Everyday Use

This story is told in the point of view of "mama", the mother of Maggie and Dee. Although Maggie and Dee are sisters, they are foil characters throughout the entire story. While Maggie is shy, self-conscious, and close to her mother, Dee is outgoing, confident, and distant from the culture of the deep south. Dee embraces part of her heritage, but she also isolates herself from the other part. She takes a new name, Wangero, because she wants to identify with her African heritage and history. She avoids the deep south, where her family resides, and only visits them rarely. I also saw the mother in the story and Dee as foil characters. Dee has been given the opportunity to receive an education, which has ultimately distanced her from her background, true heritage, and family life. Mama never had the chance to receive an education because her school was shut down, and I noticed that her vocabulary and diction were at a lower level. She lives a simple, southern life and values her personal history as one of her main treasures. The quarrel over the quilts is a defining moment for these two sets of foil characters. Dee doesn't understand the true value of the quilts that were passed from generation to generation to tell the story of their ancestors. Mama sees the quilts as one of her most prized possesions, because the quilts are all she has left of her extended family from the past.