Alice Walker’s study of mother-daughter relationships explores contrasting attitudes towards heritage. A self-centered college graduate (Dee) visits her mother, a poor farming widow. The mother values her African-American heritage; Dee tries to exploit it. Their positions are exemplified in a family heirloom: a hand-stitched quilt that has been promised to Dee’s sister. Dee demands it, claiming that such things are now trendy and valuable. She claims it will be wasted on her sister, who will probably put it to “everyday use”. Themes: heritage, racial identity, connection through tradition, appearance, materialism (the effect of higher education / city life on values).
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