Does Alice Walker believe that the “Everyday Use” of the old quilts is protecting or destroying tradition? Remember from the Introduction that we are told that Alice Walker resembles each of the characters in her narrative.

The short story written by Alice Walker, reveals 3 characters who struggle with their cultural identity as Native Americans. Walker epitomises through the character Dee turned Wangero, the future hope for Native people to be proud of their culture and fight against the previous oppressions in order to live in a safe and content way. In comparison, Walker uses Maggie as a way of showing the permanent damage caused to the Native peoples as Maggie is physically scarred and is unable to stand up for herself. In this same way, Walker depicts the mother of the two girls as once being strong, independent figure, who unapologetically struggles with wanting to return to the strong capable woman, but now finds solace in living simply.

Walker uses the symbolism of the quilts to display the changing view of Native American persons cultural identity. The fact that the mother wants to give them to the scarred sister Maggie, highlights how she wants the quilts protected and away from harm, within the family circle. The mother’s abrupt refusal to give the quilts to the rebellious sister Wangero demonstrates how the mother does not want the quilts as a tool for identity reformation.

Ultimately, Everyday Use also establishes concerns over who’s right is it to claim the quilts which mirrors the land rights that Native people have fought after for generations. Walker establishes how ironic and confusing it is for Native people to fight for the land they already know as it is stitched intrinsically to their identity. This short story targets the issue of not valuing enough or over-valuing history and how to create change in identity for future generations