How we cite our quotes: Paragraph
Quote #1
"Oh, Mama!" [Dee] cried. Then turned to Hakim-a-barber. "I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints," she said, running her hands underneath her and along the bench. (46)
Ah yes, rump prints are always the sign of a good bench. What do you think is responsible for Dee's sudden appreciation for the benches (and the butter churn and the quilts)?
Quote #2
"Aunt Dee's first husband whittled the dash," said Maggie so low you almost couldn't hear her.
"His name was Henry, but they called him Stash."
"Maggie's brain is like an elephant's," Wangero said, laughing (52-53).
Maggie is a kid of few words, so it's a pretty big deal when she pipes up to share this tidbit about the origins of the dash. It's one of several examples we could point to to make the case that Maggie actually has a much richer sense of her heritage than Dee.
Quote #3
"I can use the churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table," [Dee] said, sliding a plate over the churn, "and I'll think of something artistic to do with the dasher." (53)
Sure it's nice that Dee appreciates these objects so much that she elevates them to the status of art, but it's also important to note that she seems to have the luxury of using them this way. That is, she is (or will be) likely financially well-off enough to be able to view these things as decorations, but not everyone may be able to afford to appreciate their heritage in this way. Some folks just need to keep warm.
Quote #4
When [Dee] finished wrapping the dasher the handle stuck out. I took it for a moment in my hands. You didn't even have to look close to see where hands pushing the dasher up and down to make butter had left a kind of sink in the wood. In fact, there were a lot of small sinks; you could see where thumbs and fingers had sunk into the wood. (54)
It's pretty cool that the narrator notices evidence of her relatives's labor in the dasher itself where the little finger and thumb prints are. The work required to make butter isn't always something that's valued in mainstream culture—some might even dismiss it as "women's work"—but by valuing the object, the labor it represents is also acknowledged.
Quote #5
[The quilts] had been pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them. One was in the Lone Star pattern. The other was Walk Around the Mountain. In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra's uniform that he wore in the Civil War. (55)
Okay, so we can totally see why Dee would want these quilts—they're ridiculously rich in family history, and history in general too. It's a great example of how material objects can sometimes capture the spirits of people and cultures we no longer have access to and stimulate our curiosity about them.
Quote #6
"No," said Wangero. "I don't want those [quilts]. They are stitched around the borders by machine."
"That'll make them last better," I said.
"That's not the point," said Wangero. "These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. Imagine!" she held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them (59-61).
Sure the hand-stitched quilts probably are a bit cooler than the ones that have been tainted by the machine at the borders. But Dee's rotten attitude, as she snaps That's not the point, undermines anything worthy she might have to tell us about the importance of appreciating her grandmother's handicraft.
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?