Symbol Quilts Story

Symbolism of Quilt in “Everyday Use?” by Alice Walker: An Analysis

Symbol has been accepted by various scholars as one of the most important aspects of any piece of literature, since the entire plot revolves around it.

“But what is a symbol? A symbol does not direct our attention to something else as a sign does. It does not direct at all. It “means” something else. It somehow comes to contain within itself the thing it means. The word “ball” is a sign to my dog and a symbol to me. If I say “ball” to my dog, he will respond like a good Pavlovian organism and look under the sofa and fetch it. But if I say “ball” to you, you will simply look at me and, if you are patient, finally say, “What about it?” The dog responds to the word by looking for thing; you conceive the ball through the word “ball.”

– Walker Percy Attribution: Walker Percy (1916-1990), U.S. novelist. The Message in the Bottle, ch. 7, Farrar (1975).

In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use?” various symbols exist among which the most dominant is the quilts. Quilts are a fine example of a folk craft that started as simply useful and become emotionally charged. The patterns become artistically ambitious and emotionally meaningful, and the fabric used carried meaning as well. Not only that, but also how the quilts were made became part of the social structure. The symbolism of the quilts can be argued in various ways, depending upon the perspective either intended by the author or perceived by the reader. In this story, however, represent the connectedness of history and the intergenerational ties of the family.

Now why are quilts so important in this story – is it because it is the essence of pride in the family and needs to be displayed or is it because is it because it helps Dee feel superior over her own sister Maggie. Dee wishes to acquire the quilts because her grandmother stitched them by hand and in order to show her affection Dee wants to display the quilts by hanging them on the wall on her home. This does show her pride in her family but then again Dee gets outraged when her mother expresses her wish to give the quilts to Maggie. This is the point where Dee’s pride falls in the grey area. In Dee’s words “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts . . . She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use . . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags”.

Dee does accept that the quilt represent her cultural heritage but never tried to understand the purpose of the quilts. Until the time when her mother and grandmother explained her Dee had no clue that giving Maggie the quilts help carry on the family tradition. It is not only important to accept Quilting as important tradition but to pass it as well. A tradition has no meaning if there is no one knows about it. Giving the quilts to Maggie is the best way to affirm that the connection of heritage will enhance and not only just bleakly exist.

Thus, the above statements reveal the importance of symbolism. The same quilts represent heritage to both Dee and her mother but they perceive it quite differently than the other. Dee wants to preserve heritage and strongly believes that they are objects meant to be proud of and what can be a better method to reveal the pride by displaying them to the entire world. She is unable to perceive the knowledge and history attached with the quilts, and due to that fact her idea of “heritage” loses its very meaning to the core. According to her mother, however, one can not learn one’s heritage until the tradition that tags along with it is understood. Dee has yet to experience the outside world, whereas Maggie has felt the treatment of the entire society while still remaining within the confines of her home. Dee feels as if her mother is unaware of the meaning and the importance of her family’s heritage. But has she ever tried to realize her own heritage? In order to understand it took her mother and grandmother to make her reach down deep down in her soul. It was only then that Dee realized that although she had learned to live life with no boundaries, she has not yet attained the level of at which she could realize what is the most important question of her life – What exactly is her heritage?

Work Cited

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/quotations/quote/54101

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyday_Use

http://www.bownet.org/jmcdermott/everyday_use__by_alice_walker.htm