone will inherit something from their family as a memory of them. Dee (Wangero) says, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” Dee claims that Maggie won’t take care of the quilts indicating that she will appreciate them as a way of trying to persuade her mother (Mrs. Johnson). Mrs. Johnson says, “I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” She doesn’t want to let Dee have the quilts she wants because Mrs. Johnson is going to use the quilts for her younger daughter, Maggie when she gets married.

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1792 Words | 8 Pages

The short story “Everyday Use,” by Alice Walker, was hard to understand through the first read. As I read it multiple times I understood the main concept of the story, sibling rivalry between two sisters over who will get to keep their grandmother’s quilt. This is also a story of African Americans, and the value of passing on heritage to generations to come. The quilt was a representation of their past, and the importance of knowing where they come from; the quilt has clothing from their great grandmother and grandfather. They also have a chute with a dasher that has been passed down to them that still has fingerprints engraved in the wood.

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What does heritage mean to you? Momma and her youngest daughter Maggie value a very simple and cultural lifestyle. When Momma´s older and more futuristic daughter, Dee, comes home unexpectedly demanding quilts, arguments arise causing tension. In "Everyday Use", by Alice Walker, Dee uses body language and tone to persuade Momma that she, and not her sister Maggie, should own the quilts; She ultimately fails, revealing the theme that you should respect your heritage and where you come from.

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In Alice Walkers “ Everyday Use” there is reference to quilts. It is made very clear that these quilts are a symbol of the families heritage. The quilts had been hand made by the Narrartor Mrs Johnson, Mrs. Johnsons Sister, and Mother. The quilts where sewn from old clothes worn by many generations of the family.

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In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the meaning of heritage is admired differently by a family of the same background. Dee who now has an education and understands her heritage feud with Mama and Maggie who appreciate their heritage. Although they all come from the same household, their differences get in the way when it comes to the most valuable items in the house; including the churn and dasher that Mama and Maggie still use daily, the handmade quilts made by Grandma Dee, and how Dee is blinded by the truth of her own heritage. Dee wants the churn and dasher for decoration purposes only stating “I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table,” (Walker 272.)

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“the quilts are the central symbol of the story representing the connectedness of history and intergenerational tries of the family” (“everyday use”). This means that the quilts mean heritage and remind the daughters of grand mom dee. The quilts are fought over at the end of the story because of the meaning of them. One daughter wants them for everyday use and one wants them just to have them because it means heritage to her. The mother at the end of the story agrees that they should be used for everyday use.

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“We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges” (Gene Wolfe, Shadow & Claw). How do the texts use symbols to develop an individual’s role in society? In A Quilt of a Country, Anna Quindlen used a quilt as a symbol, in Once Upon a Time, Nadine Gordimer used the parents as a symbol, and in the Gettysburg Address, the symbol used by Abraham Lincoln were the soldiers who fought for our nation; these symbols help the reader understand the Man vs. Society conflict.

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Ms. Johnson didn't have an education, yet she knew the value of the quilts and she didn’t let a few words from Dee change her decision of giving the quilts to Maggie. Dee leaves her mother’s house quite upset and tells her sister, “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it” (Walker 12).

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The quilt is seen as an element for "everyday use", but the use and value of it are different for the differing sisters. To Maggie, she values the quilt as an "everyday use" because to her it represents her family and who she is and so it is used as an everyday heirloom to remind her where she came from and who she

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Life is like a quilt How to make an American quilt shows us different stories of what some people have gone through in their life. Some can make it through, while some need to find a way to release their angry towards others. You can learn to let go of grudges, or hold on to them forever and live with the pain. When making a quilt, you have steps to go by. First, you need to determine what your quilt will look like, and then you have your scraps, thread, backing and batting.

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