"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a story based on two young girls. One girl named Maggie is a very down to earth. She is not pretty like her sister because of a terrible accident. When she was younger there was a fire and she got burnt. She has scars down her arms and her legs. Maggie is very shy and she has a very low self-esteem. She has lived her life in the shadow of her sister. She knows she will never be pretty like her sister. She has found a local boy whom she has been dating for a while. They have falling in love and she is suppose to marry him.
Dee her sister is a very arrogant person. She thinks the world revolves around her. Dee has gotten married and returns to the home to get some pictures and some family heirlooms. The first thing she does when she gets to the farm is show off her clothes and her jewelry. Next she takes out her camera and takes a picture of her family. She is not taking the pictures because she loves her family. She is taking their pictures for money purposes. Dee makes sure she is not in the pictures because she is ashamed of her family. Next Dee tries to talk her mom into giving her a quilt. Her mom knows she is going to sell the quilt and so she refuses to give it to her. Instead the mom says the quilt belongs to Maggie as a wedding gift. For once in Maggie’s life she has ranked above her sister.
The mother of the family is a hard core African American mother. She had to take care of the family all by herself. She didn’t have the support of a husband to help her take care of the farm. She was characterized as a big black woman. Dee is ashamed of her mom based on her appearance and her home. The mother says she wished she could have the welcome home greetings that you see on tv, where the mother and the child embrace each other with a great big hug.