Two Sisters Everyday Often two children are raised in the same environment and turn out to be completely different. This is the case of Maggie and Dee, the two sisters in the film “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Although the girls were raised by the same woman, in the same household, their similarities end there. Maggie and Dee are different in appearance, personality, and ideas about family artifacts. Maggie isn't as attractive as Dee. She is a thin and clumsy girl. Her mother notes that “beauty escaped her” (88). Additionally, she behaves like someone with low self-esteem, “chin on her chest, eyes on the ground” (87). On the other hand, Dee is a beautiful woman. Her mother describes Dee as having “nice hair and a full figure” (87). Dee is proud of her appearance. She dresses in fashionable clothes. When Dee arrives for her visit, her mother says, “Even her feet were still beautiful” (88). Besides their appearances, Maggie and Dee have unique personalities. When Maggie is first introduced in the story, she is nervous about her sister's visit. In fact, Dee's arrival makes Maggie so uncomfortable that she attempts to flee to the safety of home (88). Maggie is also intimidated by Dee, as shown when Maggie is unable to confront Dee about the quilts. Maggie relents and says that maybe Dee has the quilts because she's not used to "winning" (91). Unlike Maggie, Dee is a bold young woman (88 years old). As a young girl, Dee was never afraid to express herself. Her mother remembers that “she would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was not part of his nature” (87). Dee also proves selfish when she sets her sights on the butter churn. Dee doesn't seem to mind that her family still uses the churn. She declares that she will “display part of it in her alcove and do something artistic with the rest” (90). Family artifacts are important to both Maggie and Dee, but for different reasons. Maggie appreciates family quilts for their sentiment and utility. She learned to quilt from her grandmother and aunt who made the quilts. Her mother kept the quilts so Maggie could use them after she got married. Quilts are meant to be used and enjoyed every day. Maggie implies that she views the quilts as a memory of her grandmother and aunt when she says, "I can join them without the quilts" (91). Dee also enjoys family quilts. She considers quilts to be priceless objects to own and display. Going to college made Dee aware of her heritage. She returns dressed in ethnic clothing and has changed her name to “Wangero”. She explains to her mother and Maggie that changing her name is a way of dissociating herself from "the people who [oppress] her"? (89). Before she went off to college, quilts weren't nice enough for her. Her mother had given her one of the quilts, but she said, “They were old-fashioned and old-fashioned” (91). She is now determined to have the quilts to display in her home. Dee thinks she can appreciate the value of it. the quilts more than Maggie, who will be “backward enough to use them every day” (91). Dee wants the quilts for more materialistic reasons. She considers the quilts “priceless” (91). which turned out to be very different. Maggie is awkward and unattractive, while Dee is confident and attractive. Maggie is content with her simple life, while Dee wants to have nice things. Maggie is nervous and intimidated by Dee, :, 1998. 86‑92.