Use of Symbols in Everyday Use

True Meaning of Heritage

Heritage is something that belongs to us because of birth. In the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, the author uses the symbols of Dee's name, the butter churn and the quilts to illustrate and build the theme of the importance of heritage. The conflict between the characters show how differently each person views their heritage.

Although she claims to want to display her heritage by wearing her hair in its natural state and dresses in afro-centric clothing, Dee rejects the very thing that clearly shows that she comes from a family with a deep sense of pride in their heritage; her name. Mrs. Johnson named her daughter Dee after her sister Dicie, continuing what would seem to be a long-standing family tradition. Dee chooses to cast away that name and renames herself "Wangero" telling her mother, "I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me." (Walker) Dee knows that her name comes from her family but chooses to pretend as if her name comes from the landowners and people who kept her ancestors as slaves. Naming herself "Wangero" is a way for her to seem "authentically" African. Mrs. Johnson's comments suggets that the name carries a point of pride for the family.

Dee may seem to show a genuine appreciation for the hand made items in the home, but closer examination shows that she only sees the items for the artistic value and not their true value, items that have a story behind them. She wants the butter churn and dasher not for it's practical use or even sentimental value, but to display it in her home as art. Her delight in the benches that her father created for the family years ago is ironic because it is clear that she did not appreciate them before her "afro centric awakening". Maggie knows the true value of each inherited item in the home and can lovingly recite who created what and when. Dee behaves as if she knows the history of the items but it is Maggie who answers Hakim.a.Barber's question regarding the creator of the dasher.

The quilts, the strongest symbol of heritage in the story is also the major source of conflict between the characters. The quilts tell the story of their family; from Grandma Dee's dresses to Grandpa's shirt and Great Grandpas Ezra's uniform from the civil war. Dee seems confident that she will be able to take the quilts home and even while asking sweetly she is clutching them close to her not allowing her mother to touch them, "Dee/Wangero moved back just enough so that I couldn't reach the quilts. They already belonged to her." (Walker) Dee's misconceptions about the pieces making up the quilts show that she has never bothered to learn the truth about her family's rich history. Knowing that it's origins are a part of the heritage, Ms. Johnson tries to explain