Question

"You just don’t understand," she said, as Maggie and I came out to the car.

"What don’t I understand?" I wanted to know.

"Your heritage," she said.


What does Dee mean when she says Mama doesn’t understand their heritage? Explain what culture means to Dee and to Mama.

Answer 1

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” shows the relationship between an African-American mother and her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. While the mother and Maggie embrace their simple life, Dee has rejected her heritage and has turned to a different set of beliefs that she thinks truly define her cultural identity. These opposing attitudes are reflected in their views about the family quilts.

In the story, Dee’s mother recounts an incident where they argued over a set of ancestral quilts. While Dee insists she’ll keep the old quilts made by their grandmothers, Mama prefers to give them to her younger daughter, Maggie. Dee protests that Maggie will never understand the true value of the quilts, insisting:

"Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!" she said. "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use."

Dee argues such quilts should be seen as artifacts. For Dee, her upbringing and its culture is something that should be displayed as “art” in her home and not used.

On the other hand, the mother remembers how those quilts were made and uses them with love and care. She believes they should be used every day to celebrate the family’s heritage and stay connected to family traditions and beliefs. Therefore, the two women have very different views on the definition of their heritage and how to respect and celebrate it.

Step-by-step explanation:

plato

Answer 2

Dee believes that Mama and Maggie don't appreciate their heritage and culture as much as she does because they occasionally use family items that Dee feels should be preserved.

Step-by-step explanation:

Dee has contrasting views with Mama and Maggie about heritage as Dee believes it is something of the past that should be revered and hung on a place to display or doing something artistic with it but Mama and Dee are of the opinion that things of heritage should be used to honor them by keeping them alive