Everyday Use OR The Things They Carried

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An Essay on Alice Walker 's Everyday Use

Alice Walker 's short story , Everyday Use tells a simple story of a family who finds themselves confronted with different opinions brought by tradition and by modernization . Dee returns home one day and argues with the narrator (who is her mother ) of the story over the quilt that is meant to be passed to the narrator 's other daugther , Maggie . Dee - in every aspect is more attractive than Maggie (physically , that is ) and because of this , Maggie has

developed a sense of inferiority complex wherein she accepts everything which Dee does and tells her to do . In the conclusion of the story , the quilt is still with the original owner as the narrator decides that Maggie will have the quilt , even if Dee is disgusted (or more like , horrified ) with this fact - she explains that the quilt , with all its historical worth which causes it to have such a priceless value , will just be used by Maggie for everyday use

The quilt which is the central cause of conflict of the story serves more than an ordinary quilt in the story . It symbolizes Maggie 's self-empowerment and the downfall of Dee 's domineering and superior attitude aside from the fact that it was a catalyst for Maggie and Dee 's conflict . More than a simple conflict between two sisters , the quilt was also a symbol for the struggle of tradition versus modernization . Most important perhaps of all...