In the short story “Everyday Use” Alice Walker possesses a strong way on how heritage is important in family history. Heritage is a factor of where a person come from and why it is important in life such as traditions and values. Walker uses symbolism and the settings to describe the importance of the African-American culture and heritage.
Walker’s main project is offering the reader that there are conflict and struggle within their African American culture. Some of the characters are not appreciative of what their relatives had done and fought for them in the past. Dee’s husband refused to be a part of the African American culture. Hakim is unwilling to commit to the hard work of the cause and faith he claims to embrace. African Americans should take ownership over their whole heritage. Mama shows …show more content…
A person should honor their heritage because it is an important aspect of their life. One’s heritage is different from anyone else’s. A person needs to honor their heritage to explore the mission in order to know the rituals, traditions, and ideas behind it.
Symbolism that was given in the story was the quilt. It shows how they are pieces of living history. The quilt can be seen as making a whole out of pieces. The patterns are handed down, which is a part of someone’s heritage and they are passed down from generation to generation. In “Everyday Use”, the quilts were a representation of creations (59). Dee’s interest in the quilts is not to protect her heritage, but they show how far she has come. They also have a special meaning to Ms. Johnson. The quilts was handed to mama by her mother (57). Maggie valued the quilt because it was made by her grandmother.
Why the character “Dee” rejects her heritage? Dee rejects her heritage because of the history of her family. She has little understanding of Africa, so she considers her real heritage as an empty container. She feels as if there is no truth to the real meaning of her
Walker’s main project is offering the reader that there are conflict and struggle within their African American culture. Some of the characters are not appreciative of what their relatives had done and fought for them in the past. Dee’s husband refused to be a part of the African American culture. Hakim is unwilling to commit to the hard work of the cause and faith he claims to embrace. African Americans should take ownership over their whole heritage. Mama shows …show more content…
A person should honor their heritage because it is an important aspect of their life. One’s heritage is different from anyone else’s. A person needs to honor their heritage to explore the mission in order to know the rituals, traditions, and ideas behind it.
Symbolism that was given in the story was the quilt. It shows how they are pieces of living history. The quilt can be seen as making a whole out of pieces. The patterns are handed down, which is a part of someone’s heritage and they are passed down from generation to generation. In “Everyday Use”, the quilts were a representation of creations (59). Dee’s interest in the quilts is not to protect her heritage, but they show how far she has come. They also have a special meaning to Ms. Johnson. The quilts was handed to mama by her mother (57). Maggie valued the quilt because it was made by her grandmother.
Why the character “Dee” rejects her heritage? Dee rejects her heritage because of the history of her family. She has little understanding of Africa, so she considers her real heritage as an empty container. She feels as if there is no truth to the real meaning of her