Everyday use by Alice Walker is about a young woman who goes back to her childhood home before she went to college. She and her mother have an argument about heritage and some quilts that the daughters grandmother made.
The young woman, called Dee during her childhood, changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo which has parts from different native american cultures. After going to school she loses her touch with her family after becoming successful. Instead of wanting to use the quilts as blankets she wants to use them as decoration which shows that instead of wanting to be a part of her culture she wants to show that she cares about her culture while not caring about it in actuality.
Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo’s mother and younger sister are more in tune with their heritage. I don’t think that they understood that Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo wanted to preserve the quilts while the other two were planning to use it everyday.
In conclusion I think that the author is trying to say that school can make you lose touch with your family and heritage. After Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo went to school she rose above the economic class of her home and loses touch with her roots.