Maddie Meadows
Michele Robinson
ENGL 105
17 November 2018
Preservation by Destruction in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
During the Vietnam War, the bombing of Bến Tre, an area comprised predominantly of civilians, was justified by the US Major with idea of “it became necessary to destroy the town to save it” (Students for Liberty). Destruction and preservation are two words that are likely to be used together only when cast as opposites of one another. However, the question has been asked, can destroying something actually save it? Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” which is set in rural Georgia during the Black Nationalist Movement, links preservation by destruction through the passing down of family quilts to one of two daughters. Mrs. Johnson is forced to pick between Maggie, the daughter she is very similar to, or Dee, the daughter she differs greatly from. The characters of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” much like the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, are faced with tackling the idea of preservation by destruction. The story reaches a climax when Mrs. Johnson gives the quilts, which are made from important pieces of fabric by her grandmother, aunt, and mother, to Maggie. Through an analysis of characters, the interactions between them, and Mrs. Johnson’s decision about the quilts, Walker demonstrates that preservation of heritage and family is about more than just having a physical representation of the past.
Character Analysis: Different Ways of Life
Maggie and her mother, Mrs. Johnson are very similar people who live a life of poverty and are uneducated. Nonetheless, they are proud of their heritage, both being content with the life they are living. Mrs. Johnson is “a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands,” (Walker 811) much like the women who came before her. She has worked for everything she has, which is not much. She is also admittedly uneducated as her school was shut down after second grade. Despite being educated to a degree, Maggie is still at an education level much less than her sister. When cast in the light of her sister, Maggie is an exact copy of mother. The consistency of their lives is found in not only the daily routine, which consist of cooking, cleaning, and tending to the animals, but also in their housing. Their old house burned in a fire and Left Maggie and Mrs. Johnson very shaken. The new house “is three rooms, just like the one that burned, except the roof is tin” (Walker 812). Unlike Dee who obviously was unhappy with her life, as by her watching the house burn with no emotion, Mrs. Johnson and Maggie are happy with the way they are living. They are proud of their history and heritage and have no problem continuing in those ways.
From the beginning of the story, the reader is aware of the fact that Dee Johnson is different from her family; it is these differences that lead to impacted relationships between Dee and Mrs. Johnson. Even from a young age, Dee showed characteristics like no one her mother had ever seen. She possessed a sense of fashion and a desire to be educated. She seems to get everything she wants. Dee’s sister Maggie believes that Dee “held life always in the palm of one hand, that ‘no’ is a word the world never learned to say to her” (Walker 810). When she wanted a new dress, she got it. When she wanted to move off to school, she was allowed to. Her education, however is what lead her to a life so different from that of her mother and sister. When Dee reappears from her time at college in Augusta, she behaves in a much more proper way than anyone else in her family. She steps out of a new car wearing “a dress down to the ground … a dress so loud it hurts [Mrs. Johnson’s] eyes … earrings gold, too, and … bracelets dangling” (813). Not only has the way Dee dressed changed, she also has changed her name. Rather than being Dee Johnson, she is Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, a name that is more representative of her “true” African-American heritage rather than being named for the people who oppressed her (Walker 813). All these aspects of Dee’s life that spark difference between her and her family come from her education as well as no longer living in poverty. In refusing her heritage and identity, Dee greatly impacts the interactions she has with her family.
Character Interactions: Diverging Lifestyle
Maggie and Mrs. Johnson have a close relationship due to their similarities and appreciation of heritage. They seem to know and understand each other very well. This bond comes from the experience the mother and daughter shared when their house was burned down. Mrs. Johnson details the experience saying, “sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes” (Walker 811). The fire has allowed Mrs. Johnson to fully understand Maggie’s quirks and insecurities. She is able to stand by and comfort Maggie in a way that she never could with Dee. When Dee arrives, Mrs. Johnson comforts Maggie with a touch of her hand. The interactions between Maggie and Mrs. Johnson are sweet and ultimately reveal the nature of their relationship. However, Mrs. Johnson does not share this type of relationship with her other child.
Due to their countless differences, Mrs. Johnson and Dee have a rocky relationship filled with awkwardness and bad intentions, which only furthers the already strained relationship. “Everyday Use” opens with a dream that Mrs. Johnson has: a dream where Dee approves of Mrs. Johnson (Walker 810-1). Soon after this description Walker shows the reader how Dee and Mrs. Johnson interact. Upon her arrival, Dee does not wish to greet her mother or sister and she precedes to take pictures of the house and cows. When Mrs. Johnson address Dee, she is quickly informed that Dee is dead. Now Dee is embodied in Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Dee goes on to explain that she could not stand her name, or what it stood for. Ultimately, she expects to be called by her new name even though is obviously awkward for her mother.
In addition to having awkward conversation with her mother, Walker shows the reader the intentions of Dee. After being home for only a short while, Dee truly amazed and seems to have a new appreciation for the kitchen benches. However, this sparks a light in Dee. “‘That’s it!’ she said. ‘I knew there was something I wanted to ask you if I could have’” (Walker 814). Here, Dee’s true intentions are revealed. She is not here to see her mother or sister, rather she is here for her gain. The reader later learns that Dee asks for a butter dish, a churn, a dasher, and quilts, which is the eventual tipping point for Mrs. Johnson. These, and several other, interactions show Dee’s disregard for her heritage. These family heirlooms are objects which she wishes to use as decoration, rather than for their intended purpose. These interactions build, and continuously show differences in Dee and family, until the climax. Here is when Mrs. Johnson shows the reader preservation by destruction.
Mrs. Johnson’s Decision: Preservation by Destruction
When the short story reaches its climax, Mrs. Johnson’s pivotal decision concerning the quilts shows that ultimate destruction is a form of preservation. In addition to her other demands, Dee asks for a set of quilts that Mrs. Johnson promised to Maggie. She takes them and holds them as if they already belong to her (Walker 815). Mrs. Johnson argues continuously with Dee over the quilts. Dee throws Maggie’s ignorance at her mother by claiming that she will take something so beautiful and full of heritage and put it to everyday use. It becomes clear that Dee believes that heritage is a type of dead past. She claims that the quilts are “priceless” (Walker 815) and they need to be hung up for preservation. Here, Maggie interjects saying she does not need the quilts to remember her family or, most importantly, her heritage:
It was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her how to quilt herself. She stood there with her scarred hands hidden in the folds of her skirt. She looked at her sister with something like fear, but she wasn’t mad at her. This was Maggie’s portion. (Walker 816)
Maggie, as well as her mother, offer a differing view of heritage. They believe that heritage is a part of ones’ everyday life and it is constantly changing. Maggie and Mrs. Johnson’s beliefs are amplified throughout the story, but none as much as when Mrs. Johnson choses to give Maggie the quilts despite the choice ultimately resulting in the destruction of the quilts. Even though the quilts will physically be destroyed, Maggie, who watched them be made, can make more and add pieces of fabric that are important to her life.
In choosing Maggie, Mrs. Johnson relies the idea that even though Maggie will destroy the physical representation of their family heritage, she will carry the heritage out in her lifestyle. It is likely that Mrs. Johnson fears that Dee would hang the quilts and forget the real meaning behind them, the family history. However, Mrs. Johnson and Maggie’s view of heritage could stand to have a more educational background. Despite this, their strong refusal to ignore their family history gives their meaning of heritage a prominent significance over Dee’s meaning of heritage.
Much like the soldiers fighting during the Vietnam War, Mrs. Johnson was faced with the question, can destroying something actually save it? Answers to this question often vary depending on what is being destroyed. Here, heritage is what is at stake. Merriam-Webster defines heritage as “something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor,” and is linked to words such as legacy and tradition. Heritage is an aspect of life that has allowed civilians to flourish and even on a small scale, can bring families together. For this reason, much like Mrs. Johnson, many people adhere to a heritage that is a part of ones everyday life, is constantly changing, and no physical entity can encapsulate. By using pieces of history for their purpose, the physical entity of heritage may be destroyed, but nonetheless, the spirit of heritage will live on forever.