Everyday Use

Everyday Use by Alice Walker explores the themes of conflict and harmony within the
African American culture. Walker depicts an encounter within the Johnson family. Dee and her
sister Maggie have different interpretations of their cultural heritage. Walker uses symbolism and
characterization to demonstrate these differences. While the differences are clear, the author
seems to take a position. According to Walker’s heritage and culture and parts of people’s daily
lives, there is no escaping from them. Culture and heritage form a central part of a social group’s
identification as depicted in Everyday Use and in today’s society.
The author addresses the theme of culture and heritage by addressing a dilemma of
African Americans such as Dee, who has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.
Dee tries to escape poverty and, in return, risks deracination from a heritage that has defined and
sustained not only herself but her entire family as well. Wangero coverts quilts that essentially
are a link between her and her past generations (Cowart 172). Wangero betrays her heritage
when she drops her name and adopts a new name. A name in an African American heritage is an
important aspect of culture. Cowart notes that Wangero does not recognize the extent to which
she has traduced her heritage by running away from it (Walker 172). Wangero asserts, “I couldn’t
bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me” (Walker 318). She has
delineated herself completely from the things in her culture that she finds hard to accept.

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In contrast, Maggie and her mother are attached to their culture and heritage. Unlike
Wangero, the two are proud of their culture and are willing to protect it. They are attached to
their home and their everyday practice. For instance, at the beginning of the story, Dee’s mother
says, “I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday
afternoon. A yard like this is more comfortable than most people know” (Walker 314). She even
compares it to an extended living room. She emphasizes the yard’s physical characteristics. She
also describes her physical features with pride and fondness. She describes herself as “a large,
big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands” (Walker 315). Walker depicts Mrs. Johnson
as a woman who is comfortable with herself accepts who she is and her position in relation to her
culture. She is proud of her culture and heritage and is willing to defend it.
The theme of culture and heritage is valuable to the development of the story as well as to
the reader. Walker creates a bond between the African American culture and black women. She
depicts the role that black women play in inheriting and sustaining the culture (Yang 367). They
express their affections and explore their spiritual world in connection to their culture. By
learning about their culture, they understand themselves better and the beauty they carry. The
black women in the story, specifically Maggie and her mother, develop their culture and uphold
hold. When Maggie receives quilts from her mother, she understands their significance and
contrasts Dee, who chooses to betray her culture.
Most importantly, the fragments of the past that Dee denies are not simply artistic
representations, but they are a part of daily life. Dee fails to understand that the quilts are made
up of materials that were lived in. this is the central issue in the short story. The preservation and
cultivation of culture are crucial to the self-identification of each social group. In the world
today, people still celebrate and maintain their cultures. A part of a culture that is important is,

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for example, having a newborn baby washed by the grandmother. In most cultures, this remains a
central part of the culture. While not everyone upholds such an element of culture, it still remains
an important aspect of tradition. Having the grandmother give the baby a bath and stretch him, or
her is like welcoming the newborn into the family and is significant. There is an emotional
connection to people’s culture that should be upheld. In the same way, the grandmother has a role
in giving the newborn a bath, so does Mrs. Jonson in passing the traditions to Maggie. She gives
the quilts to Maggie, who holds them with significance. The women in the short story have a
special role in passing down traditions to generations. The author emphasizes the role that
everyone has in their everyday interactions to uphold the culture and hold it with significance.
Overall, culture is like home. Home gives people a sense of belonging and security.
Culture provides an identity to a social group. The small activities that people engage in hold
them together. Just like the quilts, culture is for ‘everyday use.’ It cannot be separated from
people’s reality. Walker uses Mrs. Johnson and Maggie to give a good example of how everyone
should uphold their culture. Dee’s behavior is like a warning to the reader on what one should not
do when it comes to culture. The emotional connection with one’s culture should be protected as
it gives a group identity.

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Works Cited

Cowart, David. “Heritage And Deracination In Walker’s Everyday Use.” Studies In Short
Fiction, 2022, pp. 314-321., Accessed 8 Mar 2022.
Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. 1st ed., Literature, A Portable Anthology, 1944, pp. 314-321.
Yang, Xinyu. “Study on Black Woman Spirituality in Alice Walker’s Everyday
Use.” Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Language, Communication
and Culture Studies (ICLCCS 2020). Advances in Social Science, Education and
Humanities Research. Vol. 537. 2021.