Everyday Use Group at eNotes

The main idea is that you honor your heritage not through hanging...

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 17:36:28 PST

The main idea is that you honor your heritage not through hanging representations of it on the wall, but through living with it, and through giving it "Everyday Use," as the title indicates.The seats in the home represent this, as does the butter churn, but the biggest symbol is the quilt, which Wanjiro wants to hang on the wall but which her mother gives to Maggie to use.

What is the main idea of "Everyday Use," and what are some...

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 15:55:57 PST

What is the main idea of "Everyday Use," and what are some symbols that reflect that main idea?

Maggie does this when she feels stressed or uncomfortable. She cannot...

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 01:58:36 PST

Maggie does this when she feels stressed or uncomfortable. She cannot express her true feelings because of her personality. She reacts the only way she can, through use of this verbalization. For Maggie, it is a coping mechanism.

Walker tells the story about a southern, African-American family in the...

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 20:59:35 PST

Walker tells the story about a southern, African-American family in the early 1970s. At this time period, African-American families were still struggling against inequality and against history - against the economic and social discrimination that have plagued them since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. In this family, though, Dee has escaped the circle of "survival" that the family has stuck to. She is not just living...

In "Everday Use", Dee is referred to as the child who has...

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 19:04:56 PST

In "Everday Use", Dee is referred to as the child who has "made it." Explain.

What is the significance and meaning of the "Uhnnnh" sound...

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 18:43:47 PST

What is the significance and meaning of the "Uhnnnh" sound that Maggie makes in "Everyday Use"?

The quilt. The meaning of the title requires the reader to read...

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 17:35:53 PST

The quilt. The meaning of the title requires the reader to read deeper within the short story. The phrase "Everyday Use" brings about the question whether or not heritage should be preserved and displayed or integrated into everyday life. "Everyday Use" pertains not only to the quilt, but more so to people's culture and heritage and how they choose to honor it.

What is the main symbol in "Everyday Use," by ALice Walker,and...

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 17:16:47 PST

What is the main symbol in "Everyday Use," by ALice Walker,and how does it enhance the theme of the story

At the end of the story, Mama has made an important realization. In...

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 15:01:22 PST

At the end of the story, Mama has made an important realization. In other words, she has had an epiphany. This moment occurs when she takes the quilts from Dee and returns them to Maggie. Dee tried to take the quilts that Mama had given to Maggie; Dee wanted to hang them to show them off in her home in the city. Mama, though, knows that understanding their family's heritage involved using the things that had been passed down from...

How does Mama change at the story's climax, and what is the meaning of...

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 07:11:12 PST

How does Mama change at the story's climax, and what is the meaning of that change?

Another possible similarity is that Mama has been unable to "let...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 14:43:32 PST

Another possible similarity is that Mama has been unable to "let go" of Dee and how she has changed so much. She has been tethered to the hope that Dee might change (as evidenced in her daydream about Dee and her being on a talk show and reconciling); however, she realizes that this is an unrealistic hope, ultimately. At the end of the story, when Mama refuses to back down about the quilts, she has finally freed herself from...

From the beginning of the story, it is clear that mama is an...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:42:43 PST

From the beginning of the story, it is clear that mama is an exceptionally strong women (physically and mentally). Being hooked by a cow emphasizes her strength; despite her injury, she did not become weak. In addition, the mama states (as narrator) that she loved to milk until the cow hooked, or hurt, her. At the climax of the story, when Wangero/Dee tries to take Maggie's quilts, not only does mama stand strong, her feelings for...

What significance does Mama's memory of having been hooked in the side...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 10:58:21 PST

What significance does Mama's memory of having been hooked in the side while milking a cow coincide with the climactic moment of the story?

At the climax of the story, Dee/Wangero becomes angry and petulant, as...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 06:55:43 PST

At the climax of the story, Dee/Wangero becomes angry and petulant, as opposed to the overly sweet daughter/sister she had been. This change is due to not getting what she wanted. Dee had assumed that she, a sophisticated woman of the world (in her own eyes, at least) could come home and get whatever she wanted from her uneducated mother and sister. Dee believed that she deserved more than her little sister, who she called...

How does the protagonist of the story change at the story's climax, and...

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 22:02:14 PST

How does the protagonist of the story change at the story's climax, and what is the meaning of that change?

By the way, "Everyday Use" is a short story by Alice Walker.

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:56:27 PST

By the way, "Everyday Use" is a short story by Alice Walker.

I'm a teacher in Vancouver, WA and right now my sophomore class is...

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:54:21 PST

I'm a teacher in Vancouver, WA and right now my sophomore class is reading "Everyday Use". In looking at this story it's easy to see that Dee is wrong when she says Momma and Maggie don't understand their heritage. Momma and Maggie understand their heritage by carrying on with their everyday lives using the things that's been passed down to them from years ago. At one point, Maggie mentions that she doesn't need a blanket to...

Good question for the discussion board.No, I do not believe Dee's given...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:56:43 PST

Good question for the discussion board.No, I do not believe Dee's given is the only reason OR the main reason she changed her name to a traditional African one. Dee despised her upbringing, although she genuinely loved her mother. She resented being poor and living the way she had to when she was growing up, although she had enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and a loving mother and sister. When their original house burned to the...

Dee gives this reason for changing her name: " I couldn't bear it...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:59:29 PST

Dee gives this reason for changing her name: " I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me." Do I think that is the only reason? No. Her mother is a strong woman. It isn't just to escape the hands of an oppressive white society that Dee changes her name to Wangero. Instead, it is also to escape her mother's powerful hand. Independent of that, she's a young woman. Young people often want to make a fresh...

Dee's Name Change

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:21:22 PST

In the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker, do you think the reason Dee gives for changing her name is her only reason?