Everyday Use

Dee is a jerk. She seems to despise everything she used to be which she makes obvious when she says "[Dee's] dead." By taking on a new name, she thought she could become the person she wants to be and leave her simple life behind. While she keeps trying to push her past away by rejecting her name and the house where she grew up, she also seems to be seeking her heritage. Her search for heritage seems fake. If she hated the quilts when she was offered one, why would she become so upset when she couldn't have them? She's trying to impress the man she's with by showing a love for African things like the quilts her grandmother made even though they hold no value for her. She has been ashamed of her heritage and race for her entire life, and her mother knows that. She made the right decision in not giving "Wangero" the quilts.