Everyday Use

"I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat there on my bed with her mouth open." pg 181, paragraph 76
Everyday Use
Alice Walker


Throughout this story, the character Maggie is directly characterized by her mother. She talks about how Maggie is, "nervous," "not bright,"and "standing hopelessly in corners." We can conclude that when the old house burned down, it caused permanent damage to her self-confidence because it left behind burn scars on her skin.  This is one of the reasons that Maggie feels inferior to her older sister, Dee. Maggie "ey[es] her sister with a mixture of envy and awe" because she is like the opposite of herself: Dee is assertive, aggressive, confident, and the kind of person that gets what she wants.

When Dee wants to claim the quilts so that she can proudly display her heritage, Maggie is submissive to what Dee asks for and says she can have the quilts.  Maggie allows her to go through with it because it's what she's used to; Maggie is used to Dee winning an argument, and coming out with the item she wants.  In the story there is the overall notion that Maggie and Mama put up with Dee's bossy attitude, allowing Dee to control them.  Dee wants to be an important and dignified person, and it's not until the end of the story that Mama stands up for herself and Maggie by giving the quilts to Maggie, who really deserves them, reversing the accepted authority of Dee in the household.