Alice Walker: Heritage in Everyday Use - Essay Example

Using the contrasting appearances and attitudes of Maggie and Dee, the author shows that heritage is genuine when it is lived, and not when it is merely exhibited. Dee’s external appearance is a vociferous emphasis of her African-American identity. Her bright dress, “so loud it hurts my eyes” (Walker, 25), long earrings, dangling bracelets and African hairdo all make a defiant statement.  She flaunts her new name, “Wangero Leewanika Kimanjo,” as a mark of her identity. But her new name and appearance are actually a rejection of her roots. She has deliberately turned away from the world of her childhood. Even when she takes photographs of her mother and sister, she includes the cow and the house, but not herself. She has “hated the house” (Walker, 10) of her childhood, and discarded the name which has been handed down through generations of her family. Her blatant rejection of her family and their way of life is a rejection of her own roots and heritage. It is the unassuming, dowdy Maggie who embraces and nurtures the way of life followed by her family over the generations. It is Maggie who is the true keeper of their heritage.

Dee’s attitude towards the churner top and the dasher again demonstrates her alienation from her roots. She covets these articles for their value as pseudo-artistic curios, and not as part of her everyday life. In the same way, she desires the quilts as fashion statements and for their monetary value as antiques. In contrast to Dee’s attitude, Maggie loves the articles because she associates them with the people who made and used them over the ages: real people whom she has loved and respected. She knows that “Aunt Dee’s first husband whittled the dash” (Walker, 52). Maggie has learned to quilt from her grandmother and aunt. While Dee would hang the quilts on her walls as fashion statements, Maggie would put them to everyday use. The quilts symbolize objects of art to Dee, whereas, to Maggie, they are treasured, intimate links to her family and their past.

Walker uses her story to convey to the reader the true meaning of heritage. Dee accuses her mother and sister of not treasuring their heritage: “You don’t understand --- your heritage” (Walker, 79-81). But it is actually Dee herself who does not comprehend that true heritage is not something exotic that is to be displayed but is a way of life. Maggie lives her heritage every day of her life. Her heritage is put to ‘everyday use.’ Heritage to Dee is an external badge to be flaunted as a fashion statement. In contrast to her sister, Maggie’s heritage is an intimate part of her daily life. Heritage lives in Maggie, as she treasures her way of life and the memories of her ancestors. The everyday objects which Maggie uses in the house are cherished souvenirs of her past and keep her connected to her heritage on a living basis.