Culture and heritage is at the heart of the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker as represented by the quilt.The bond shared by Mother and Maggie is brought about by their common ability to create works of art like quilts. Dee does not have similar ability because she does not appreciate manual labor nor believes in her heritage.
The Bond of Quiltmakers
Mother and Maggie’s give due importance to the history of the family as contained in the patches of clothe sewn together. Their attachment to such work of art is not based purely on aesthetics but on its emotional value. The quilt literally represents the history of the past generation. The fabric used in the quilt reminds them of the loved ones who already departed. That is why, both Mother and Maggie are attached to the quilt.
The quiltmakers form a lasting bond. Their sorority possesses a sacred wisdom that it hands down from generation to generation. They do not tolerate intrusion from people who do not understand what they share.
This is the reason why Dee, in the story, is being excluded the establishment of a sisterhood between mother and daughter, which pertain to the sisterhood between Mama and her daughter Maggie, not to the other daughter/sister, Dee.
The setting of the story is also instrumental in conveying the message of culture and heritage. The yard is described as simple and unremarkable. The house is said to be ugly.This means that Maggie and Mother are used to the simple life and what is practical.
Mother's Epiphany
Towards the end of the story, the mother must make a choice as to whom to give the quilt away, which they hold for generations. When Maggie spoke and suggested that the quilt be given to her older sister Dee, Mother began to see Maggie in a different light. She also comes to appreciate Maggie’s simplicity and goodness as compared to Dee’s sophistication and ambitions.
Mama's "epiphanic moment of recognition" is a recognition that she ought to live in the moment. That she does not see reality as it presents. This should be taken in the context of logic or politics of discovering identity.
Walker changes her sentence to past tense when she writes about Mama’s epiphanic moment. "Something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet," which leads to "I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me..." (34).
Mama’s awakening is that of realizing one daughter’s superficiality and to the other’s deep-seated understanding of heritage. At that instant, she comes to realize how much she appreciates Maggie’s simplicity and wisdom.
One comes to realize that the right perception of culture and heritage is not found in a person's appearances or even status and education. Real culture and heritage is what the past generations handed down to the succeeding generations and observed in the daily lives.
According to Cowart, Everyday Use is “the heady rhetoric of late ‘60’s black consciousness, deconstructing pieties (especially the rediscovery of Africa) and asserting neglected values”. These values may be as simple as quilt-making but the significance behind the act is more important than the benefits derived from the said act.
Dee is wrong in perceiving that culture and heritage are merely a means to a materialistic end. Culture and heritage do not serve an ulterior motive or another purpose. They are in themselves sufficient reasons for doing so.
Reference:
Cowart, David. (1996). Heritage and deracination in Walker’s Everyday Use. Studies in Short Fiction 33: 171-184.
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