Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"

Alice Walker’s story Everyday Use was an emotional account of a visit back home. It illustrates the different views of life people can have. Some of us can be content in the same lifestyle in which we were raised while others are always seeking something bigger and better. There is frequently the strife between the two thinking their way is better and how pitiful the other is. I sense the simplistic manner of writing in this story in which critics accuse Walker of writing. However, it contains the elements of writing that make a story successful. The plot revolves around a visit back home of a daughter that has moved away. The problem is the difference in the way of thinking between the mother and daughters that makes one feel successful.

One could feel Dee has come home to flaunt her success by the description of her attire for the visit. The dress she chooses to wear home to this quant area speaks of her crassness. A dress so showy, bright and colorful it “hurt her eyes” as described by her mother. Why would she not have just worn simple clothes that would have made her family feel comfortable and welcoming of her?

It seems from the Polaroid pictures, the name change, to the requests of the family heirlooms, she is only there to capture the idea of her past, not to appreciate it for its natural value but to have it to boast “this is where I came from, see how far I have come”.

The outlook Dee has of her sister is sad. Even though the sister has obviously led a difficult life with her burn injuries, Dee has no sympathy, compassion, or concern for her. I don’t really understand the resentfulness unless Maggie has become an embarrassment to her or a reminder of her past.

I was proud of the mother’s revelation at the end of the hatefulness of Dee and the stance she finally took for Maggie. Even though Dee tried to make them feel bad about not understanding their “heritage” as she did, they finally felt better about themselves having stood up to Dee and found a way to tell her no. They enjoyed the life they led and felt good about themselves. They lived their heritage every day; it wasn’t something just to talk about and show to others.

The title comes from the use of the items Dee found only to be pieces of history, while the mother and Maggie appreciated them for their value in their everyday lives. The mother told of the sinks in the wood from the everyday use of them while Dee was simply planning to use them as decoration pieces.