Everyday Use by Alice Walker

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker explores the subject of African American heritage. When Dee comes home, she is full of concepts that are foreign to her mother. She has changed her name to an African one, her clothes, her language, everything about her is different. Her mother hardly recognizes her and has no problem calling her Wangero when Dee's behavior seems most foreign to her. Dee is strong and independent and looks down on her family's perceived backwardness. She is very much into the whole heritage movement and takes items from her mother's house, items that they use everyday. They get into an arguement over two quilts, that the mother refuses to give up because she promised it to her younger daughter, Maggie. Dee gets upset because she thinks that Magie will put them to everyday use and ruin them, while she wants to hang them up. The mother finally stands up to her daughter. She hugs Maggie, realizing that her other daughter is lost to her. Even with her rural, uneducated mind she understands that it is Maggie, who will continue her heritage.
It seems that whenever a group goes through an identity crisis, the first thing they do is attempt to destroy the old values. Dee does this with her name. She says she refuses to be named after the people that oppressed her. Her mother finds that this is disrespectful to her heritage. So is creating a curtain out of a quilt, for you see, quilts are made to put on the bed. This is something Dee does not understand, her heritage is her mother's everyday life.