Quilts and Everyday ArtWith her story, "Everyday Use," Alice Walker says that art should be a living, breathing part of the culture of which it is from, rather than a frozen watch to be observed from afar. To make this point, she uses the quilts from her story to symbolize art; and what happens to these quilts represents his theory of art. (thesis) Quilts themselves, as art, are inseparable from the culture from which they come. (topic sentence) The story of these quilts is a family story. The narrator says: "In both cases there were pieces of dresses that Grandma Dee had worn fifty years ago and more. Pieces of Grandpa Jarrell's Paisley shirts. And a tiny faded blue piece ...which came from Great-Grandfather Ezra's uniform that he wore during the Civil War. So these quilts, now an heirloom, not only represent the family, but are an integral part of the family. .Walker says that true art not only represents one's culture, but is an inseparable part of that culture. The way the quilts are treated shows Walker's view on how art should be treated. Dee covets the quilts for their financial and aesthetic value, "But they're priceless," she exclaims, when she learns that her mother has already promised them to Maggie. backward enough to use them every day.” Indeed, that’s how Maggie views quilts. She appreciates them for what they mean to her as an individual. This becomes clear when she says, "I can become a member of Grandma Dee without the quilts," implying that her connection to the quilts is personal and emotional rather than financial and aesthetic. She also knows that quilts are an active process, kept alive through continual renewal. As the narrator points out, “Maggie knows how to quilt.” The two sisters' values ​​regarding quilting represent the two main approaches to art appreciation in our society. Art can be valued for financial and aesthetic reasons, or for personal and emotional reasons. When the narrator snatches the quilts from Dee and gives them to Maggie, Walker says that the second set of values ​​is the correct one. Art, to remain alive, must be used in everyday life - literally in the case of quilts, figuratively in the case of conventional art..