What makes the quilts valuable to dee

Women like Grandma Dee used and reused whatever material they had at hand to create functional, beautiful items. Quilts also represent the Johnson family heritage in particular. A quilt can bring much more than physical comfort. It will hold love and memories, and if it is made from fabrics that already have a history those memories will be even stronger.

Skip to content English. In what ways do the quilts hold different meanings for Dee and for Maggie in everyday use? In what ways do the quilts hold different meanings to Maggie and Dee?

For Maggie, heritage is something living, something that exists in the present. For Dee they are a memory of the past. Why does Maggie have a real smile at the end of the story? Mama grabs the quilts from Dee and gives them to Maggie.

As she leaves, Dee is obviously upset. Maggie smiles a genuine smile not because Mama gave her the quilts; she had already offered to give them up to Dee. Why does Mama give Maggie the quilts? Mama, the narrator, ultimately gives the family quilts to Maggie instead of Dee Wangero because she recognizes that Dee gets everything she wants, that she's even already claimed the quilts as her own, because they were promised to Maggie, and because Maggie is the daughter who wants them for the right reasons.

Why does Dee think Mama and Maggie don't understand their heritage? Dee thinks Mama and Maggie don't understand their heritage because they don't change from it. In Dee's mind, Maggie and Mama lack the "Ethnic Pride" to leave the historical borders and live a prosperous life. In saying '"You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie.

What are the themes of everyday use? Keeping them in circulation in daily life keeps the family history alive. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Mama Maggie Dee. Themes Motifs Symbols. What makes the quilts valuable to Dee, and what makes them valuable to Maggie? Dee calls the quilts priceless, as she recognizes it as her heritage. At the end of the story, Dee, who was always brighter, better-looking, and favored, is angry because her mother refuses to give the quilts which she, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee made over the years.

Maggie would have put the quilts to everyday use while Dee wished to hang them as artistic pieces on her walls. The latter wanted to preserve their African heritage but in doing so she completely ignored the fact that the quilts were made by her grandmother, mother and aunt to put to everyday use.

Thus the resolution of this story occurs when Mama decides not to give in any more to her pushy daughter Dee, and gives the quilts to her subdued and shy daughter, Maggie, clearly highlighting the fact that it is actually Maggie who can understand the importance of the quilts in terms of their family heritage. The story is told by the mother in the story. Expert Answers Dee changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo as a way to establish her new identity as an independent, proud African woman.

In doing so, Dee rejects her traditional family heritage in favor of renouncing the former slave owners that initially named her ancestors. With this moment as the climax, the mother decides that the quilts should go to Maggie and not Dee. Maggie changes throughout the story in various important ways. At the beginning of the story, Maggie lacks confidence as she feels less pretty and intelligent than her sister Dee.

Moreover, she longs for a connection with her Mama that she does not yet have. Yes, Maggie is a dynamic character because she changes in the story.