Everyday Use by Alice Walker

The Quilt

The quilt symbolizes the heritage of the family. It is made from "all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear"

It is very important because it shows the difference in understanding the heritage between Dee, and her mother and Maggie. 

Dee is an educated woman who studied in college. She doesn't care about her family, her mom said: "she washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know". 

Dee wants the quilt because it's handmade, she wants to hang it, while the mother promised to give it to Maggie when she'll marry John Thomas. Maggie, will not hang the quilt, but she is going to put it for everyday use. In top of that, Maggie knows how to quilt, she learned that from her mother and grandmother. 

Maggie never went to college, nor her mom. They understand their heritage in the same way Grandma and ant Dee understand. Dee went to college not just to educate herself, but to became a different one. She doesn't like her family, she changed her name to "Wangero" because she was named after Big Dee.