Be proud of the heritage you were born into! Audience: Anyone who has read "Everyday Use" and has an opinion on Dee's outlook on legacy Subject: Dee's perspective on her legacy Purpose: To point out how Dee is embarrassed about her legacy. “You don’t understand,” he said, as Maggie and I headed to the car. "What don't I understand?" I wanted to know. “Your legacy,” he said. Then he turned to Maggie, kissed her, and said, “You should try something too, Maggie. It's truly a new day for us. But the way you and mom still live, you'd never know it. (Walker13) These were the last words Dee spoke to her family before she left, got into her car and drove. Many topics are touched upon during the discussion of the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, including whether Dee is embarrassed about her heritage, where she comes from, her roots. Reading Everyday Use, you might say that Dee was embarrassed by her heritage; three main points demonstrate her dislike for her culture: she left the place where she was born, she changed her name, and she has a unique attitude towards the artifacts owned by her family. From the beginning of Everyday Use, a reader realizes that Dee, the eldest daughter, is not really in the picture. Dee at this point is somewhere in Augusta, Georgia studying. Mom, the narrator of the story, doesn't really go into depth about whether Dee getting an education is good or not, but she does go into detail about how she feels Dee views her family and her background. “He had hated that house so much.” (Walker 7) With these words the mother describes the fire in their old house, the family now lives in the second house, and it seems that the mother believes that De... in the center of the card... around the back, when she decided by changing her name she broke a pattern and a symbol that meant a lot to her family, and when she tried to define what exactly a quilt or any artifact should be used for she made it sound like her mother and sister really didn't know anything or at least not as much as he thought. When she told her sister to do something for herself and that Maggie might not be anything great at all because of the way she lived, it showed that Dee was embarrassed or at least trying not to look but how she was raised. Dee's decision to move, to change her name, to not know how to quilt, an important task that her entire family, including Maggie, knew how to do, and the lack of interest in the real people who made these artifacts are all good points to demonstrate Dee's thesis. lack of desire to carry on her family's legacy, to be proud of her roots.