“EVERYDAY USE”

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia, a rural farming town,

to Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tallulah Grant. Both of Walker's parents were sharecroppers,

though her mother would work as a seamstress to earn extra money. Walker, the youngest of

eight children, was first enrolled in school when she was just four years old at East Putnam

Consolidated. When she was little, she hurt her eye while rough housing with her brothers. Since

they don’t have a car, she wasn’t brought to a hospital immediately. Because of that she turned

to reading and writing stories. She has published several collections of short stories, poetry, and

other writings. Her work is focused on the struggles of black people, particularly women, and

their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society (1) (2). One of which was named “Everyday Use”.

“Everyday Use” was written on 1973 and is part of Walker’s short story collection “In Love

and Trouble” (2). It is about the Johnsons, an African-American family of 3; Mama (Mrs. Johnson),

Maggie and Dee. The short story started out describing the members of the family that continued

to them being compared Dee. Since Mama is the one describing, it also shows their envy and awe

towards Dee. For example, like how Maggie will always be nervous and ashamed all the time

because she was traumatized with their house burning down and the fact that she could have

burned with it. Also, she still has scars that will make her remember. While Dee, she has always

held life in the palm of one hand. She doesn’t have a scar to tell her that their house burned. And

even if she did, by the way Mama described her, she wouldn’t let it affect her. Walker must have
been Dee in this story. She must have included her experience because like Dee she went to

college and both their parents weren’t rich.

Another is the comparison of their education. Mama only finished second grade. Maggie

she’s not bright but she can read. Dee went to college. And the knowledge she got from studying

intimidated Mama. Dee would always talk about what she learned in school, Mama and Maggie

would listen, but Mama always thought that those words were lies, a river of make-believe.

In 1972, there’s been an increase in numbers of black Americans attending college. The

year 1973 have been called the Year of the Mayor with four of the first African-American taking

office as mayors. It is also the year when the National Black Feminist Organization was developed

(3) (4) (6). The progress of colored people in the 1970s was reflected on Walker’s story where, Dee

is in college, and a lot of movement were already taking place even before 1970s but in 1968, the

movement got stronger when Martin Luther King was killed. She used Dee’s character to show a

powerful woman who’s not afraid of their oppressors. She also showed through Dee that it’s a

great time to be black. Dee has always wanted nice things. Her appreciation of being black was

reflected when she changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo and refuse to be called

Dee anymore. Also, remember that there’s a part of the story where Mama said that Dee hated

their old house that burned. Their new house is very much alike with the old one. So, Mama said

that Dee would want to tear it down when she sees it. But when Dee came, she suddenly loved

it. She took a lot of pictures of Mama and Maggie in front of the house.
 Dee learned a lot about her heritage in school that she decided to come by the house.

She’s wearing a yellow and orange dress, bracelets, and earrings that are gold. I imagined that it

was her way of showing and appreciating that she’s African.

Heritage is a property that is or can be inherited. It can also be culture, traditions,

unspoiled countryside, and historic buildings that have been passed down from previous

generations (5). Knowing someone’s heritage also means to know where someone came from.

Dee and Mama have different view on heritage. Dee changed her named to Wangero, to

celebrate her roots, to celebrate being an African woman. She declined to be known as Dee, as

an American, because a long time ago Americans enslaved African people. Mama celebrates her

roots, the Johnsons’ roots, by passing down the quilts her grand-mother made to Maggie for her

to use it as it was intended.

Dee wanting to visit is not the only reason she came by the house, she also wanted to get

the churn top and dasher, their uncles whittled for. When she saw the quilts, she wanted them

too. But the quilts were already promised to Maggie. Dee was enraged. She’s saying that Maggie

can’t take good care of it, Maggie would have use it every day as a blanket and would turn it to

rags after. She’s saying that it’s better for her to have it, she will hang it where everyone can see

how proud she is of her heritage, African heritage. She has always looked down on Mama and

Maggie.

The quilts, for Maggie, are a way to remember her grandmother who made them. For Dee

it’s for remembering her heritage that for a long time she didn’t give importance to. Remember

that she was taking pictures of her family to prove she’s African. It’s African people in their natural
habitat. She wants to prove that she’s African, that she appreciates and values being African, but

she refuses to take pictures with her Mama and Maggie in front of the house. She even told

Mama and Maggie that they don’t understand their heritage. But it’s the other way around.

Do you agree that Maggie get to have the quilt? I do.

Works Cited

(1) Wikipedia contributors. "Alice Walker." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Mar.

2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker.

(2)Wikipedia contributors. "Everyday Use." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Mar.

2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyday_Use.

(3) Thernstrom, Abigail, and Stephan Thernstrom. “Black Progress: How Far We've Come, and

How Far We Have to Go.” Brookings. 28 July 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2019,

www.brookings.edu/articles/black-progress-how-far-weve-come-and-how-far-we-have-to-go/.

(4) History.com Editors. “Black History Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Oct.

2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2019, www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones.

(5)“Heritage.” YourDictionary. Web. 24 Mar. 2019, www.yourdictionary.com/heritage.

(6) Fontaine, Smokey. “GALLERY: Black History, 1973.” News One, 26 Jan. 2009, Web. 26 Mar.

2019, newsone.com/91351/gallery-black-history-1973/.

(7)Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use”. 1973.