What do the quilts mean to Dee?
To Dee, the quilt is nothing more than a piece of art: something that would look nice in her new place. … The quilt becomes a “bone of contention” when Dee insists that she should have it. At the same time, however, she does not want it because of the loving family hands that have toiled over it.
Why does Dee want the quilts so bad?
Dee wants the quilts to display them in her home as symbols of this greater heritage and as symbols of that which defined her ancestor’s humanity before captivity dehumanized them. Neither Dee nor her mother are right or wrong since Dee’s mother’s sense of ancestry extends only to her valued and cherished memories.
Why didn’t Mama give Dee the quilts?
At the end of the story, the mother “snatched the quilts out of Mrs. … Dee thinks Mama and Maggie don’t understand their heritage because they don’t change from it. In Dee’s mind, Maggie and Mama lack the “Ethnic Pride” to leave the historical borders and live a prosperous life.
Why does Mama give Maggie the quilts?
When Mama gives the quilts the Maggie, she ensures that the family heritage will stay alive in the manner she prefers. By using the quilts and making her own when they wear out, Maggie will add to the family’s legacy, rather than distancing herself from it.
What do the quilts symbolize in EVeryday use to Dee?
Quilts. … The quilts are pieces of living history, documents in fabric that chronicle the lives of the various generations and the trials, such as war and poverty, that they faced. The quilts serve as a testament to a family’s history of pride and struggle.
What was Maggie going to do with the quilts?
‘” Dee wants to hang the quilts on her wall, to display them as evidence of some heritage that is in the past, that is dead. Maggie, however, knows how to quilt and would use the quilts for the reason for which they were created: to keep warm.
Why does Dee think Maggie should not have the quilts?
Dee thinks the quilts should be preserved as art objects; not used up. Why does Dee think that Maggie should not have the quilts? Dee says her mother doesn’t understand that the hand-stitched quilts are important and should be preserved.
Why does Dee want the quilts now but not when she went off to college?
Dee wants the old quilts for several reasons but mainly because she wants to display them as part of her “heritage” in her home in the city. She does not believe that they are appreciated in the country with Maggie and Mama because they actually use the quilts.
Why is Dee angry at the end of the story?
At the end of the story, Dee, who was always brighter, better-looking, and favored, is angry because her mother refuses to give the quilts which she, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee made over the years.
What does Dee mean when she says mama doesn’t understand their heritage?
When Dee/Wangero tells her mother, “You just don’t understand… your heritage,” she implies that hand-made artistic items in their family should be put on display instead of being used. … Dee has rejected her birth name, which comes from Dicie, a family name traceable to the Civil War, in favor of Wangero.
Why would Mama prefer Maggie get the quilts and use them for everyday use?
Her desire to hang the quilts, in a museumlike exhibit, suggests that she feels reverence for them but that to her they are essentially foreign, impersonal objects. Mama understands that Maggie, not Dee, should have the quilts, because Maggie will respect them by using them in the way they were intended to be used.
What does this was Maggie’s portion mean?
She looked at her sister with something like fear but she wasn’t mad at her. This was Maggie’s portion. This was the way she knew God to work. ( 75) The narrator sees that Maggie has basically resigned to accepting the injustices of the world, even relatively small injustices like her sister always getting everything.