In the poem "The Century Quilt" Marilyn Nelson Waniek uses imagery, symbolism, and tone to capture the legacy and love of family while also reconciling with her past memories . The hope of keeping the family history within oneself forever is the main concept stated throughout the poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the poem Marilyn uses Meema's blanket to emphasize memories with her and her sister when they used to "wrap themselves to play" in its folds and become chiefs and princesses.” This creates a happy but nostalgic tone because this will never appear in his life again, but it brings happiness every time you think about this moment. But now he has found a "quilt" on which to build a new memory that will ideally live forever. When Marilyn explains that she and her sister, “Fell asleep under the army green, issued to Dad by Supply.” The army green color on the blanket symbolizes their father and how he fought for their country when they were younger. Not only does she use color sense to convey the image, but she also uses color to symbolize family members who are now also present in her quilt. There are "Six brown squares of Van Dyke, two white, and one yellow-brown square of mother's cheeks." Yellow-brown is the color that is imagined whenever Marilyn thinks of her mother, and that color now sits on the quilt as a square symbolizing the relationship between them and her mother as an individual. This quote also shows biracial views by using tones of brown and white signifying her Meema's "grandfather's white family." The colors show heritage and how family mattered more than racial viewpoints, which you would normally expect when reading a poem set before, when the racial feuds occurred. But the level of strong family bonding is shown when they have fun like "When the father came home from his shop they would turn up the volume on the pianola and all the beautiful sisters would giggle and dance." Not only does this manifest as love, but the use of images that portray a memorable moment is the most important thing. It is through Meema's life that readers get a good baseline of what Marilyn hopes her future will look like. Which leads to the last sentence of the poem stating that Marilyn will call it "The Century Quilt". Where over the course of a lifetime, starting from Meema and finally becoming Marilyn, each initial foundation grows over a century and this is the ideal in this poem, especially for Marilyn when she wants the story to be remembered forever. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall, through the use of imagery, tone, and symbolism, the poem displayed a level of family value that is undeniable among them. And the meaning of the quilt and blanket exudes undeniable success and well-being in the family's future, thanks to Meema's loving past of the blanket in her life but also to the quilt in Marilyn's near future..