Contrast Dees attitude toward her heritage with the attitudes of ...

[debasdf]

Contrast Dees attitude toward her heritage with the attitudes of hermother and sister. How much truth is there in Dees accusation that her mother and sister dont understand their heritage?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What levels of meaning do you find in the storys title?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[ecox1012]

Answer to Question 1

• Dee, having suddenly discovered that old quilts and dashers are fashionable collectibles, accuses her mother and sister of not understanding their heritage because they fail to appreciate the artistic value of such objects. However, she herself is so divorced from her cultural heritage that she does not know which member of the family made the dasher. It may be true, as Dee accuses, that Maggie and her mother dont understand their heritageat least not in its historical or sociological context. The story suggests, however, that by using the quilts, and by having learned the traditional skills passed from generation to generation, Maggie, the homely, uneducated sister, knows more about her African American heritage than does Dee. Maggie and her mother live their cultural heritage; they are nourished by it through everyday use and versed in the craftsmanship needed to pass it on to future generations.

Answer to Question 2

• Both sisters want to use the quilts and dasher for everyday use, but the motives for doing so, and the actual usages, are remarkably different. The reason Dee returns home is not to visit her Mama and younger sister, but to take pictures and perhaps try to acquire certain objects in order to display her family heritage to her friends, although she knows little about that legacy. In contrast, Mama and Maggie value the quilts and kitchen tools because they were used by their mothers and grandmothers in everyday life during difficult times. While these objects are practical, they also have emotional value to Mama and Maggie because the women appreciate why they were originally created and what they were originally used for.

Dee is appalled that Mama would give the quilts to Maggie, who would actually use them for their intended purpose, and let them become worn out. While hanging a quilt on a wall has its decorative and artistic uses (and so is still, in one sense, everyday use), Dees inability to value her heritage as symbolized in the objects leads the reader to be pleased Mama stands up for Maggies version of everyday use.

[debasdf]

Thanks

[ecox1012]

Welcome