Wednesday, November 24, 2010

What is the significance of Maggy's smile in "Everyday Use"?

Maggie's
smile represents a victory.  Throughout the story, Maggie never seemed to be happy and was
always hiding in the shadows of her sister.  When her mother told Dee that the quilts were for
Maggie, she was surprised and smiled because, for once, she was able to receive something
instead of her sister.  Her sister turned the quilts down when she left for college because she
felt they were old-fashioned. Now that she is all into showing off her heritage, she wants them
to display. She always felt like Dee got everything and she even said, "She can have them
Mama."  She didn't need the quilts to have the memories.  Dee says, "Maggie's brain is
like an elephant's."  This comparison indicates that elephants have good memories and
Maggie would use those memories and put the quilts to "."   When they walk Dee to the
car at the end of the story, Dee tells Maggie she should make something of her life and
insinuates that as long as she and her mother stay in that house they will never improve their
life.  Maggie smiles because she knows they have the best life of all.  They respect their
culture and memories and know that memories are meant for "Everyday Use" so one can
always remember the past.

Reference:  The Language and
Literature Book
by McDougal Littell 

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