Alice Walker’s Everyday Use

Full Answer Section

For Mama, the quilts are much more than mere blankets. They are tangible testaments to her lineage, each stitch whispering stories of ancestral women who defied hardship and nurtured life. The "patchwork people" stitched onto the fabric represent not just individuals, but generations woven together in a shared struggle and resilience. Mama's grandmother, Big Dee, who "didn't read books," embodies the wisdom and strength passed down through the generations, untethered from formal education. Thus, Dee's dismissive labeling of the quilts as "old-fashioned" and her desire to hang them "in the museum" as "art" reflect a disconnect from the history and heritage they embody. Mama sees this detachment as a rejection of her own identity, the very foundation of her existence.

The butter churn, with its rough-hewn surface and laborious function, further encapsulates this disparity. For Mama, it represents the everyday realities of her rural life, the sweat and toil intertwined with the sustenance it provides. It connects her to the land and the cyclical nature of their agricultural existence. Conversely, Dee sees it as a relic of a past she wants to escape, a symbol of the hard labor she deems unnecessary in her new, educated life. Her suggestion to turn it into a lamp signifies a desire to repurpose the past, extracting its aesthetic value while discarding its embodied history.

However, it is vital not to paint Mama's perspective as solely rooted in an unyielding resistance to change. She recognizes the transformative power of education and celebrates Dee's academic achievements. But she believes Dee's immersion in academia has led her to romanticize an idealized past, one filtered through books and intellectual constructs rather than lived experience. Mama's insistence on using the churn signifies her commitment to the practicalities of their reality, a reality Dee seems eager to transcend.

The crux of the conflict lies not in the objects themselves, but in the differing interpretations of their meaning. Mama views them as testaments to a living heritage, an ongoing conversation with her ancestors, while Dee sees them as relics of a past she seeks to outrun. The chasm widens when Dee arrives with Hakim-a-barber, whose very name symbolizes a disconnect from their Southern roots.

Yet, despite the tension, Walker avoids portraying Mama as simply clinging to the past. Her final gift of the patchwork quilt to Dee, stitched with Dee's name, underscores her motherly love and understanding. It acknowledges Dee's right to forge her own path while preserving a thread of their shared history. Ultimately, "Everyday Use" is not a battle between progress and tradition, but a poignant meditation on the complexities of identity formation and the challenges of bridging generational gaps.

In conclusion, defending or refuting Mama's beliefs depends on recognizing the multifaceted meanings these objects hold. While she clings to the tangible artifacts of her heritage, her love for Dee transcends mere possessiveness. Mama ultimately wants her daughter to carry the essence of their shared history, not as a museum exhibit, but as a living thread woven into the tapestry of her own evolving identity. "Everyday Use" thus becomes a timeless reflection on the human struggle to navigate personal growth while acknowledging the roots that nourish us, leaving us to grapple with the question: How do we find our own voice while honoring the echoes of those who came before?

Sample Answer

Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" throws us into the heart of a family grappling with identity, heritage, and the evolving landscapes of tradition and progress. At its core lies the conflict between Mama, a Black Southern woman deeply rooted in her rural past, and Dee, her eldest daughter, yearning for a cultural reclamation she sees as absent in their present lives. This clash is particularly evident in their differing views on the "things" Dee desires to take—the intricately carved quilts and butter churn. To defend or refute Mama's beliefs about these objects requires delving into the complex tapestry of their symbolic significance and the conflicting perspectives both mother and daughter embody.