In “Everyday Use,” the quilts represent something different to Dee than they do to Mama and Maggie. What sort of use would Maggie make of them? What would her sister do with them? What differences between the characters and their attitudes do the quilts symbolize? How does the setting–the image of the Johnson home contribute to your understanding of the characters and their relationships?
In her interview with the BBC, Walker is described as a radical feminist, someone who seeks to break away from the oppression that African-American women in particular have suffered in a white, patriarchal society. Like Dee, she hopes that it is “really a new day” for Black women. But many readers of the story sympathize rather with Mama and Maggie, who cling to the conservative values and traditions of their familial heritage. To what degree do you identify with Dee in her desire to break from her famil’s past in order to advance in life? To what degree do you remain, like Mama and Maggie, defined by and supportive of your inherited values and traditions?
Write about the image of the red convertible. Why is it red? Why a convertible? What does it represent to Lyman and Henry? Does its meaning change after Henry returns from Vietnam? What part does the setting on the Chippewa reservation in North Dakota play in establishing the issues, the themes, that the story raises?
