Understanding Heritage: A Character Analysis from “Everyday Use” In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, a misunderstanding about a family’s heritage occurs. The family consists of Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Mama is one of the main characters and she also narrates the story. She is described to be a, “large big-boned woman with rough, man working hand”(Walker 61). From this you can picture a very strong willed woman, who has work her …showed first 75 words of 657 total…

…showed last 75 words of 657 total…quilts from Dee and gives them to Maggie. As Dee is walking away, she tells her mother she doesn’t understand her heritage, but in reality she is the one who doesn’t understand her heritage, which is ironic. She doesn’t understand that her family’s heritage should come before her culture. She confuses heritage with culture. Dee leaves her family not long after. She probably won’t be back for a while either.