Saturday, November 11, 2017

What does Mama realize about her daughters at the end of the story "Everyday Use"?

At the end of "Everyday Use," Mama realizes that Maggie is deserving of appreciation and attention and that Dee is hardly an authority on family matters.  Throughout the story, Mama admits that she has not paid much attention to Maggie who is quiet and unassuming.  Maggie has lived her life in the shadow of her younger sister Dee.  But at the end of the story, Maggie proves that she knows the family's heritage, and she...

At the end of "Everyday Use," Mama realizes that Maggie is deserving of appreciation and attention and that Dee is hardly an authority on family matters.  Throughout the story, Mama admits that she has not paid much attention to Maggie who is quiet and unassuming.  Maggie has lived her life in the shadow of her younger sister Dee.  But at the end of the story, Maggie proves that she knows the family's heritage, and she is the one who can remember which uncle whittled the churn and which uncle whittled the dasher.  Maggie has also learned how to quilt just like her mother and grandmother, so she is the daughter who will carry on the family's traditions.  Dee, on the other hand, has always presented as knowledgeable, and certainly her formal education lends to this image.  Dee never really had true friends, just people who admired her intelligence and listened to what she had to say.  But at the end of the story, Mama realizes that Dee does not really want to be a part of the Johnson family and its traditions--she simply wants to make the family's heritage a spectacle to show her friends.  As a result, Mama opts to turn all her attention to Maggie and let Dee go back to the life that she has chosen to live.

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