Simplicity, symbolism, family values are some of the themes that also reflect different perspectives on life. In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker presents the character of Dee as arrogant and selfish; however, closer examination shows that Dee is not expressive towards her family and is rather smart and straightforward to go with the flow of life.…
In the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker, the character, Dee is seen as a bad person. Although many people may not believe that she is good person, I believe she has some likable qualities. One would be her confidence. In the story her mother compares her and Maggie, and she said that “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” she also says that “She was a woman now, though sometimes I forgot.” meaning that Dee, has a lot of self-confidence, and in looks she is better compared to Maggie.…
While reading the short story "Everyday Use" written by Alice Walker, shallow and selfish come to mind as the story describes the oldest sister, Dee. Critics will argue on how selfish she really is though. According to Nancy Tuten, author of "Alice Walker's Everyday Use," Dee, the oldest sister, has grown accustom to getting her way and not sure how to act when she is told NO. Where Susan Farrell says in her article, "Fight vs. Flight: A Re-evaluation of Dee in Alice Walker's Everyday use," Dee is not as selfish as most people believe. Susan Farrell still says that Dee is selfish, but to a point, the rest is her view of her heritage and new way of copping with the oppressed society that they live in.…
The theme of “Everyday Use” (1973), by Eudora Welty, is the impact of the past on the present. Mama Johnson and her daughter Maggie await the arrival of the older daughter, Dee. Mama Johnson recalls the various allowances she provided for Dee. Dee receives a formal education and the finer clothes she prefers to wear, unlike Mama Johnson and Maggie. Dee has two fundamental issues. Her family embarrasses her, and she is accustomed to getting her way, although Dee is never satisfied. She has high ideals, while Mama Johnson and Maggie are simpler people. Mama Johnson recalls a time when Dee “used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant…
In “Everyday Use” Dee was mamas daughter that was never satisfied. She had always been favored by everyone based on her looks and her whit’s compared to her sister Maggie. Dee felt like no one should tell her no. she knew her mother wouldn’t stop her from getting her way.…
In the story “Everyday Use”, Dee is portrayed as a girl who “made it”. She was seen by her mother and Maggie as a talented girl. Her only flaw was her selfishness towards her younger sister Maggie. In the story, she pays a visit to Maggie and her mother and have dinner. After dinner, Dee goes rifling through a trunk and two quilts catch her eye. She demands her mother to hand them to her. Although they were to be passed onto Maggie, she allows Dee to keep the quilts. In the end, Dee gives the quilts back.…
In “Everyday Use”, it was Dee, who adapted to a new culture and way of living. She became educated and learned about her heritage and culture. This affected the way she viewed life. Instead of being like her mother,…
We discover that she spends way too much time on the appearance of things instead of the meaning of them. She has changed her name to Wangero because she said that she "couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me."(96) Dee does not understand the true meaning of heritage, she thinks that heritage is something that can and should be put on display only if it is in fashion at the time. Dee speaks about the bench that her father had made and the butter dish that her grandmother had as if the were just objects that could be bought at any old store. "I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints, she said, running her hands underneath her and along the bench. Then she gave a sigh and her hand closed over Grandma Dee's butter dish."(97) Everything that holds memories for Mama and Maggie of people that have gone she treats as though they shouldn't be used, they should be…
Dee is a force in the family, but she is arrogant and condescending towards Mama and her sister. Dee, too, is full of resentment about everything. She hates the way she grew up. She hates their family home. She hates that her mother was more like a man than a woman. She hates that Mama and Maggie aren't as smart and "stylish" as her. Yet, when Dee becomes captivated by the “Back to Africa” movement, suddenly her family's own heritage becomes something popular rather than a source of embarrassment. She returns home demanding the family quilts not for sentimental reasons, but because they now considered “special” and is shocked when Mama denies her of them. Dee's potential narration would be a delusional one, as even she with her self-confidence denies her connection to her family, is swayed by society's views of culture and popularity and even takes on her own new persona as Wangero.…
It is a bit different since Dee is not the one telling the story of “Everyday Use”. Her mother is telling it. Dee is described from somewhat of a young age, but mostly her mother views her as very intelligent and well learned. An example is how she would read to her mother and sister Maggie “She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.” (Perkins 26). Her mother also sent her to a school in Augusta in order for her to get the education her mother thought she deserved. Dee like nice things such as clothes, jewelry, shoes. Dee seems to return from this schooling with some big ideas and a man in her life. It seems like she has become maybe a designer since she wants some old things from her mothers home to use them for…
Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes.” Her dream shows how the mother dreams of a better relationship with her daughter than the one she has. Dee seems to be embarrassed by her mother and where she comes from. The author shows this when she talks about the burning of their house. She seemed happy to see her house burn down, “Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. She had hated the house that much.” This shows that Dee didn’t care much for her heritage, because she seemed so thrilled that the house had burned down. The way she reacted to the house burning shows that she didn’t care for her mother or…
Through contrasting family members and views in "Everyday Use", Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding our present life in relation to the traditions of our own people and culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of one's heritage and culture; she illustrates that these are represented not by the possession of objects or mere appearances, but by one's lifestyle and attitude. In "Everyday Use" Walker personifies the different sides of culture and heritage in the characters of Dee and the mother (the narrator). Dee can be seen to represent a materialistic, complex, and modern way of life where culture and heritage are to be valued only for…
The two themes of the story are the meaning of heritage and the power of knowledge. Dee thinks that her heritage is dead and she wants to use the material remains of it as artifacts. Her heritage has not ended and needs people to keep it going and that is why Mama rewarded Maggie with the quilts. Dee tries becoming something she is not by disowning her family values for a heritage she knows nothing about. She has forgotten where she comes from and does not truly appreciate the contribution of her relatives. Knowledge gave Dee the illusion that she is above everyone else. Dee has lost herself in education. It gave her a false view of the world and who she really…
Dee is sisters with Maggie in this story, she is the character who is very impolite, or that does things her way. Dee is the only educated character; it says in the short story that she left so that she could be educated. Dee is noticed as a character that does whatever she wants, and have it go her way. One example is that, Dee wears a brightly colored, yellow-and-orange, ankle-length dress that is inappropriate for the warm weather. This shows that she would wear anything she wants even if its inappropriate in any way. In the story mama wouldn’t let Dee have the quilts, and she became furious. This another example that she is very stubborn, because in the end she keeps the quilts.…
Farrell, S. (1998). Fight vs. Flight: A Re-evaluation of Dee in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”. Studies In Short Fiction, 35(2), 179.…