In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker explores the controversy between the mother and her two daughter's ideas about their values and heritages. While the mother lives a simple life, the oldest daughter, Dee, embarks on a new life that does not include Maggie or her mother. Dee's independence and new ideas disagrees with her family's traditional lifestyle. Dee returns home to visit her mother and sister from college, and while she is at home, she is in a conflict with her sister, Maggie, over the possession of the quilts. Walker portrays many symbols like the quilt, butter churn, and dasher which plays a significant role in "Everyday Use," and it shows the difference between Dee and her mother's beliefs in their heritage.

Walker exposes Mama as living her life the way she wants it and although she is uneducated, she still narrates her story and gets her message out...