Everyday Use Custom/Tradition Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Paragraph

Quote #7

"Some of the pieces, like those lavender ones, come from old clothes her mother handed down to her," I said, moving up to touch the quilts. Dee (Wangero) moved back just enough so that I couldn't reach the quilts. They already belonged to her." (62)

What a nice moment of bonding over family heritage… too bad it's totally ruined by Dee's possessiveness and selfishness. Her attitudes also run completely contrary to the spirit of communion and sharing that the quilts represent.

Quote #8

"Maggie can't appreciate these quilts!" [Dee] said. "She'd probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use."

"I reckon she would," I said. "God knows I been saving 'em for long enough with nobody using 'em. I hope she will!" I didn't want to bring up how I had offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style. (66-67)

Aha—so it turns out Dee had her chance with the quilts… what an interesting detail. What do you think of the way the narrator drops this information in for us?

Quote #9

"Well," I said, stumped. "What would you do with [the quilts]?"

"Hang them," she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with quilts (71-72).

Let's play devil's advocate, shall we? We know that the quilts are pretty awesome: you don't even have to crack a book to see how much history they have to show. So wouldn't hanging them actually be a great way to honor their awesomeness?