Toward the end of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” it becomes clear what each of the main characters' motivations are. In the beginning, Mama is excited to see her daughter Dee, who is a cosmopolitan, educated young woman who left behind her poor childhood home. Mama daydreams of being reunited with Dee on television in a dramatic fashion, which indicates that she hasn’t seen her daughter in some time—and she fantasizes about how the impending visit will go. Her other daughter, Maggie, is nervous about seeing her glamorous, more successful sister.

When Dee almost demands to have precious family heirlooms, Mama realizes that Dee is condescending and unworthy of the objects she requests. When Mama refuses to give Dee the quilts she wants, Mama is motivated by a desire to see her family’s heritage honored rather than displayed in a false show of appreciation.

Dee, on the other hand, is motivated by her desire to appear connected to her African ancestry and cultural heritage, though she was formerly embarrassed by it. Dee is a selfish person who wants to appear enlightened but is actually motivated by her belief that she is superior to her family members.

Maggie is motivated by a genuine desire to make other people happy, as evidenced by her willingness to give up the heirloom quilts that she was promised because Dee wants them. Mama finally realizes that what she used to think was Maggie’s jealousy of Dee is actually Maggie’s recognition of Dee’s shallow nature. For the first time, Mama clearly sees her daughters for who they actually are, causing her to make the right choice in who should inherit the precious family artifacts.

Thus, Maggie and Dee are literary foils since they represent opposites in terms of their moral character and perspectives. Mama is the dynamic character who experiences an epiphany about her daughters.