Introduction
Alice Walker presents several bright characters in the short story “Everyday Use,” but the mother and Dee, her eldest daughter, are at the center of the plot. After returning home, a young woman shows interest in her African heritage – through her actions, she wants to show that she resists racial oppression and values her roots. Dee even changes her name and calls herself Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo to demonstrate loyalty to her African ancestors.
Moreover, she wants to take the quilts created by her mother and aunt in hand to emphasize the importance and uniqueness of family history and show how she admires them.
While Wangero’s interest in family legacy is laudable, how it is displayed is controversial. Dee believes her mother and younger sister cannot appreciate their African culture. As a result, the mother confronts her in the desire to take the quilts promised to her youngest daughter. Because she is arrogant and selfish, Dee loses her family’s heritage.
Negative Character Traits Leading to the Loss of Heritage
Arrogance
Even though Dee is intelligent and has a better education than her family, her arrogance has cost her relationship with her family and tradition. Her mother helps her daughter get a good education by raising money. However, Dee uses her knowledge against the family: “She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know” (Walker para. 11). Dee manifests arrogance – she feels superiority over her mother and sister. She forgets that she received her knowledge thanks to them. She neglects their feelings, causing her mother and sister to estrange.
Maggie, the younger sister, tries to hide when Dee arrives. Mother has many questions for Wangero but does not even ask them. Dee’s arrogance manifests even in the way she changes her name. The woman does not respect that the name Dee has been a tradition for several generations. Consequently, the name change is not her appreciation of her heritage. On the contrary, she manifests disregard for her family’s history.
Selfishness
Dee’s selfish behavior leads to her losing the quilts she wants. Thinking only of her gain, the young woman ignores her sister’s feelings and desires. She does not see how her selfish aspirations to get quilts affect her sister. Maggie is ready to give quilts, but her reason for her actions is her fear of Wangero. This causes the mother to desire to protect her youngest daughter.
Moreover, when mother offers Dee quilts before leaving for college earlier, she does not want them, calling them old-fashioned. Therefore, the sudden desire to get quilts seems to be a whim. Dee’s attitude demonstrates that her dedication to culture is not real but a tribute to fashion trends. This situation forces Dee’s mother to confront her daughter and not give her quilts. After that, the selfishness and arrogance of the character manifest with renewed vigor. Wangero calls Maggie “backward,” and her eyes express hatred of her mother (Walker para. 65-69). She repels the family even more and does not get what she wants.
Adverse Consequences of the Character Traits
No matter how knowledgeable she is, Dee’s selfishness and arrogance cause her to lose her family’s heritage. Dee’s knowledge from college made her pay attention to her culture. However, knowledge is not enough to instill genuine respect for cultural legacy. Dee is sure she is more knowledgeable, telling her mother, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” (Walker para. 65). However, she does not want to see the quilts’ significance for the family. This situation emphasizes that the education received gave Dee only visible erudition. She blindly follows trends but does not want to recognize the authentic heritage of her family. It includes the name she had or the house where she grew up. Wangero does not appreciate the uniqueness of this family history, thinking only about its ostentatious legacy. Her arrogance and selfishness are intertwined in how she demonstrates devotion to culture but cannot truly understand heritage. Such misunderstanding harms Dee herself by separating her from her family. In search of her cultural identity, she gets confused and loses it.
Conclusion
Thus, Dee cannot truly appreciate her family’s history and heritage, as her selfishness and arrogance leave her reflections and opinions superficial. Taking care of her reputation and desire to demonstrate cultural awareness, she neglects her family. Dee’s actions separate her from her mother and sister and the ancestors whose names she bore. Wanting to get quilts to show her devotion to cultural heritage, a young woman is guided only by trends, not a genuine desire to understand the culture.
As a result, she not only causes resistance from the family but also loses the opportunity to get even quilts. At the same time, quilts are not the only heritage of the family, but Dee, despite her education, cannot comprehend it. Her selfishness and arrogance hurt Dee as the trends are fleeting, and her family can always support her if she shows them due respect. In seeking her cultural heritage, Dee should not blindly follow trends but show more understanding and tolerance for her family.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Harper’s Magazine, 1973. Web.