Everyday Use By Alice Walker Plot and Analysis

In this excerpt from “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker it not only shows a failed attempt of persuasion but ultimately an overall message that mama made the right decision to give the quilts to Maggie. The beginning of the excerpt describes the quilts, and provides a bit of backstory for the reader. Later in the excerpt Dee distastefully claims her mother and sister are stuck in the past, revealing her disrespect for the quilts, their backstory, and her own personal heritage.

By analyzing the excerpt and its deeper meaning, the reader can easily interpret why Dee’s persuasion attempts are unsuccessful, and why the respect her sister has for their culture and history overrides what she wants the quilts for.

After ruffling through her mothers trunk, Dee finds two quilts her grandmother had sewn by hand. She immediately pursues her goal to take them but is shut down when her mother defends the fact that she had already promised these quilts to her sister, Maggie.

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In an attempt to persuade mama, she recognizes its pricelessness and the effort her grandmother put into it. “These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. Imagine!”.This is an appeal to her mothers pathos because Dee is appreciative of the importance of the quilts. However, she does not plan on using the quilts for how they were made, she sees them only as a decoration. “‘Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!’ she (dee) said. ‘She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.

’ ‘I reckon she would,”’I said. ‘God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with nobody using ‘em. I hope she will!’”. This shows how Dees attempts to appeal with pathos by mentioning they are too valuable for everyday use backfired.

While verbally trying to convince her mother to give her the quilts, Dee’s body language is subtly showing how much she wants them. In the excerpt her body language while holding the quilts is pointed out many times. This means that mama noticed the way she was acting around them. “She held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them.” “clutching them closely to her bosom”. These observations show that Dee held them close to herself symbolizing she felt entitled to the quilts. ”Dee moved back just enough so that I couldn’t reach the quilts. They already belonged to her.” This statement in the excerpt illustrates how Dee’s body language was an unconscious, and unsuccessful attempt at persuading her mother to give her the quilts.

Regardless of Dees attempts to persuade her mother, she was unable to receive the quilts she wanted. At the end of the passage she makes a rude remark which shines a light on her true intentions for wanting the quilts. “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it.” The contrast between her and her sister is easily interpreted by not only the different reasons for wanting the quilts but their attitude towards them. Maggie wants to use the quilts for how they were made, and has always felt a special connection to them. While Dee previously called them “old fashioned” and “out of style”, but now is claiming they deserved to be hung up and shown off. This reveals she does not have a real connection to her heritage and is disrespectful to her roots.

I think the outcome of this story was an attempt by the author to convey that Dees blatant disregard for the quilts' history is a representation of the different views of heritage from the suburban lifestyle to those who remain in their roots. This explains why her persuasion techniques were unappealing to her traditional mother, why Maggie was offered the quilts first, and how Dee’s sense of entitlement to the quilts led to her unsuccessful attempt at taking the priceless quilts home.