What is the basic conflict in “Everyday Use”?
What will be an ideal response?
- On the surface, the main conflict is a fight between two sisters over possession of two old quilts that have been in their family for three generations. On a deeper level, however, the conflict goes beyond the objects and centers on the way one does—or does not—understand one’s heritage. Older sister Dee wants to hang the family’s quilts on her wall as an expression of African American folk art; to her, these are family heirlooms that should be preserved and displayed. Mama and Maggie want to put the quilts to “everyday use” for their original purpose—to provide warmth or comfort.
Perhaps on the deepest level the story presents another serious conflict. The mother, who loves her two daughters, must make an important choice by the story’s end: either to please her worldly successful elder daughter (whom she has not seen in a long time), or to keep her promise to her homely younger daughter who is getting married. In the end, the reader is satisfied when Mama does “something [she] never had done before”: she “hugged Maggie . . . then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (par. 76).
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What will be an ideal response?
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