Marxist Theory: 'Everyday Use'

Stitches in Remembrance of African American Culture

By Aubree Reese

Mallett, Keith. Tree of Life.

"Everyday Use" revolves around the lives of three generations of African American women, the mother Mama, and her daughters Dee and Maggie. In the textbook Using Critical Theory, Author Louis Tyson states for Marxist theory that, “The goal of Marxism is to achieve a worldwide classless society by exposing the oppressive ideologies (belief systems) that keep the nations of this planet bound within socioeconomic systems in which a relatively small number of people are extremely wealthy while most people are struggling, or even failing to get by.” (Tyson 116) The Marxism theory applied in Alice Walker’s "Everyday Use" touches on themes of cultural appreciation and how it differs in each of the characters. “Everyday Use” focuses on the power of African American heritage and how it affects the past generations compared to the generation of Dee and Maggie. 

Marxist theory is based on socioeconomic relationships within the world whereas Black Nationalism is “Black people see themselves as part of a new force, sometimes called the "Third World"; that we see our struggle as closely related to liberation struggles around the world.” (Millward 27) Marxist theory surrounds the basics of working-class struggle and economic inequalities, while Black nationalism focuses on the empowerment of the Black community itself. 

Specifically focusing on the grandmother’s quilts, sisters’ Maggie and Dee go back and forth deciding what is to be done with items. Quilting in the African American culture has so much significance and their grandmother’s quilts had a story of history behind them. “A People’s cultural aesthetic is not different from their economic or political aesthetic: it is just visible to us in different form. Elements of material culture, such as quilting, are in fact illustrative of a particular way of seeing of ordering the world” (Brown 926) Their grandmother was raised in a time of appreciation, putting heart and soul into everything made, like the quilts. In Maggie and Dee’s generation, the historical factor is now involved in the way the items are older, preserved, and hold the workings of their grandmother’s life. 

Mama was raised closer in a time to her mother compared to her daughters. She stated “I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed. Don’t ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now.” (Walker 316) She knew that there was a struggle being in the black community, but that never stopped her from continuing with her life. She not only had 2 beautiful daughters but managed to protect her pride and continue appreciating the heritage she was raised upon. 

Batiste-Brown, Patricia. “Silhouettes of My People”. 2008.

Dee for example represents a more individualistic approach to her character, seeking to praise her heritage only for self-benefits. She views her African American heritage as means of a social and economic advantage in the world. She wants to take the quilts and other items like the butter turn top to display them as pieces of art, regarding what cultural significance they have surrounding them, more importantly what they mean to her family. Dee’s portrayal of her African heritage is more layered for affect, focusing on aesthetics rather than a deeper connection to her community and history.Dee's desire for the quilts to be used as an art display shows her disregard for the practical and historical value they hold for Mama and Maggie. Not only her desire to display the items, but her wanting to change her name to Wangero reflects her denial of her family background. “No, Mama,’ she says. ‘Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’ ‘What happened to ‘Dee’?’ I wanted to know. ‘She’s dead,” Wangero said. “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” (Walker 318)

Maggie displays a more traditional approach when it comes to valuing their family’s heritage. She values practicality and family significance over displaying the quilts on a wall for people to look at. In a Marxist approach, her physical and emotional damage from the house fire symbolize how working-class individuals must deal with heart breaking situations and continue with life holding that weight against them. Mama describes Maggie, saying how “She’s a woman now, though sometimes I forget. How long ago was it that the other house burned? Ten, twelve years? Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes.” (Walker 316) Maggie’s closed-off nature can be seen as a type of resilience and strength associated with Black women in their tough times of life. Her grandmother's life was passed down through the quilts and opens her up to the African American traditions of her time. Maggie is looking to physically use the quilts, still honoring her grandmother but putting them to ‘practical use’ as they would say. 

Overall, the characters' perspectives on appreciating their identities in "Everyday Use" shows how far their appreciation toward Black culture and heritage goes. Dee represents a distant, more assimilated African American girl. Mama embodies a woman with a deep appreciation for her culture and goes by what she grew up learning, and Maggie shows a more personal connection to the thought of quilting within the context of African American history. Alice Walker explored the complexities of cultural identity and how African Americans have adapted to their heritage through the changing societal ways. She was able to use Dee and Maggie’s situation and show the difference that family heritage has on the newer generations compared to the older ones like Mama and their grandmother. 

Works Cited

Brown, Elsa Barkley. “African-American Women’s Quilting.” Signs, vol. 14, no. 4, 1989, pp.  921–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174693. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

 

Millward, Liz. “Lesbian Nation and Black Nationalism.” Women’s History Review, 16 July 2021, pp. 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2021195344. Accessed 3 Nov. 2021 

 

Tyson, Lois. Using Critical Theory. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (3rd Edition).    Taylor & Francis, 2020.

 

Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. 1973. New York, Rutgers University Press, 1973, faculty.weber.edu/jyoung/english%206710/everyday%20use.pdf.