Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" is a tightly woven tale that brings together many disparate elements of the story to reinforce the thesis advanced by WEB DuBois according to in which black Americans are stuck in a double consciousness between their African heritage and their American citizenship. Walker's story is about the bifurcation between a mother and her daughter, between America and Africa, and between the two cultures fighting for a single identity. Beyond the obvious identity confusion expressed in the character of Dee/Wangero, Walker imbues his story with symbolism that highlights the general identity confusion inherent in the African experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayDuBois equates the experience of black America with the effort to create a singular consciousness from an identity composed of dual perspectives. DuBois writes that “One always feels its duality…two ideals at war in one dark body” (564). Walker's story is about this war of identity and she even extends it to the symbolism of the objects Dee wants. Dee urgently wants the butter churn and asks, "Didn't Uncle Buddy cut it from a tree you all had?" The very fact that the churn was made from a tree, that its identity was forged into something new based on its labor value from something that formed naturally, is indicative of the aspiration for a soul about which DuBois writes. But even beyond that, there’s something more to the importance of churn. Wood, which in itself was something important and valuable, was transformed into a butter churn, an instrument that takes one thing, milk, and transforms it into something else, butter. DuBois speaks of merging without losing any essence (565) and the butter churn is as good a symbol of this effort as any other object that could have been found in the house. Because what is butter? Is it milk or is it something entirely new? What is an African American? Is he African, American or both? Can it be both? If butter isn't milk yet, then what is? Walker seizes this symbol of the fusion of identities, resulting from a mechanism itself a forged tool, and refuses to overplay it. Instead, she extends the metaphor even further by having Dee decide to take over and imbue herself with another identity. Dee perhaps sees making the top of the churn a centerpiece as a kind of emancipation; the churn no longer has to do any work, it can become simply ornamental. Churn turns one thing into another, just as slavery turned Africans into Americans. But Walker doesn't stop there. His use of symbolism extends to the main focus of the story. What Dee really wants are the quilts her grandmother made, quilts her mother promised Maggie. These quilts, although more strongly emphasized than the churn, are equally subtle symbols of the quest for identity. A quilt is inherently something with a double consciousness. The quilt Dee specifically wants was made from parts of old dresses her grandmother wore. The quilt, like the butter churn, is a utilitarian device. However, the quilt differs from the churn in that it is made from pre-existing utilitarian devices – robes – rather than something solid and independent in its identity before being made. Beyond that, of course, there's the fact that Dee doesn't want the quilts to beused for the intended purposes. Once again, Dee wants to take something that has a use and turn it into an ornamental object. Dee's desire to take simple tools and turn them into something greater reflects DuBois' struggle against prejudice. DuBois writes that prejudice causes self-abasement in the black individual. (567) The way to fight against this self-abasement is to aspire to culture. Dee considers herself cultured and beyond the debased quality of the life she lived as a mother and sister. Maggie would have the temerity to use the quilts to keep warm. Dee recognizes the true quality and value of quilts. She will hang them on the wall. Taking something that has utility and purpose and using it for something other than that purpose is the ultimate achievement of high culture. For Dee, quilts and her ability to use them for decoration rather than warmth represent her empowerment. The fact that quilts were once part of a dress used in the first line of defense, Cold Wear, only serves to make them all the more valuable. The symbolism of warring identities is emphasized throughout the story by Walker's choice of Dee's desired objects. Even more obvious than the symbolism of the objects Dee wants in reference to DuBois's theory of double consciousness among black Americans is Dee herself. In many ways, Dee is less a fully realized character than an embodiment of the struggle for a unifying identity that DuBois speaks of so eloquently. Dee is a character at war not only with her mother and her culture, but also with herself. This schizophrenia is addressed by DuBois, at least indirectly, when he writes about "the idea of ​​fostering and developing the traits and talents of the Negro, not in opposition or contempt of other races, but rather in great conformity with the greatest ideals of humanity. the American Republic. » At this point in her life, Dee still hasn't learned how to do this without contempt. Dee clearly shows her contempt for her mother, her sister, and their entire way of life. And yet, she has just as clearly not achieved true emancipation; she has not achieved true self-awareness. Dee accuses her family of not understanding their heritage. In fact, she returns home to collect these cultural artifacts that she believes represent her heritage. But his creations and intentions are anything but respectful of his heritage. In fact, she wants to display them in a way that's not so different from the white capitalist who profits from ethnic artwork. Dee may have changed her name to the more African-sounding Wangero Leewanikia Kemanjo, but in reality she became even more Americanized than her family. Mother and Maggie use objects from their heritage as a tribute to heritage; that is, quilts made from old dresses were a necessity because they could not afford a new blanket or comforter. The heritage inherent in the dresses has been passed down to the quilt; everything was utilitarian because it had to be. Either you made a quilt from your old dresses or you froze. It's heritage. Taking a quilt and hanging it on a wall is as obvious an American waste as it gets. Dee may have become Wangero, but she might as well have changed her name to JC Penney. Dee managed to conform to the highest ideals of the American Republic, but she did so specifically in opposition to and disregard for her own race. Dee has failed to find a single self-awareness that combines her American and African parts; instead, she simply swapped her African for her American. DuBois.