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   speamerfam Teacher
   Community / Jr. College

   eNotes Editor

   It is difficult to imagine sisters with more different views than Maggie and Dee, isn't it? What does the story tell us about Dee?  She left, she changed her name, and she changed her hair. All of these changes were about starting anew.  She tells her mother that "Dee" is dead. What does she want to do with some of the old objects around her mother's house, the churn top and the quilts, for example?  She want to use them in some "artistic" way, as decorations. But are these objects meant to be decorations? Or are they meant to be used?  Dee tells her mother that Maggie is so foolish, she would want to use the quilts for "everyday use."  (That is, of course, how the story gets its name.) What does that tell us about Maggie, who has not left, who lives with her mother, using objects for the purpose for which they were made?  What is Maggie's perspective about these objects, which are certainly her heritage, too.  Who view heritage as something to hang on the wall, and who view heritage as a way of life? Do you think either sister is wrong, or is there support for both points of view?

   Good luck to you in your response to this question. 

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   Posted by speamerfam on Monday April 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM