Everyday Use #1

Karen Johnson
AP English Class 3
9-10-08
994 Words
One Heritage; Accepted and Rejected
“Everyday Use” tells a story depicting the contrast between two sisters, Dee and Maggie. The girls come from a poor, rural, black, family. Their heritage is described through the eyes of their mother, Mrs. Johnson. She describes her small shack-like home to be “more comfortable than most people know.” (1) She is able to look at her life in a positive manner, making readers envy her oasis before they find out the truth about her stark poverty. Despite Mrs. Johnson’s lack of wealth and education, she is still able to be optimistic about her home life. Through the mother’s eyes the qualities of her daughters is revealed. Dee is described as a selfish child who rejects her upbringing as if their poverty and heritage is associated with worthlessness.
When reading the short story, “Everyday Use,” I was overwhelmed with Dee’s selfishness and insecurity. It floored me that a person from a family of such little circumstance could be so selfish and belittling towards her mother and sister. Alice Walker included subtle hints of Dee’s insecurity and lack of concern for her family throughout the beginning of the story. Dee intrudes upon Mrs. Johnson and Maggie at their home, after claiming to her mother ,“no matter where [they] “choose” to live, she will manage to come see [them]. But she will never bring her friends.” She brings Hakim-a-Barber with her. (13) Mrs. Johnson and Maggie do not know whether or not he is her husband. Dee’s behavior comes across as if she is refusing to engage with her family unless she needs something from them. In this case she wants their family heirlooms for their monetary value. When Dee’s mother refuses to give her the hand-stitched quilts, Dee quickly throws a childish fit.
At the beginning of the story Maggie thinks that Dee holds life in the palm of her hand and is granted whatever she desires, but she discovers that Dee is not as secure as she pretends to be. In the first two pages the reader already recognizes Dee’s superficiality and selfishness. When the mother describes the reuniting family on the talk show she mentions, “I am the way my daughter would want me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights.” (5) This illustrates that Dee wants her mother to have the characteristics of a white woman for she is ashamed of her ethnicity and culture. The mother imagines her daughter “embracing her with tears,” but in real life this would never happen for she is a larger women who does manly deeds. Dee does not want to accept those characteristics in her mother. (5)
Dee pretends to be confident and knowledgeable though truly she is unable to find out who she truly is. She leads people on to believe that she is more significant than they are and in that process she demeans people and intimidates others who associate with her. Dee acts as if she is of a higher importance than the rest of her family and because she is literate she decries her mother and sister and acts as if they do not understand the words she reads. As Mrs. Johnson states, “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… Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand.” (10)
Though Dee tries to portray a life of perfection there are many circumstances in which she sub conscientiously reveals her true colors. When the family’s home was on fire and Maggie was burning in the flames, Dee was outside of the home under the sweet gum tree that she used to pick gum off of, with no concern for her sister. The mother remembers thinking, “Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes?” (9) It was as if Dee had no concern for her family and the struggle they were now presented with. Dee also shows her insecurity when she arrives to her mother and Maggie’s home with Hakim-a-Barber. She changed her name from Dee to Wangero in order to gain his acceptance. (22)
Throughout the story, Maggie is described as weak, nervous and shy. Maggie was accustomed to being spoken to by Dee as if she were worthless and insignificant. Mrs. Johnson sees that Maggie has accepted, “This was the way she knew God to work.” (39) It suddenly dawned on Mrs. Johnson that Maggie was willing to accept that she was of little value when truly Maggie was of great value in the family. Maggie was in touch with her family’s heritage. She loves the family with sentimentality. She valued the talents Grandma Dee and Big Dee passed on to her by teaching her to quilt. Maggie knew it was Henry who whittled the dash on the butter churn. For this Dee belittled Maggie. Her only interest in the butter churn was for a centerpiece. (30)
Once Dee’s mother finally says no to her by refusing to give her the quilts, she had to leave Maggie with one last insult. “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.” (47) As if Dee has now grasped all the knowledge there is to make the most of one’s life. This is the point when Maggie realizes that her sister does not have the grand life Maggie once envisioned but instead is hiding behind a fake persona to hide her insecurities and conceal her true identity and heritage. Maggie only smiles at the thought of her revelation and is proud of who she is and where she came from and finely discovers her true self.