Everyday Use by Alice Walker

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker

        Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” People have different ways of preserving their culture and some neglect the culture that defines them. Predominantly, many find maintaining their heritage to be crucial. However, culture is preserved in various ways and the purpose behind preserving them can vary. In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Dee and Maggie had opposing ideas of how to preserve their heritage due to their different motivations, personalities, and point of view towards preserving their culture.

        In “Everyday Use”, Dee and Maggie had different motivations in respect to preserving their culture. Hence, “‘No, Mama,’ she says. ‘Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’” (Walker, 318).  In other words, Dee’s newly found motivation for preserving her culture may have derived from her time away from home where she had the opportunity to study about her ethnic culture. Dee wanted to preserve her African culture by participating in certain drastic adjustments such as changing her name to fit in with the cultural image she was pursuing. Dee was motivated to only preserve her African heritage. However, Maggie was influenced by her family culture and experience when Maggie’s mother stated that “‘Maggie knows how to quilt’” (Walker, 320). Maggie knew how to contribute part of herself into heritage which probably motivated her to stay close to her family roots. Comparatively, both Dee and Maggie were determined to preserve the culture of their ancestors.

        In addition, both Dee and Maggie have contrastive personalities. Consequently, “Dee wanted nice things” (Walker, 316). Dee always seemed to want more than her mother could give her. She despised her childhood home and wanted to get a proper education. Her desires and sense of superiority towards her family caused her to neglect her family culture. On the other hand, Maggie would “stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (Walker, 315). Maggie was not proud of her appearance, which possibly led her to find comfort and ways to express herself with her family culture. Maggie obtained experience by staying close to her mother and learning more about those close to her such as her grandmother.