In "Everyday Use," what do Dee and Maggie have in common? How are they different?

As sisters,
almost the only thing Dee and Maggie have in common is that they are sisters. Both have
relatives in common, most significantly their mother, and they grew up together in Southern
poverty. A more subtle similarity, however, can be noted between them. Both sisters have strong
personal desires in their lives; both of them achieve their dreams, but in very different
ways--and here the similarity essentially ends and the sharp differences between them
begin.

From the time she was a young girl, Dee rejected the circumstances of
her birth and wanted nothing in the world more than she wanted to leave her home and family
behind in search of what she believed to be a more meaningful life. Dee craved education,
sophistication and success in the world. She wanted a larger life on a bigger stage, surrounded
by interesting people. She wanted to cut her ties to the family and the impoverished community
that had produced her, and so she did.

In the story she returns only to carry
away those of her mother's few possessions that she deems to be valuable antiques. She wants her
mother's quilts not for sentimental reasons, but because they would look attractive in her
big-city home. The fact that her grandmother had made the quilts means nothing to her. Dee is
completely self-centered, completely insensitive to the feelings of others. Details in the story
suggest that this is not new behavior for Dee. She had been selfish and aggressive  as a child,
and her will had always subjugated any of Maggie's wants and needs. The Dee who comes home is an
educated, sophisticated, fashionable young woman, in tune with current social trends. She is
also cold and unfeeling.

In contrast, Maggie is eclipsed by her sister's
star. She is shy and undemanding. Maggie has grown up always expecting second best. Bearing the
scars from a terrible fire, she has remained at home with her mother, uneducated and unworldly.
There is in Maggie, however, a sweetness and a vulnerability that make her a very appealing
character, in contrast with her grasping sister. Maggie truly loves her mother and honors her
family. When her one dream in life is about to come true--she will be married and have a home of
her own--she wants her mother's quilts to use every day in her home, and she loves them because
she remembers her grandmother's making them.

The title of the story,
"," points the reader toward the most profound difference between Dee and Maggie, as
shown by each sister's attitude toward their mother's quilts. For Dee, using the quilts every
day is unthinkable because of their monetary value; for Maggie, using the quilts every day would
be an act of love and remembrance. Dee's shallowness and her lack of emotional connection to her
family is thus contrasted with Maggie's loving spirit.