Understanding (Irony)

" 'What don't I understand?' I wanted to know. 'Your heritage,' she said. And then she turned to Maggie, kissed her, and said, 'You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it' " -pg 181

Dee/Wangero comes back to the family that gave her the education that let her get away in the first place, and tells them what they ought to do and what they ought to be. She accuses them of not understanding the heritage and the significance of their old, hand made quilts. Dee/Wangero wants to hang these quilts in some sort of art exhibit. Her family wants to use them for their intended purpose by the people who made them. The irony of what Wangero is saying strikes the reader, who doesn't really understand the significance of Wangero's new attitude and look.

The author's irony delivers a message about respecting the roots which people come from. Dee doesn't respect the heritage of her name, let alone know what it is. However, she decides to make a judgment and changer it to Wangero anyway. She tells Maggie she should make something of herself, but it is a miracle that Maggie even survived the fire that scarred her. The author clearly wants the readers to understand how Dee went wrong, and he does this by using irony.