"Everyday Use" ~by Alice Walker

(#2)
Prior to the events of the story, the mother, Dee, and Maggie lived very different lives. The mother and Maggie lived typical lives of the south in that time. Dee wanted a different life than the one she had. Dee hated her old life before she left to go to college. When the house burned down, Dee just stood there and watched. "I see her standing off under the sweet gum tree she used to dig gum out of; a look of concentration on her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in toward the red-hot brick chimney" (page 175). Dee is glad to see her old house burn down; she hated her old life so much that she just wanted it to burn down. However, Maggie and the mother did not share this same feeling. Maggie has lived her life "homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe" (page 173). Maggie and the mother both enjoy the simple life in the country; however, Dee wants more. The purpose of the quilts is to show how the two daughters have contrasting personalities. Dee refused to accept the quilt when she went away to college, showing that she did not want any part of her old life. On the other hand, Maggie values the simple life at home.