Priceless Quilts
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Each of us raised within a culture, a set of traditions handed down by those before us. In "Everyday Use", Dee beliefs and those of her mother and sister Maggie is different by the value they place on some old quilts and other objects in the home. The main theme in the story concerns the characters' connections to their ancestral roots. The characters "Mama" and Maggie on one side, Dee on the other, each have opposing views on the value and ideas about the family artifact.
Mama and Maggie are similar in a way because they both symbolize the connection between generation and the heritage that passed between them by their lifestyle. They both live together in their humble home. Mama has inherited many customs and tradition from her ancestors. She describes herself as "a large big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter, I wear overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man...