The quilts in “Everyday Use” symbolize many things in the story and are the source of the writing’s title. For starters, the quilts hold many memories of the family’s past, storing tidbits of history in their patches. Additionally, the memory of their creation is stored in everyone’s mind, adding to the deep sentimental connection to the quilts. To Mama they are keys to the past and reminders of where her family has been, treasures that she has kept in order to hand them down to the next generation. To Maggie the quilts are links to the past, while she may not have known all the people involved in their creation, they help tie her to her family’s past. I would venture to say that Dee sees the quilts differently. From Mama’s descriptions and
