EVERYDAY USE
...or her mother and Maggie, they are still functional parts of their lives, of a heritage that hasn’t be relegated to the level of art or trophy. Dee and Maggie live very different lives not merely in terms of their material circumstances, but in terms of the framework of values of which they approach life. Because of their priorities in life are different, they are both interested in the same things, and when they are interested in the same things, they are interested in very different aspects of them, for quite different reasons. Dee and Maggie both want to use the quilts-but in ways that turn out to have quite opposite implications. Ironically, Dee doesn’t really understand her heritage. This misunderstanding can be seen in how she views her mother’s material possessions. In fact, Walker seems to suggest that Dee sees these possessions as trophies, not as functional items in her mother’s life. We see this failure on Dee’s part. Dee states, “I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints.” Also she demands to have the churn on top of the dasher. Later, after dinner, Dee starts rifling through the trunk at the foot of Mother’s bed. For Dee, the possessions hold value because she sees them as fashionable representations of her heritage when,...